Each stage of human civilization was based on the use of a type of energy. Wood in the era of agricultural development and coal in the industrial revolution were replaced by oil in the modern economy.
The intense use of hydrocarbons in a context of disruptive technological changes, allowed us to reach levels of production and consumption of an intensity unprecedented in human history.
The complexity and sophistication of our productive system has allowed, for the first time in history, half of a world population of more than 7,000 million people to live in the middle class (that is, with incomes between U$ 11 and 110 per day at purchasing power parity)
However, that same system confronts us with the reality that the aggregate power of our productive forces is affecting for the first time the balance between humans and nature The flourishing of the renewable energy industry, that took place In the last three decades, promises to increase the availability of energy without affecting the environment.
In these years, renewable energies have made terrific progressed on a large number of fronts, reducing production costs, dependence on subsidies and increasing their participation in the global energy matrix. That is why we have highlighted them as one of the emblematic sectors of the New Economy. Their emergence ,and the technological improvements they achieved, are the result of a fertile interaction with other disciplines.
The production of wind energy, for example, depends crucially on the ability to properly measure the speed and depth of the wind. LIDAR (Light Detection and Measurement) technology is being developed and tested for its application.
This laser-based technique makes measurements of the wind fields more flexible and cheaper. Similarly, the use of algae or ligno-cellulose for the production of biofuels or the use of bacteria for the treatment of waste represent promising developments for the coming years.
Once again, biotechnology, information technology and ecology combine to provide effective solutions to the new challenges we face.
