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I'm not as pessimistic as you seem to be, but certainly the author's mindless rah-rah optimism undercuts his case.

For instance, we certainly ought to be developing more nuclear power, but the claim that this will give us energy "at negligible cost" is ludicrous -- it costs considerable time and energy (and hence money) to mine and refine fissionable material and dispose of radioactive waste (and, no, it's not purely a problem of politican NIMBY obstructionism).

Most people I would say tend to be pessimistic about the near term and optimistic about the far term.

But all the rules seem to be up in the air. But as quoted from the article below, we do have a lot going for us.

“But human “circumstances” are improving with breathtaking velocity and acceleration:

•Nuclear energy technology, by far the greatest technological advance in human history, has given us access to unlimited electrical energy at negligible cost. Energy is the currency of technological progress. Energy underlies every scientific and technical advance we have made and will make.

•Communications technology now makes possible instant conversation between everyone on Earth – at a cost that diminishes and a bandwidth that increases almost daily.

•Medical technology is closing in on an ability to assure that every human being has an opportunity to live his 100 years or so in excellent health, while biochemistry is studying ways by which to markedly increase that number of years.

•Computer technology is providing us with the ability to never forget information, to recall information in numerous useful and comprehensive ways and to use information with ever increasing effectiveness.

•Chemical technology is providing a seemingly endless parade of new substances to improve our lives.”

And, scientific knowledge is intrinsically – just by possessing the knowledge – enriching our lives. Surely, walking through a forest and sharing it with plants and animals is a blessing. It is an even greater blessing also to be able to “see” not just the living things, but also the living molecular architectures of which they are comprised.

Our lives are now enriched by viewing and experiencing tiny wonders too small for ordinary eyesight and astronomical wonders too large for that eyesight.