Not since World War II have more human beings been at risk from disease and starvation than at this very moment.
Four reasons why the transition from fossil fuels to a green energy era is gaining traction.
America’s European allies are feeling somewhat less deferential to Moscow because of the growth in global supplies. In other words, the striking spurt in US domestic oil production has added a patriotic dimension to its already powerful allure.
We humans have a choice: we can succumb to carbon’s gravitational pull and so suffer from increasingly harsh planetary conditions, or resist and avoid the most deadly consequences of climate change.
Climate rebellion is on the horizon. At the same time, governments globally, with rare exceptions, are deeply wedded to existing energy policies and will respond with some combination of accommodation to popular demands and harsh repression.
Senior government officials including President Obama have already become infected with this euphoria, as have top Wall Street investors - which means it will have a powerful and longlasting, though largely pernicious effect on US energy policy, industrial development, and foreign relations.
What sort of fabulous new energy systems will the world possess in 2040? Which fuels will supply the bulk of our energy needs? And how will that change the global energy equation, international politics, and the planet’s health?
Don't for a second imagine we are heading for an era of renewable energy.