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    The Powers That Be: Global Energy for the Twenty-first Century and Beyond
    The Powers That Be: Global Energy for the Twenty-first Century and Beyond
    The Powers That Be: Global Energy for the Twenty-first Century and Beyond
    Ebook344 pages9 hours

    The Powers That Be: Global Energy for the Twenty-first Century and Beyond

    By Scott L. Montgomery

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    About this ebook

    Thirty years ago, our global energy landscape did not look remarkably different from what it does today. Three or four decades from now, it certainly will: dwindling oil reserves will clash with skyrocketing demand, as developing nations around the world lead their citizens into the modern energy economy, and all the while, the grave threat of catastrophic climate change looms ever larger. Energy worries are at an all-time high—just how will we power our future?

    With The Powers That Be, Scott L. Montgomery cuts through the hype, alarmism, and confusion to give us a straightforward, informed account of where we are now, and a map of where we’re going. Starting with the inescapable fact of our current dependence on fossil fuels—which supply 80% of all our energy needs today—Montgomery clearly and carefully lays out the many alternative energy options available, ranging from the familiar, like water and solar, to such nascent but promising sources as hydrogen and geothermal power. What is crucial, Montgomery explains, is understanding that our future will depend not on some single, wondrous breakthrough; instead, we should focus on developing a more diverse, adaptable energy future, one that draws on a variety of sources—and is thus less vulnerable to disruption or failure.

    An admirably evenhanded and always realistic guide, Montgomery enables readers to understand the implications of energy funding, research, and politics at a global scale. At the same time, he doesn’t neglect the ultimate connection between those decisions and the average citizen flipping a light switch or sliding behind the wheel of a car, making The Powers That Be indispensible for our ever-more energy conscious age.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
    Release dateJul 15, 2010
    ISBN9780226535012
    The Powers That Be: Global Energy for the Twenty-first Century and Beyond

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    • 4/5
      Scott Montgomery is a long time energy insider working for oil companies and in other facets of the industry. In this book he takes a rational non-partisan look at the problem of energy and the many questions and challenges for the future from national independence to global warming. He tends to get most excited about Fusion as a technical solution (he thinks 10 years for the first working plant), but he also predicts that energy will continue to fragment and come from a myriad of sources. Technology is only one part of the picture. Montgomery, better than most writers on energy, has a less mechanistic view of the world and is able to incorporate the messy, unpredictable variances of human actions. For example the recent rise of oil to $140/b had less to do with "Peak Oil" and more to do with peoples actions economically, socially and politically. So it goes with energy in general, from its creation to adoption to use, it's a very complex subject that is at the heart of the modern world. I came away from The Powers That Be, not excited about this or that technology or solution but, with a deeper understanding of how entrenched and complicated energy is, and that we will be using fossil fuels for a long time.

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