The Energy Reader examines the quandary of meeting future energy needs, bringing a unique critical approach to this complex global challenge and its potentially dire implications. It evaluates the social and cultural components of the energy problem in addition to the technological issues, and differentiates long-term perspectives from short term fixes presenting readers with a truly holistic approach to energy.

In this insightful book a wide range of experts address the overall energy problem, the politics of energy, the protection of future generations, the avoidance of dangerous waste products, efficiency, resilience, and democratic relevance. These cross-disciplinary critical perspectives are presented by respected social scientists, physicists, economists, business experts, engineers, journalists, historians, and entrepreneurs. They illuminate the key historical trends in energy development and demonstrate new and sometimes controversial solutions-they tell us what can and will work with respect to current and future energy policies. The Energy Reader offers thought-provoking insights into the global energy strategies necessary for humanity's future.