In 1927 (the year my dad was born) the writer may have known of inventions which would have developed into just what was predicted. However such inventions although many and varied were all conveniently hidden away in favor of what keeps the money flowing toward the marketers of energy products. One such invention was made by a Paul Davies of New Zealand not long after WW2, it was ever so good at generating quantities of hot water with next to nothing for energy input, (using sonic resonance vibration to generate standing pressure waves to cause water molecules to heat themselves by friction) but he tried all his life to get the interest of industry in it, but to no avail. Industry doesn't want anything like that, a one time sale of a simple device that works forever after, replacing what they make lots of money on continually.
Oh well; so much for the love of money over honesty and good of humanity. Our Tennessee winter has been exceptionally mild, got in plenty of naked work time In Jan, but Feb so far has been just chilly, not real cold, but not warm enough to get out without the insulation fabrics. And lots of rain, we're some 9 inches above average already since Jan 1. Yesterday was close, got in a 5 mile hike back from church through the forest, was pretty cool and I didn't loose any clothing for the first mile, but started warming up when I started going uphill and went bottom free the rest of the way. It was 45 F when I got home an hour before dark. Might get in some tomorrow, I have the trackloader ready to go (I hope) need to use it out there to make fence row around my developing naturist farm, (too many wild critters eat what I try to grow, needa fence them out.) and it's supposed to be 60 tomorrow just before the next rain arrives Tuesday. Just warm enough to be comfortable without fabric if the wind don't blow too much. Today it was barely up to 50 and I spent it doing repairs and finishing up some details on the equipment. A hydraulic pump replacement on the little kubota and a ring welded on the old trailer coupler so it'll stay on a ball, and the radiator put back on the track hoe. The old trailer coupler was off a burned house trailer back in 1985, I used it for my flatbed trailer and it's been in service ever since. Getting where it jumps off the ball hitch when it's locked on, so I fixed that. It's been through hell and back and falling apart, think I'll rebuild it eventually and use it to carry the refrigerated truck box to haul produce off my naturist farm.