I can't wait to carry around my own portable power supply that operates green and free (other than initial cost)
Small matter/antimatter unit? How about a portable matter/antimatter "battery" that can supply all of your kit items? Power cells go down in your Surefire? Recharge it from your portable power supply. Some of this thinking comes from Star Trek of course, but I think a matter/antimatter reaction type power source will be available within my lifetime. A very small reaction puts out a lot of totally clean energy. In Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" a very small glob of antimatter, when it contacted matter, was supposed to destroy Vatican City and most of Rome. In a controlled reaction, that kind of energy would be almomst infinite. No need for fossil fuels, no need for radioactive dumps...
I think that at some point, there will be a world wide infrastructure in place that will generate energy that is constantly available. No need to recharge the batteries in your Ipod, because the power will be available where ever you go and devices will charge themselves up when they need to. Nikola Tesla predicted the production of free energy like that, that could transfered wirelessly. Of course he predicted this over 100 years ago. It seems like that possibility is very real within our lifetimes.
I'm looking forward to more affordable solar cells and wind turbines. I don't own a house yet, but when I do, I want to outfit it will solar and maybe wind generators. To generate most all of the power we need, and not have to use coal or gas. To quote that cell phone commercial, "It's my way of sticking it to the man".
But yes, plunge more research dollars into hydrogen powered cars. In the meantime, develop a conversion kit so that more cars and trucks can run on E85 ethanol or biomass fuel (soy diesel, etc.).
The oil, coal and gas companies are so worried about not being rich when green power becomes the norm...just get a corner of the market on alternative energy...you can still be stinkin' rich, without killing the planet so much. Lumber and cotton companies too...legalize industrial hemp production...clothes and paper as well as biomass fuel...and without earth's destruction anymore. I'm stepping down from my soap box now. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />