Others are getting into the game, too

The lead article in the current Atlantic monthly is about coal power and research.  It makes clear that China is working hard at developing itself, which requires energy.  China wants to be able to manufacture automobiles for its 1.3 billion citizens.  The US has only .3 billion, or less than 1/4 of China's population, but we use about 10 times as much energy (gas, electricity, etc.) per person as the Chinese.  The Chinese and the Indians want to use more energy and live better.  The Indians number 1.2 billion.  Taken together, these two countries have more than 8 times the US population and both are striving to do things and live in ways that allow their citizens to have richer lives.  As the oil supply worldwide runs low while these giants are expanding their energy needs and goals, coal seems to be the next good source. 

The article shows how America is more complacent about its current energy production and has legal and environment obstacles to developing coal power and the necessary inventions and installations that could enable good energy production from coal.  However, China is in a hurry and needs answers sooner.  So, many American engineers and scientists are working with Chinese counterparts to solve some of the problem in wider and better power production. 

It is sobering, even alarming, to think of the impact on the total Earth environment as the energy, water and food demands of these two very large nations  (and the rest of the world, roughly as many humans as the US, China and India combined) rise in response to greater freedom, greater hope of a rich life and greater use of manufacturing, agriculture and business.  I have begun looking at The Rise of the Rest by Alice Amsden, professor of political economy at M.I.T. and Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International to better understand this subject. Clearly, when we say that a new sort of world is coming, we are right.