On a more positive note than my last entry, I have a few links to share from my illicit news-surfing at work.

Nanoscale 'Coaxial Cables' for Solar Energy Harvesting

In short, new technology for improving the efficiency of solar cells -- it couldn't have come at a more apropos time, if you ask me, except that it will undoubtedly take time to go from the R&D stage to a full-fledged, commercially feasible technology.

And, in news that makes me think my physics BA might have ecological implications after all:

Quantum secrets of photosynthesis revealed

In short, the reason plants are still so much better than us at utilizing solar energy is because they are secret masters of the realm of quantum mechanics.

And just for anyone curious about the post title, a non-energy-related link:

Quantum physics says goodbye to reality

In short, experimentation has confirmed that assuming reality is there when not being observed actually breaks the laws of physics.
Conclusions like this are seriously why I love physics so much, especially quantum. I once read a theory that we're not actually living in a 3-dimensional space, just a projection of a 2-dimensional space. Isn't that a fascinating thought?