Energy: Past, Present, and Future

With growing populations across the world consuming Earth's limited oil and natural gas reserves, the environmental and economic toll of energy dependence becomes an increasingly global concern. The development of renewable forms of energy-solar, wind, water, and geothermal, to name a few-offers alternatives to fossil fuels. Consumers are embracing these new modes of energy delivery and use. This extensive volume examines the possibility of a cleaner and more energy efficient future by detailing the historic and emerging technologies behind some the most promising alternative resources.

Accounting for more than 90 percent of the world's energy supply, fossil fuels-coal, petroleum, and natural gas-are not an infinite resource. Formed by the lengthy decomposition of organic matter, fossil fuels are actually limited in availability. Still, nations across the globe are dependent upon the processing and utilization of these dwindling resources. Complete with maps and detailed diagrams, this volume examines the production and distribution of fossil fuels and their viability as a future energy source.