[msmitty]

Single universal encryption standard indeed. Plus you'd need users to understand how it works. Teach them how to keep their secret key safe; explain to them how they are screwed if they ever lose it etc. Then you need to have users to upload their public keys. I don't see my dad doing this. You can't have your email provider do it because when your private key is not in your hands alone, you'll never be certain that it's not abused. Your mail server software needs to be adapted. Lots of people use Google. They won't encrypt email by default because then their algorithms won't be able to scan your email's content for targeted ads. John Q. Email user can't even choose a decent internet password, let alone understand PKI.