The Impending World Energy Mess will help educate readers about the realities of energy in general and oil in particular. The reader will be able to cut through the smokescreens that various self interests have, and are, promulgating and understand that there are a number of credible studies that clearly demonstrate that world oil production is close to going into decline, which will create long-term world oil shortages. The huge economic impacts associated with impending oil shortages are brought into sober, balanced perspective and readers are given tools to minimize the impending negative impacts on their personal lives. Finally, The Impending World Energy Mess provides a balanced discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of a number of electric power production technologies, and in particular, the inherent weaknesses in solar and renewable technologies. The Impending World Energy Mess provides a practical basis for understanding and personal action. Included in this book is a special Foreword from Dr James Schlesinger - First US Secretary of Energy, Director of Central Intelligence, Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.

In a sequel to his book "The Impending World Energy Mess", Dr Robert Hirsch, one of the world's leading experts on energy production revisits the most pressing subject of our times, the tug of war between world oil production and climate change. In language easily understandable by the intelligent layman, Dr Hirsch dispels many of the myths from both sides of this contentious problem. If we are ever going to come to grips with the world's energy problems we need to stay in touch with the reality on the ground. In his latest book, ENERGY, Dr Robert Hirsch, who has been both an oil exploration research scientist and a nuclear engineer gives the hard facts that everyone needs to know. Is this book for you? Yes, if you're interested in important energy realities, many of which will impact you. Yes, if you're interested in learning about the essential products derived from oil and gas (think beyond gasoline to pharmaceuticals). Yes, if you want to understand the dangers associated with many on-going political decisions, independent of political party. Yes, if you want to understand the benefits and shortcomings of various energy technologies - Hint: None are perfect. Yes, if you're interested in solutions to current and future problems. No, if you believe the current approach to energy is satisfactory. No, if you believe that the U.S. must decarbonize, independent of China and India. No, if you want to ignore the experience of others in decarbonization. No, if you're not interested in lurking world oil supply issues.

The proposed book focuses on one of the most important issues affecting humankind in this century - Peak Oil or the declining availability of abundant, cheap energy—and its effects on our industrialized economy and wildlife conservation. Energy will be one of the defining issues of the 21st Century directly affecting wildlife conservation wherever energy extraction is a primary economic activity and indirectly through deepening economic recessions. Since cheap, abundant energy has been at the core of our industrial society, and has resulted in the technological advancements we enjoy today, the peak in world oil extraction would potentially have major impacts on civilization unless we prepare well in advance. One potential economic solution covered in the book would be a Steady State Economy with a stable population and per capita consumption, particularly in such industrialized countries as the United States. Furthermore, the lack of cheap, abundant energy directly and indirectly affects conservation efforts by professional societies and federal and state agencies, and NGOs concerned with wildlife issues. We need to recognize these potential problems and prepare, as much as possible, for the consequences stemming from them.

This book provides a historical background for the world's current energy problems, describing how the Industrial Revolution has led us to the impending end of the "Age of Fossil Fuels," and describes possible solutions for averting a global crisis. World Energy Crisis: A Reference Handbook provides a thorough investigation of a controversial topic: our current global energy situation, and what actions should be taken to prevent a crippling fuel-supply catastrophe in the future. The book presents a historical background for current energy problems that discusses the supply and consumption of various forms of energy at different periods of history, covering the evolution of energy use in civilization beginning with human muscle power, the successive eras of mechanized industry and transportation, and our current dependence on fossil fuels. The author explains geopolitical factors regarding energy; details controversial new ways of extending the fossil fuel supply, including the exploitation of tar sands and oil shale as well as new technologies like hydraulic fracturing; and examines the various environmental concerns that are integral to extracting energy from natural resources—and the results of consuming them.

The April 2011 edition of the World Economic Outlook assesses the global prospects for economic growth in the face of policy challenges that remain unaddressed and new challenges now coming to the fore.The recovery is gaining strength, but unemployment remains high in advanced economies, and new macroeconomic risks are building in emerging market economies. In advanced economies, the handoff from public to private demand is advancing, reducing concerns that diminishing fiscal policy support might cause a “double-dip” recession. Financial conditions continue to improve, although they remain unusually fragile. In many emerging market economies, demand is robust and overheating is a growing policy concern. Rising food and commodities prices present new risks to the global economy. Two chapters directly explore these new challenges. Chapter 3 reviews the potential impact of oil scarcity on global growth, and Chapter 4 explores the potential response of international capital flows to changes in the global macroeconomic environment.

Sustainable mobility is a highly complex problem as it is affected by the interactions between socio-economic, environmental, technological and political issues. Energy, Transport, & the Environment: Addressing the Sustainable Mobility Paradigm brings together leading figures from business, academia and governments to address the challenges and opportunities involved in working towards sustainable mobility. Key thinkers and decision makers approach topics and debates including: · energy security and resource scarcity · greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions · urban planning, transport systems and their management · governance and finance of transformation · the threats of terrorism and climate change to our transport systems. Introduced by a preface from U.S. Secretary Steven Chu and an outline by the editors, Dr Oliver Inderwildi and Sir David King, Energy, Transport, & the Environment is divided into six sections. These sections address and explore the challenges and opportunities for energy supply, road transport, urban mobility, aviation, sea and rail, as well as finance and economics in transport. Possible solutions, ranging from alternative fuels to advanced urban planning and policy levers, will be examined in order to deepen the understanding of currently proposed solutions within the political realities of the dominating economic areas. The result of this detailed investigation is an integrated view of sustainable transport for both people and freight, making Energy, Transport, & the Environment key reading for researchers, decision makers and policy experts across the public and private sectors.

This paper, using a six-region DSGE model of the world economy, assesses the GDP and current account implications of permanent oil supply shocks hitting the world economy at an unspecified future date. For modest-sized shocks and conventional production technologies the effects are modest. But for larger shocks, for elasticities of substitution that decline as oil usage is reduced to a minimum, and for production functions in which oil acts as a critical enabler of technologies, GDP growth could drop significantly. Also, oil prices could become so high that smooth adjustment, as assumed in the model, may become very difficult.