Welcome to the 'Decade of Clean Technology'

1/6/2010 3:50 PM EST

And so it begins, not just a new year but a new decade, another ten year window for us to evaluate the progress of the human race and determine if we're on the right track or not. That is, unless of course, the movie 2012 was right and we're all doomed anyways. I don't put much stock into what Roland Emmerich thinks so I'm going to stand by my belief that we'll have the full decade to work with.

Looking back at 2009, the engineering world sat up and took notice of the concept of clean technology " technology that could be used to improve power use, reduce costs, reduce our carbon footprint and overall make the world a better place. The momentum picked up with the introduction of stimulus plans in the U.S. and many nations that provided increased funding to any projects that fit the clean technology criteria.

Will 2010 be the beginning of the golden age of clean technology? Where the smart grid goes from concept to reality? Where homes equipped with smart meters become increasingly energy efficient? Where electric cars finally reduce humanity's dependence on fuel?

It's going to be an interesting new decade

What do you think?