Energy Sources and Policy

This guide provides environmentalists, researchers, and others both inside and outside the energy industry with a concise summary of the key energy policy issues, including:
* the safety and long-term environmental effects of different energy sources,
* costs,
* estimated reserves of non-renewable energy sources,
* methods of increasing efficient energy use,
* new and experimental sources, and
* energy conservation.

Separate chapters cover each of the main energy sources, including coal, petroleum, gas, nuclear, and renewables. The guide supplies a brief history of the different energy industries and examines the technical, economic, and green issues associated with each. It also considers the UK's specific problems in an era of privatization, coal mine closures, continuing debate about the safety of nuclear power and concern about pollution and global warming. The concluding section of the book draws together all the strands in a discussion of world energy use, set against the background of the 1992 Rio de Janeiro conference on environmental issues. The book also contains a list of key organizations in the energy world.