Beyond the Age of Oil: The Myths, Realities, and Future of Fossil Fuels and Their Alternatives

by Leonardo Maugeri

Overview

This book offers a revealing picture of the myths and realities of the energy world by one of our most renowned energy experts and managers.

At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the human race finds itself caught in an "energy trap." Carbon-rich fossil fuels—coal, petroleum and natural gas—are firmly entrenched as the dominant sources of our energy and power. Their highly concentrated forms, versatility of use, ease of transport and storage, ready availability, and comparatively low costs combine to give fossil fuels an unassailable competitive advantage over all alternative sources of energy. This economic reality means that fossil fuels will inevitably continue to be the backbone of the global economy for the next quarter of a century, even while the adverse climate and environmental effects of our dependence on fossil fuels hurtle toward global crisis levels. To avert unacceptable environmental consequences, the world must deliberately and incrementally supplant fossil fuels with alternative energy sources, on a schedule that will have them overtake fossil fuels in the world's energy budget by 2035. To achieve this urgent goal without massive economic dislocation and reduction in standards of living, global investment in fossil fuel efficiency will be just as important as the development and massive deployment of alternative energy technologies and delivery systems.

In this eagerly awaited sequel to his prize-winning bestseller, The Age of Oil, Leonardo Maugeri, the strategy director of one of the world's biggest energy companies, puts forward a hard-headed, concrete plan in simple everyday language for how to shift the world economy's primary energy dependence from fossil fuels to renewable energies by 2035. Assuming no specialized knowledge, the author walks the reader chapter by chapter through each of the fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) and each of the alternative energy sources (nuclear, hydroelectric, biofuel, wind, solar, geothermal, and hydrogen). Drawing on the unparalleled data and analysis resources at his command, Maugeri assesses the problems and advantages of each energy source in turban in order to constrain the optimal mix of energy sources that the world should be aiming for in 2035. Critically, he lays out the arduous path for getting from here to there. Maugeri shows that the next 25 years will be a rocky marriage between the old and the new energy paradigms, during which we must dramatically improve the efficiency of our continuing use of fossil fuels, while driving ahead on all fronts to an energy future based on a suite of sustainable energy sources.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313381713
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/26/2010
Pages:	259
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Leonardo Maugeri, PhD, is senior executive vice president of strategies and development at Eni SpA, one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies and Italy's largest industrial company.

What People are Saying About This

Susan Hockfield

"Much of the debate about clean energy veers from the arcane to the politicized. With this new volume, Leonardo Maugeri offers a refreshingly clear exploration of the history and future of our energy options, from oil to the most tractable alternative energy sources. From his perspective as a corporate leader, he argues compellingly that to achieve a clean energy future, we must 'terminate the perception of energy as near-near costless input' and decouple investments in energy alternatives from fleeting spikes in the price of oil."
— Susan Hockfield, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Daniel Yergin

"Beyond the Age of Oil is an important and timely contribution to understand our energy future. It provides an even-handed, deeply-informed – and highly readable – exploration of the energy choices that the world faces. Writing both as highly-knowledgeable specialist and as a 'rational environmentalist', Leonardo Maugeri provides a comparative framework for understanding the options – thus illuminating the challenges facing not only the familiar sources but also renewables and alternatives. He makes sense of many of the most vexing issues. Maugeri demonstrates not only why the energy question is so important for the world but also how we can constructively seek to answer it."

—

Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power

John Hamre

"In a very engaging narrative, Maugeri brings to life normally dry and inaccessible material--energy economics, geology, and geopolitics--in a pragmatic book that is a pleasure to read."

—

John Hamre, Ph.D. President, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC; former US Deputy Secretary of Defense

Daniel Yergin

" Beyond the Age of Oil is an important and timely contribution to understand our energy future. It provides an even-handed, deeply-informed – and highly readable – exploration of the energy choices that the world faces. Writing both as highly-knowledgeable specialist and as a 'rational environmentalist', Leonardo Maugeri provides a comparative framework for understanding the options – thus illuminating the challenges facing not only the familiar sources but also renewables and alternatives. He makes sense of many of the most vexing issues. Maugeri demonstrates not only why the energy question is so important for the world but also how we can constructively seek to answer it."
— Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power

John Hamre

"In a very engaging narrative, Maugeri brings to life normally dry and inaccessible material--energy economics, geology, and geopolitics--in a pragmatic book that is a pleasure to read."

— John Hamre, Ph.D. President, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC; former US Deputy Secretary of Defense

Susan Hockfield

"Much of the debate about clean energy veers from the arcane to the politicized. With this new volume, Leonardo Maugeri offers a refreshingly clear exploration of the history and future of our energy options, from oil to the most tractable alternative energy sources. From his perspective as a corporate leader, he argues compellingly that to achieve a clean energy future, we must 'terminate the perception of energy as near-near costless input' and decouple investments in energy alternatives from fleeting spikes in the price of oil."

—

Susan Hockfield, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Editorial Reviews

This authoritative, insightful assessment of the basic factors in the world's energy future is so timely, comprehensive,
and well written that it belongs in most academic and public library collections. . . . Valuable for students of political science, economics, science, and technology. Summing Up: Highly recommended Academic and general libraries, all levels.” —Choice

From the Publisher