Garry Golden (@garrygolden) is a professionally trained futurist who writes, speaks, and consults on complex issues shaping society and business in the 21st century. He has consulted for Fortune 500 companies, governmental agencies and the US Army on issues related to transportation and mobility, food safety and health, the future of portable power, financial services  and much more.Garry teaches an online course on The Future of Energy & Environment through the University of Houston Futures Studies program, and was Founding Editor of The Energy Roadmap.com Garry is co-author of Designing Your Future (2008) a Fast Futures / ASAE publication, and has co-written several business white papers including the Future of the Social Web and the Future of Green as a Business Strategy published by Future Think.In our wide-ranging conversation, we cover many things, including: The future of energy consumption and the grid Why Garry isn’t sold on electric vehicles and battery technology The 4 types of futures and what they mean for society How we save the planet while still using fuel Why consciousness could be a problem with AI The reason politicians pull progress backward How futurists help society evolve Why Garry is quite enthusiastic about automation and AI Where the US is falling behind the rest of the world