Copying this interview from the blog of Beppe Grillo is a very important subject: Renewable Energy, aka energy of the future.
I would ask you to read it too long because if there are written things interesting and surprising place.
"The blog has interviewed Jeremy Rifkin, author of world famous among his books:" Hydrogen Economy. "The world we know is changing fast. The oil is running out. Energy will two characteristics: they may be renewed, as the sun and wind, and distributed. Each of us can create their own energy and make it available for others in the network.
"Now, at sunset [of the second industrial revolution] there are some very critical situations. Energy prices are rising dramatically and the world oil market has just started production at its peak. Prices of food have doubled in recent years as food production is mainly based on fossil fuels. As soon as we reach peak oil production, prices will rise, the global economy stagnate, we will have recession and there will be people that will not be able to put some food on the table. The "peak oil" is you have used half the available oil. When this happens, when we are at the peak of this curve, we will be the end of the oil because the cost of extraction will not be sustainable. When we reach the peak? The optimistic International Energy Agency says it will get there probably around 2025-2035. On the other hand in recent years some of the greatest geologists of the world, using some very advanced mathematical models, show that arrive at the peak between 2010 and 2020. A leading expert says that the peak is already been achieved in 2005. Now, the field in the North Sea peaked three years ago. Mexico, the fourth largest producer, will peak in 2010, probably as Russia. In my book, Hydrogen Economy, I have spent many words on this issue. I do not know who is right, the optimists or pessimists. But this makes no difference, it is a very small window. The second crisis involving the end of this energy regime is the increase of political instability in oil producing countries. We must understand that today one third of civil wars in the world is in the oil-producing countries. Imagine what will happen in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and so on. All want the oil, oil is becoming increasingly expensive . There will be more political and military conflicts in producing countries. Finally, there is the issue of climate change. If we take the objectives of the European Union on the reduction of CO2, and the EU is the most aggressive of the world in this sense, even if we could reach those goals, but not do the same India, China and other countries, the temperature will rise by 6 ° C in this century and will be the end of civilization as we know it. Let me say that what we need now is an economic plan that is sufficiently ambitious and effective way to handle the enormity of peak oil and climate change. Let me say that the great economic revolutions happen when humans change the way we produce energy in the first, and when it changes the way we communicate, to organize this energy revolution. In the early twentieth century revolution of the telegraph and telephone converged with that of oil and internal combustion, giving rise to the second industrial revolution. Now we are at the sunset of the Industrial Revolution. The question is: how to open the door to third industrial revolution. We are now able to communicate peer to peer, one by one, one to many, many to many. I'm talking to you via the Internet. This revolution "distributed" communication, this is the key word "distributed", this revolution "flat", "fair" of communication right now is beginning to converge with the revolution of new distributed energy. The convergence of these two technologies can pave the way for the third industrial revolution. The energy delivered is around the corner. There is everywhere in Italy, anywhere in the world. The Sun rises anywhere on the planet. The wind blows across the Earth, if we live on the coast we have the force of the waves. Beneath the ground we all have heat. There is a mini hydroelectric. These are energies that are distributed everywhere. The European Union placed the first third pillar of the industrial revolution, which are renewable energy and distributed. First, we must move to renewable energy and distributed. The EU has set a target of 20%. Second, we must make all buildings energy generation facilities. Millions of buildings that produce and store energy in a large generating plant. This already exists. Third pillar: How to accumulate this energy? Because the Sun is always shining, even in the beautiful Italy. The wind always blows and the hydropower plants can not operate during periods of drought. The third pillar relates to how we collect this energy and build-up will be the main form of hydrogen. Hydrogen can accumulate the energy as well as digital media contain media information. Finally, the fourth pillar, when the distributed communication converges to the energy revolution, creating the third industrial revolution. We take the same technology that we use for the Internet, the same, and we take the energy grid Italian, European and make it a big global network like the Internet. When I, you and each will produce its own energy as we produce information through computers, gained through the hydrogen as the media with their digital media, we will share the surplus of production in the Italian network, in the European and global "intergrid, as share information on the Internet. This is the third industrial revolution. I work with some of the largest energy companies in the world, as a consultant. Let me make one comment in terms of business, not in ideological terms. I do not think that nuclear energy will be significant in the future and I think it's the end of its current and any government would be wrong to invest in the atom. Let me explain why. We do not produce CO2 with nuclear power plants, so it should be part of the solution to climate problems. But look at the numbers. There are 439 nuclear power plants the world today, producing only 5% of the energy we consume. These systems are very old. Is there anyone in Italy or in the world who really believes that we can replace the 439 systems we have today in the next twenty years. Even if we did continue to produce only 5% of energy consumed , with no benefit to climate change. It 'clear that because he had, should cover at least 20% of production. But because the production of energy for 20% nuclear, we should build three nuclear power stations every 30 days for the next 60 years. Got it? Two thousand nuclear power stations. Three new plants every month for sixty years. We do not know what to do with the waste. We are in the atomic energy industry for 60 years and told us: "build the plants and give us enough time to understand how to handle and store the waste. "Sixty years after the industry says," Trust us again, we can do it, but still do not know how. The International Atomic Energy Agency says that we have a shortage of uranium between 2025 and 2035, doing so 'die 439 nuclear plants that produce 5% of the world. We could take the uranium we have and convert it into plutonium. But we have the danger of nuclear terrorism. Do we really have plutonium around the world in a time of potential terrorist attacks? I think it's crazy. And finally, one thing that everyone should discuss with the neighbors: we do not have water! This energy companies know this but people do not. Take France , the quintessence of atomic energy, produced by 70%. That 's what people do not know: 40% of all water consumed in France last year, and' served to cool the nuclear reactors. 40%. Remember three years ago, when many elderly people died in France during the summer 'cause the air conditioning was poor? What I do not know and 'that there was enough water to cool the nuclear reactors, which had to decrease their production of electricity'. Where do you find, Italy and other countries, water to cool the plants if not found it in France? What we need to do is democratize energy. The third industrial revolution means to empower people and for the generation that grew up with the Net this is the conclusion and completion of this revolution, just as now we talk on the Internet, hundreds of people are on the Internet, and it's all free, and they may create the largest, decentralized network TV, open source, shared ... because we can not do with energy?
Italy is the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy! There are so many renewable energy and distributed in your country! I marvel when I come to your country and I see that you are moving in the direction you move to Spain, aggressively towards renewable energy. For example, you have the Sun! you so much sun from Rome to Bari Have the Sun! You are a peninsula, you wind all the time, you have the sea around you, you have rich geothermal areas in Tuscany, biomass, up from Bolzano in northern Italy, you have the snow, hydropower, You have a lot more from the Alps energy than you need, in renewable energy! Not been using ... I do not understand. Italy could. I think, humbly, I can say to the Italian government is: what game you want to play? If your plan is to stay in the old energy, Italy is not competitive and can not enjoy the multiplier effect on the economy of the third industrial revolution to move in the new economic revolution and will run behind many other countries over the twenty-first century. But if Italy decides that it's time to start moving towards the third industrial revolution, opportunities for Italy and its people will be huge. For years I follow your site, I wish there were voices like yours in other countries. Allowed so 'many people to engage together ... I think it is instructive to the road we must take. " Jeremy Rifkin 
