The Grand Energy Transition: The Rise of Energy Gases, Sustainable Life and Growth, and the Next Great Economic Expansion - Hardcover

Hefner, Robert A., III

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470527560 ISBN 13: 9780470527566

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2009

Synopsis

A groundbreaking book on solving our growing energy problems

In this visionary book, leading energy industry executive Robert Hefner puts forth a convincing case about how the world can move beyond its current dependence on oil and toward a new era of clean, renewable energy.

Written with the knowledge and authority of a major player in this industry, Hefner relates how misguided government policies and vested industry interests have contributed to our current energy problems and proposes a variety of measures that could encourage the use of natural gas, solar, wind, and hydrogen.

• Convincingly makes the case that natural gas is the essential bridge fuel to a new era of clean, renewable energy sources
• Details how natural gas can help break our oil and coal dependency
• Offers a sweeping, historic picture of the world energy situation
• Presents a compelling and provocative case that natural gas is key to our short-term energy problems

A well-written and engaging book that mixes personal anecdotes and experiences with insightful analysis, The Grand Energy Transition is a powerful argument about how we can best solve our toughest energy problems.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Praise for The Grand Energy Transition

"In The Grand Energy Transition, Robert Hefner makes a compelling and persuasive case that our country's economic, environmental, and national security demands the rapid transformation of the global economy from a high-carbon model to a low-carbon one. Drawing on a wealth of firsthand experience in the national energy policy debate and in the energy industry itself, Hefner traces the history of the world's energy use, points us toward where we need to go next, and demonstrates how natural gas and clean renewable sources of energy can play critical roles in getting us there."
—John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress

"If you care about the future, you must read this book."
—Ted Turner, founder, CNN, and Chairman, Turner Enterprises

"The Grand Energy Transition offers a compelling yet practical vision for solving the world's energy problems. Robert Hefner has broken the mold of conventional wisdom by arguing that the road to a low-carbon future is lined with natural gas—and by persuasively refuting the widely-held assumption that 'clean' coal will prove an economically viable alternative."
—Christopher Flavin, President, Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C.

" For years, Robert Hefner challenged the conventional wisdom in industry and government regarding natural gas reserves and production potential. His position was treated with skepticism, when it was not dismissed out of hand. Yet, time has proved him right, particularly as shale gas has contributed to a 9% jump in domestic production in just this last year. He was proved right on the Fuel Use Act. Some of his propositions regarding the (unavoidable) energy transition will be questioned, but they surely should no longer be dismissed out of hand."
—James R. Schlesinger, Economist and former U.S. Secretary of Energy, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, and former CIA Director

"This work, written by someone with a long and distinguished career in the energy business, is a very thoughtful and practical account of how the world can move to abundant energy which is clean and sustainable. It shows that low-carbon growth across the world can become a reality in the next few decades. This is a very important book."
—Nicholas Stern, Lord Stern of Brentwood, KT, FBA, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, London School of Economics

"As a successful businessman and international real estate developer, I know the economic and environmental importance of energy. Robert Hefner, with over fifty years of hands-on experience in the complex world of energy production, consumption, and politics has written a groundbreaking book that cuts through the confusion and shows us a clear, common sense path forward. His concept that The Grand Energy Transition is choosing the energy winners is critically important. America does not have time for energy losers."
—Donald J. Trump

From the Inside Flap

Today, humanity is in an energy and climate crisis of our own making. While we are all now aware of how American banks and financial institutions overleveraged our financial system, few people are aware that since the 1970s, we have also been leveraging our economic growth by consuming energy at less than the full-cycle cost. We have altered and placed in grave danger our economy, environment, and the security of our societies by the energy we use. The magnitude of the crisis—even the crisis itself—has been hidden from our view. It will be the awareness of this economic, environmental, and societal crisis that will become the driving force of civilization's next evolutionary step, the one taking us to sustainable life and growth on Earth.

This book describes our ongoing Grand Energy Transition—the GET: a one-time, evolutionary step for humankind. The GET is the transition between the unsustainable solid energy sources of our past and the virtually limitless, clean sustainable energy sources of our future.

The Grand Energy Transition tells how the GET is creating a clear and irrevocable energy path forward, and how the GET itself reveals the most likely energy winners and losers. Energy industry insider Robert Hefner makes the case that America is blessed with abundant, affordable supplies of natural gas that can be scaled up in the near term to become the bridge fuel to our energy sustainable future and that these supplies—supplemented by Alaskan natural gas and the world's liquefied natural gas—are adequate to fuel at least half of our vehicle fleet for decades to come, and to replace our oldest, inefficient coal-fired electric power generation, as well as all new electric power needs not met by wind, solar, and nuclear.

This timely book is not intended to answer the millions of good questions about energy use and our energy future that need answering, nor is it a text about the details of energy production and consumption. Rather, it introduces a new way to look at the evolution of energy within civilization and, with this understanding, forecast the best possible comprehensive solution to today's formidable energy problems and our path forward to a new era.

Edition details

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0470527560
• ISBN 13: 9780470527566
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 270