Introduction to Energy: Resources, Technology, and Society

Given the potential disruption of climate change, understanding energy issues and technologies is more important than ever if societies are to make informed choices on policy. Now in its third edition, Introduction to Energy explores the crucial issues connected to modern energy technology and its uses. Fully updated to respond to the substantial developments in the energy sector, the book expands on the relationships of energy use and climate change; of energy availability and the alleviation of world poverty; and of energy consumption and the sustainability of the lifestyles of people in the industrialized world. Directed at a broad readership, it assumes no prior technical expertise and avoids complex mathematical formulations, continuing to provide a standard for introductory energy courses. It is also a useful supplementary text for programs in public policy, business law and resource economics.

Edward S. Cassedy is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Polytechnic University, New York. As well as the previous editions of this book, he is also the author of Prospects for Sustainable Energy: A Critical Assessment (Cambridge, 2000).

Peter Z. Grossman is a Professor of Economics at Butler University, Indiana. He has published more than two hundred works, including an analytic history of American energy policy, US Energy Policy and the Pursuit of Failure (Cambridge, 2013), which was endorsed by Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling. He is also principal author of The End of a Natural Monopoly: Deregulation and Competition in the Electric Power Industry (2003). His scholarly articles have appeared in such journals as Energy Policy, the Cato Journal and the Journal of Public Policy.