1. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Sure, it may doom us all via any number of sci-fi premises (nuclear annihilation, strategic species eradication, the rise of the robots) but artificial intelligence also might be our best bet computing ourselves out of the grave state we find ourselves in.
2. NUCLEAR FUSION
Our sun is powered by the fusion of hydrogen nuclei, forming helium. For decades, scientists have been working on harnessing the same process to create sustainable terrestrial power. The effort is extremely compelling from an ecological standpoint because it represents a zero-carbon emissions form of energy. Unlike nuclear fission, the process that powers current nuclear plants, fusion does not result in the production of long-lived radioactive nuclear waste.
