Sustainable Energy Beyond Carbon

Energy from the Sun leads to direct heating of the Earth, and also to secondary forms of energy in winds, waves and hydroelectricity. Long-term energy resources in the Earth and its motions include tides, geothermal energy, fission fuels, and in deuterium that may potentially be used to power nuclear fusion reactors. We are interested in energy sources that will last on a time scale of thousands of years, and further, that will not interfere with other important aspects of life on Earth, such as clean air and water in abundant supply. Plants grew by photosynthesis starting in the carboniferous era, about 300 million years ago, and the decay of some of these, instead of oxidizing back into the atmosphere, occurred underground in oxygen-free zones.