Well one possible future anyway. I'm talking about "peak oil" and global warming and their consequences if its all true and real. Incidentally I'm a believer.
There will not be more cheap energy in the form of oil (petrol, diesel, etc etc) in the coming years starting right now. All forms of energy generation that are dependant on fossil fuels will have to be curtailed. That's the bottom line and I believe it. It is going to end an era of lifestyle as we know it. I've tentatively taken a few steps to change my lifestyle to meet this new reality, as I see it, and my efforts haven't exactly been a roaring success.
My biggest success has been my solar geyser. It is so successful that I'm surprised that every household worldwide (where there's sufficient sunshine) doesn't have one and that in itself is ominous because it's been so much cheaper to heat water by other means (mostly by fossil fuels) that it's never become a reality except for a few. Now the crux of this post - what is society doing in this regard ?? Eskom has started subsidising solar geysers - I never took advantage because I did all the work myself and they require approved suppliers (there I could comply) and installers (there I WILL not). There is talk of changing building regulations to include solar heating - as far as I know this hasn't been accomplished anywhere yet. Society is moving SLOWLY - even slower than us as individuals.
My photovoltaic adventure I consider a failure at this time. My four 14 watt 12 Volt panels are a joke - they deliver at best 2 amps (below their specs) which works out to 24 watts. I could not effectively light my house even if I tried to do it at 12 volts with no inversion.
Now I'm busy with windpower. I'm much wiser and I expect a lot less BUT society hasn't even started to adapt for that. I have built my mast and it's 9.6 meters high. I have not ascertained whether it is legal to build such a thing in a built up area and I'm not sure if there is any definite guidelines as to heights etc etc. In fact, I haven't enquired because I'm scared to get an answer that sounds like "We'll get back to you." which would legally force me to stop till they got clarity which might take HOW LONG ????
I believe once the realities are forced upon us new regulations will adapt to those realities. In other words they will be reactive and so society as a whole (certainly legally) can only react reactively and not proactively. In fact, that is my sad assessment - Society, as a whole, can never be ready for any future !!! We as individuals of society will always have to change first before the collective can change and adapt the framework that we live in.