That seems optimistic. If that's the case, why is it that we still regularly have engineering debacles and failures? Whether it be software, or rockets, or dams, it's not a magic "we can solve anything with engineering and enough money." Engineering is amazing, but it's not magic and engineering mistakes and oversights are a regular occurrence in every field.
And this:
"To pay for this, the people who sell you the gasoline will have to be billed an extra 53 cents. And of course, it’ll appear at the pump. That would amount to around $2 trillion, which sounds like an awful lot of money. But the GNP of the world is about $100 trillion. So it will set the world economy back by 2 percent."
This is elitism on an absurd level. Does he have any idea, how much just "reducing the world economy by 2 percent" would actually do? He's casually talking about the livelihoods of millions as though they are expendable. And 53 cents? I mean, in Silicon Valley it sounds great. But considering the median US income is only $31,000 (not joking); that's a cruel tax. Also, that would be worldwide, and I think it goes without saying that 53 cents a gallon in China or India added to the pump is a non-starter.