Next the book examines the chaotic shift from coal to petroleum as a primary energy source and the evolution of ''petroleitus.'' It traces that evolution through the two world wars and the major events that shaped our modern perspective. It also looks at the rise of utilities with the development of the technologies that led to the electric power grid and the construction of the natural gas pipeline distribution system.
As petroleum and natural gas supplies dwindle and gas prices spiral over four dollars a gallon, this book takes us to future energy scenarios, the technology involved in those scenarios, and the costs and environmental consequences of each. Finally, this book describes a possible sustainable energy future and offers a bottoms-up, six-step process for arriving at that future.
It also looks at the social changes needed, on personal, regional, state, national, and international levels, for that shift to a sustainable future.