zlacker

It doesn't seem to me that most people want to be informed or knowledgeable. While the Internet has made information and knowledge much more accessible it has helped in another area much more: rampant, mindless consumerism.

While I don't care to debate Obama's policies in this forum I would like to point out that advances in battery technology will help with both the foreign energy issue and many of the technological issues you mention. There is also the issue of powering the countless servers that are used.

>>anthon+(OP)
There is no such thing as consumerism. We have come this far as a species because we want new things - new toys, new explosions, new entertainment. The more people want, the more money there is for invention and science.

I'm not saying that energy as a technological focus is wrong. But there are things that are closer to my heart - like robots. It's expensive and time consuming to develop a robot more advanced that what currently exists. The companies do it, but they think of their commercial gain first. Government should also have labs which does research this area, and there should be a reasonable amount of focus there.