Fossil fuels became the major and most portable source of energy when the industrial revolution accelerated in 18th century. It led to tremendous technological progress that is still gaining in  every country, leading to ever higher energy needs. As a result, sources of fossil fuels are gradually depleting or requiring changing targets and locations, with extraction becoming more difficult or fraught with higher environmental costs. Even though improved techniques and more diverse sources are becoming available, the environmental impact is also increasing. For example, elevated mercury levels in fresh water and oceanic fish are linked primarily to coal burning power plants. The spread of fossil uranium and related radioactive isotopes by smoke from coal burning plants exceeded hundreds fold the cumulative radioactivity level of radioactive isotopes that were ever released in all nuclear accidents including the latest Fukushima disaster. Natural gas while somewhat environmentally friendlier when used, now requires fracking with  risks including land deterioration, pollution of drinking water, and even causing local seismic  tremors. And it all culminating in carbon dioxide build up in the atmosphere, resulting in global warming and ocean water acidification.

The most concerning fact is that our developing world requires more energy with every passing year. If this progression is not met in a proactive way, we may end up living in a difficult world where we cannot produce energy needed at our accustomed level.  Nuclear fission energy could be an alternative solution, but the danger associated with traditional nuclear power plant accidents lead to popular and political opposition resulting in cancelling  plans to build new power  plants and closing or phasing out existing plants. At the same time, renewable energy sources like wind, solar and geothermal can supplement but unlikely to completely substitute all old energy sources. 

Clean aneuronic fusion may be a radically new way of energy production. If one or more of the ongoing or future research programs will succeed, such energy production could become a decisive step towards achieving a low fossil use world.