Can only imagine what the world would look like with a limitless energy source like this.
Anyone see any reason not to be highly optimistic about this development?
the politicial climate with a source of unlimited energy seems ripe for the wrong type of people.
technology is not an unbiased "good"
:-)
Depending on how you define 'generation', this may be unrealistic. Even if the whole world economy were to become carbon neutral tomorrow, it would be a while before greenhouse gasses started to go down, and that assumes we haven't already reached a tipping point for a runaway greenhouse effect.
We're already seeing very worrying releases of methane from ocean floor clathrates and from melting permafrost, for example.
Even optimistic scenarios suggest that it would be touch and go for the next couple of decades, and there is little evidence that our branch of the multiverse is following an optimistic scenario.
With limitless energy, we could just make some kind of Earth AC unit.
(For the record, I do believe climate change is a big problem. But I also believe that not all those fighting the fight have the best intentions. Both of these things can be true.)
We could have had free energy a long time ago (Tesla, the guy, not the company) but the wealthy men of that time (also energy guys, BTW), didn't want a free competitor. And still don't.
If absolutely nothing else, there is a limit on the number of powerplants that can be built, and certainly on how fast they can be built.