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This completely revised and updated edition of the best-selling guide on conventional and alternative energy sources examines the role of the principal sources of energy, both in the aggregate and by specific types, in order to present a balanced view of energy. Roy L. Nersesian's reference is more timely than ever with new material on biofuels, an expanded section on sustainability and sustainable energy, and updated figures and tables."This is a masterful compendium of current knowledge about the sources, distribution and uses of energy in the world today. Without sacrificing accuracy or precision, Nersesian's distinctive voice clarifies complex technical issues, from geology to economics, enlivens history, from the formation of prehistoric peat bogs to the cloak and dagger of early oil exploration, and illuminates the policy dilemmas we face today, from waste management and climate change to economic development and renewable energy sources. There is no better single introduction to the full range of issues that will confront all of us---energy producers, consumers, and policymakers alike---in the coming decades."Lisa Anderson, James T. Shotwell Professor of International Relations, Dean, School of International Public Affairs, Columbia University"We are fortunate to have this book. It would be important anytime in recent history, but It could not be more important than today. Businessman and educator Roy Nersesian paints a clear picture of an energy hungry world. It is an important, immediate read, and a critical, unbaised reference."Paul G. Gaffney II, President, Monmouth University, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.) Commissioner, U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, 2000-2004"With broad strokes, Nersesian paints the rich, intriguing development of what is arguably the most important industry.... This approach allows him to reach a broad lay audience, and to introduce the myriad subtopics and subplots that define energy structures today....An engaging introduction to a very pertinent subject."---Choice

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List of Tables and Figures; Preface; 1 Are We on Easter Island?; Easter Island; The Mathematics of Extinction; Progress Is Our Most Important Product; The Unremitting Rise in Population; The Case of Double Exponential Growth; A Lesson in Fish; From Hunting to Farming; Energy Depletion. 2 Electricity and the Utility Industry; It Takes Energy to Make Energy; Energy for Electricity Generation; Enhancing Efficiency in Electricity Generation; Early History of Electricity; Generating Electricity; Generating Electricity Commercially; System Operation; Methods of Rate Regulation; Operating Models in an Era of Deregulation/Liberalization: Smart Meters/Smart Grids; Utility Pools; When Demand Exceeds Supply; The Real Lesson of California; Notes; 3 Biomass; Yesterday''s Fuel; Today''s Fuel: China; India; Indonesia; Brazil; Biomass for Electricity Generation; Biogas; Biofuels: Brazil-The Great Leap Forward for Biofuels; The Great Sugar-Corn Debate; U.S. Following Brazil''s Footsteps in a More Complex Way; Cellulosic Ethanol; Biodiesel; Biodiesel Feedstocks; Biofuel Risks; Notes; 4 Coal; The First Energy Crisis; The Origin and History of Coal: Coal and the Industrial Revolution; Coal and Railroads; Coal and Steel; Rise and Fall of King Coal; Types of Coal; Coal Mining; Coal in the Twenty-first Century; Role of Coal Among the Major Consumers; Case Against Coal; Clean-Coal Technologies; Eliminating Coal Not So Easy; Notes; 5 The Story of Big Oil; History of Lighting; History of Oil: Enter John D. Rockefeller; Enter Marcus Samuel; Spindletop; Spindletop and Shell; Emergence of Oil as a Strategically Vital Commodity; Era of the Seven Sisters; Opening Up the Middle East; Early Attempts at Oil Price Controls; Enter Saudi Arabia and Kuwait; Exit the Key Players; Shareholders and Stakeholders; Development of Saudi Arabia''s Oil Fields: Shoes Begin to Fall; Next Shoe to Fall; Birth of OPEC; 1973 Oil Crisis; First Time of High Oil Prices; End of High Oil Prices; Era of Moderate Oil Prices; Second Time of High Oil Prices; It''s Not Oil Prices Anymore, It''s Oil Security; Oil and Diplomacy; Oil and Environmentalists; Role of Oil Companies After the Oil Crisis: A Changing World; Are Oil Companies'' Margins All That Great?; Future Role of Oil Companies; Notes; 6 Oil; The Earth as an Oil Manufacturer; Formation of Oil; Oil Exploration: Drilling Rights; Drilling Equipment; Directional Drilling; Offshore Drilling Rigs; Evaluating a Well; Completing a Well; Moving the Oil to the Well; Maintaining Reservoir Pressure; Getting the Oil to a Refinery: Tankers and Barges; Oil Spills; Refining; Oil Reserves: Are We on the Downward Slippery Slope?; Was 2004 a Watershed Year?; Synthetic Crude; Challenge of Oil: The Automobile: Vehicles That Use Alternative Fuels; Enhancing Engine Efficiency; Internalizing an Externality: Is This Politically Acceptable?; Notes; 7 Natural Gas; Background; Early History of Coal Gas; History of Natural Gas: The Battle Over Lighting; Long-Distance Transmission;. Federal Regulation; The War Years; Opening Up the Northeast; Last Stop Before Total Regulation; Unraveling Natural Gas Regulation; The Road to Deregulation; From Source to Consumer; Natural Gas as a Fuel; The European Version of Deregulation; LPG: Prelude to LNG; Liquefied Natural Gas: Organizing and Financing the LNG Supply Chain; LNG Carriers; LNG Pricing; The Future of LNG; Gas to Liquids (GTL) Technology; Nonconventional Gas: Methane from Coal; Methane from Tight Shale; Methane from Tight Sands; Methane Hydrates; Notes; 8 Nuclear and Hydropower; Background; Physics of a Nuclear Reactor; Nuclear Incidents and Accidents: Three Mile Island Incident; Chernobyl; Weapons Proliferation; Disposal of Spent Fuel; Commercial Reactors: European Pressurized (Evolutionary Power) Reactor; Pebble Bed Reactor; Fusion Power; Future of Nuclear Power; Hydropower: The Saga of the Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams; Aswan High Dam; Notes; 9 Sustainable Energy; The Meaning of Sustainability; Wind Energy: Historical Development; Government Involvement in Developing Wind Turbines; From Tiny Acorns to Mighty Oaks; Objections to Wind Power; Evaluating a Potential Site; Financial Incentives; Small Can Be Beautiful; Solar Energy: Historical Development; Thermal Solar Energy; Photovoltaic Energy; Economics of Solar Power; Geothermal Energy; Ocean Energy; Notes; 10 Looking Toward the Future; The Hydrogen Economy: Hydrogen Stores Electricity; Tomorrow''s World of Hydrogen; Climate: Climatic Changes During Recorded History; Where Is Climate Headed?; Carbon Dioxide Conundrum; Projecting the Future; The Environment: The U.S. Clean Air Acts; The Montreal Protocol; The Kyoto Protocol; Copenhagen Climate Change Conference; Efficiency and Conservation: Energy Star Program; Light-Emitting Diodes and Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs; U.S. Green Building Council/LEED; CAF Standards; Notes; 11 An Energy Strategy; We Need to Identify the Relevant Goal; Motor Vehicle Fuels: Biofuels as a Substitute for Gasoline; Electricity as a Substitute for Gasoline; The Problem Is the Magnitude of the Problem; Are Energy Companies Endangered from Such a Transformation?; There Is Always an Alternative; Index; About the Author.