Energy at the crossroads : global perspectives and uncertainties

This publication considers the crucial question -- how to reconcile the modern world's unceasing demand for energy with the absolute necessity to preserve the integrity of the biosphere. This book serves as a comprehensive, accessible guide to today's complex energy issues, with the fundamental message that our dependence on fossil fuels must be reduced not because of any imminent resource shortages but because the wide-spread burning of oil, coal, and natural gas damages the biosphere and presents increasing economic and security problems caused by the world's reliance on more expensive supplies of Middle Eastern crude oil.