NPR: Energy Secretary 'Optimistic' But Cautious

Energy Secretary 'Optimistic' But Cautious

September 14, 2009

Steven Chu is an optimist. The secretary of energy, who won a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997, believes science can solve many of the nation's energy challenges.

"Scientists by their nature are very optimistic," he said. "We learn about Newton, about Maxwell, about Einstein. And yet you want to do some science that can contribute on the shoulders of those giants — you've got to be pretty optimistic.

"That doesn't mean I'm a cockeyed optimist," he cautioned. "You've still got to come up with the goods."

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Chu has a vivid way of describing how Americans use — and overuse — energy: before the Industrial Revolution, power was supplied by humans and animals. Today, Chu says, we should imagine that "every person in the United States uses energy as if they had 100 personal servants at their beck and call," cleaning their carpets, or traveling to the supermarket.

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