I think many of us working in the energy field, tend to view a promising future for an energy system in which a large base of distributed renewable energy facitlities will provide head/cold and electricity to buidlings, in many cases cutting down distribution losses, and where renwable facilities produce hidrogen which then is used to move road vehicles.
Yet, revolutions are difficult to predict. Possibly they can only be explained expost. These days the famous biologist Craig Venter is providing reasurance that in a matter of months the first forms of truly synthetic life might come out of a lab. These developments could open the door to the design and mantufacturing of taylor made organism. Venter himself says that he envison manufacturing a bacteria that could convert CO2 directly into an hidrocarbon, thus virtually solving at once both the emissions problems and the supply of fuel. Could this be true? What would be the economics of such a process? Certainly if this happens this would be a true breakthrough that would affect all our lives. Apparentyly we only have to wait a few months to find out!