June 16, 2011 – “In 2030, when you plug in your toaster, car or smart phone, where will the electricity come from? Or, will the electrons be there at all?”

The Waterloo Global Science Initiative (WGSI) wants to know. Founded in 2009, the non-profit initiative is a partnership between Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and the University of Waterloo, and aims to present international conferences that can advance dialogue and catalyze the long-range thinking necessary for scientific and technological solutions of the future.

In the midst of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster and as summer peak electricity demand looms in the northern hemisphere, WGSI hosted the inaugural Equinox Summit: Energy 2030 in Waterloo, Ont., from June 5-9, 2011. Here, attendants were able to participate in private working sessions and listen to a panel of scientific experts share and debate their visions and strategies for the generation, distribution and storage of electricity looking towards the year 2030.

In tandem to the working sessions, the event aims to renew the energy dialogue in homes across the globe through a series of plenary sessions, topical lectures, and live panel debates on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin – all streamed live online and on-demand, added the organizers.

“Our goal is to tackle the energy challenges of this century from a scientific perspective first – and then factor in the economic, social and environmental implications, leaving politics until last,” said Wilson da Silva, moderator for the summit.

“It’s a perfect venue for a future-looking energy summit,” he continued. “Science has been the greatest single factor contributing to the health, prosperity and the advancement of our civilization. It is transformative, and that’s the kind of power we need to tap in order to solve some of these really gargantuan challenges.”

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