Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 What is energy sustainability?
- 2 Is our current energy path sustainable?
- 3 The prospects for clean secondary energy
- 4 The usual suspects: efficiency, nuclear and renewables
- 5 The unusual suspect: how long can fossil fuels last – and does it matter?
- 6 Can we use fossil fuels cleanly – and what might it cost?
- 7 Sustainable energy choices: comparing the options
- 8 Sustainable energy policy: how do we get there?
- 9 Broadening the definition: is sustainable energy sustainable?
- Bibliography
- Appendix ‒ synopsis and chapter reading guide
- Index
Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 What is energy sustainability?
- 2 Is our current energy path sustainable?
- 3 The prospects for clean secondary energy
- 4 The usual suspects: efficiency, nuclear and renewables
- 5 The unusual suspect: how long can fossil fuels last – and does it matter?
- 6 Can we use fossil fuels cleanly – and what might it cost?
- 7 Sustainable energy choices: comparing the options
- 8 Sustainable energy policy: how do we get there?
- 9 Broadening the definition: is sustainable energy sustainable?
- Bibliography
- Appendix ‒ synopsis and chapter reading guide
- Index
Summary
The dates on my initial computer files remind me that I first developed the detailed argument and structure of this book in April 2001. I remember being concerned at the time that the book might take two years to write and publish – but I wanted it out more quickly than that. Such optimism.
Various commitments intervened. One was a book on costing greenhouse gas abatement policy that I wrote and published with two co-authors in the period 2001–02. There was also international and national advisory work related to climate change policy as well as my ongoing research, article writing and teaching responsibilities. If a manuscript is incomplete by the end of summer, there is little chance for significant progress during the following eight months of teaching. I finally had a virtually completed draft of the manuscript by mid-2004, but then I consumed almost a year eliciting feedback from various researchers, especially in areas that are peripheral to my expertise. This led to more research and significant rewriting in some sections. I am grateful to the many people who provided this service. Of course, I alone am responsible for remaining errors.
It is difficult to anticipate how this book will be received. I have always seen myself as strongly motivated by a concern for the environment, so I am predisposed to arguments that our economic system is unsustainable and that our policies for environmental protection need to be much stronger. I hope that message is clear in this book.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Sustainable Fossil FuelsThe Unusual Suspect in the Quest for Clean and Enduring Energy, pp. xiii - xivPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006