Only universities are able to take the long view and assemble the interdisciplinary expertise needed to solve the world's energy problems, said Frank DiSalvo, the J.A. Newman Professor of Physical Science at Cornell, speaking during Cornell Reunion Weekend.

Lindsay France/University Photography

The world's energy needs will double by 2050, says chemist Frank DiSalvo, and right now we have no idea how to meet the need.

"We can put together teams that no one else can do," DiSalvo said in a June 9 talk, "The Energy Crisis: What Kind of Crisis and What Can Cornell Do About It?" in the Philip E. Lewis Auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall. DiSalvo presented sobering facts about the world's energy usage and suggested some places to look for solutions, but warned that even if an ideal answer is found tomorrow, putting it into practice will still take decades. "We're going to do the global warming experiment whether we like it or not," he said.

He reminded the audience of about 200 alumni that the world consumes about 84 million barrels of oil a day. By 2050, when the world's population will have increased to 9 billion or 10 billion from the current 6.5 billion, energy production will have to double and "We don't have any idea how we're going to do that," DiSalvo said.

He ticked off some of the proposed alternatives:

• Biofuels -- if all U.S. farming were devoted to biofuel production -- no food or anything else -- it would supply only 5 percent to 10 percent of our energy needs.
• Wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power could supply about 15 percent.
• Nuclear -- we would have to build one nuclear plant a week for the next 50 years to keep up, and the supply of uranium is limited. Breeder reactors, which make new fuel as they run, produce highly toxic and bomb-capable plutonium.
• Coal -- the United States has enough for 250 years, but burning it pollutes the air with arsenic, lead and other toxins, not to mention carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming.
• Natural gas could last 100 years, but turning it into a vehicle fuel is problematic.
• Solar could supply all America's energy needs -- but it would cost 10 times as much as any other energy source. "We could, of course, decide to pay that price," DiSalvo noted.

We also need to use energy more efficiently, DiSalvo added, for example by using fuel cells, which potentially can convert up to 90 percent of the energy in fuel to electricity. DiSalvo is co-director of the Cornell Fuel Cell Institute, which is trying to make fuel cells cheaper and more durable. He also is spearheading the Cornell Sustainability Steering Committee to bring together Cornell researchers working on fuel cells, solar energy, biofuels and other related topics, along with economists and social scientists.

But energy research is not getting the support it needs, he said. In most industries about 1 percent to 2 percent of revenues go into research and development, and with the world energy economy at some $10 trillion, research in the area is vastly undersupported.

"If we continue [to support research] at the present rate, nothing is going to happen," he concluded.