ABSTRACT
It is a rather bold claim that sustainable energy is “the key to everything.” But a convincing argument can be made that most problems in the physical environment can be solved to at least a large degree if enough energy is available, if it is inexpensive enough, and if it can be used without doing irreparable environmental harm. Consider the following environmental and sustainability problems that can be solved at least in part with sufcient sustainable energy:
• Water: With enough energy, wastewater can be reclaimed to drinking water standards by distillation, reverse osmosis, and other energy-consuming technologies, and seawater can be desalinated.
