ABSTRACT
The fossil fuel age is beginning to draw to a close, leaving a legacy that will be debated throughout the remainder of human history. It is bringing us perilously close to the limits of what nature can tolerate without huge change occurring, but swift action will give us the opportunity to keep our world habitable. Our future must be one powered by renewables, if we are to continue to lead lives in any way comparable to those we lead today. It is now time to speed the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable alternatives. It does indeed seem ridiculous that the status quo causes so much damage to life on Earth, yet the alternatives have long been the ones treated with suspicion. We must now grow beyond our adolescence as a species, and learn the meaning of boundaries, of limits, of responsibilities. Nature’s systems demonstrate for us how living within one’s limits, and wasting nothing, is the only way to survive over the long term. Harnessing free energy, then, is one of the first steps toward a more enlightened, secure way of life for our species.
