Energy resources and use: The present situation and possible paths to the future

Recent estimates and forecasts of the oil, gas, coal resources and their reserve/production ratio, nuclear and renewable energy potential, and energy uses are surveyed. The impact of the rapidly growing economies of the highly populated countries, as well as of the concern about global warming, are presented and assessed. A brief discussion of the status and prospects of fossil, nuclear and renewable energy use, and of power generation (including hydrogen, fuel cells, micro power systems, and the futuristic concept of generating power in space for terrestrial use, is given. A brief summary of the energy research effort and budgets in the US, and EU are presented, and ways to resolve the problem of the availability, cost, and sustainability of energy resources alongside the rapidly rising demand are discussed. The author's view of the promising energy research and development (R&D) areas, their potential, foreseen improvements and their time scale, and last year's trends in government funding are presented.