Thank You Fossil Fuels and Good Night

The 21st Century's Energy Transition

By Gregory Meehan

Everything is subject to a lifecycle. In the field of energy, the obvious question is, “Where are we in the lifecycle of fossil fuels?” Competitive technology for sourcing renewable energy, marketplace readiness, and pressures from climate change all signal that the fossil fuel era is coming to an end. This book explains the alternatives and suggests when and how change will occur. Employing a global perspective and detailed analysis, it provides recommendations on policies and strategies to make a smooth and wholesale transition to renewables before the continued use of fossil fuels becomes economically and socially disruptive.

Gregory Meehan’s overview eschews politics in favor of comprehensive coverage and logical explanation. He addresses economic, environmental, and security concerns and does not shy away from illuminating limitations and problems with various energy sources. Meehan’s dogged pursuit of the current state of knowledge and energy practices around the world shows that different answers are proving viable for different social and environmental contexts. This is the most wide-ranging and thorough introduction to the world’s energy issues and choices to date.

Lecture and exercise guides available upon request.

Click here to hear the Friends of the Marriott Library event with Gregory Meehan. https://youtu.be/YqmNhEN09_c

Gregory Meehan has long held an interest in energy and began his career studying chemical engineering, before life took him into the field of infectious disease diagnostics. After retiring in 2013, his interest in energy resurfaced.

Table of Contents:

Preface
Acknowledgments
Definition of Energy and Power

1. The Seven Signals Heralding an Energy Transition

Part I. The Sources of Energy We Draw Upon: Alternative Energies to the Front
2. Fossil Fuels: Stored Solar Energy
3. Nuclear Energy and the Mass Defect
4. The Power behind Renewables
5. The Potential and Toll of Alternative Energy Sources

Part II. Age-Old Technologies Find Application: Seeds of Innovation, Dormant for Centuries, Are Now Germinating
6. Technology Introduction
7. Solar
8. Wind
9. Nuclear
10. Advanced Energy Storage Solutions
11. Smart Grids
12. Transportation
13. Heat Generation
14. Technological Readiness

Part III. A Scan of Country Energy Plans: The Globe We Share
15. Fossil Fuel Wealth and Energy Consumption Framework
16. The United States
17. Canada
18. Brazil
19. Germany, Norway, Spain, and Italy
20. Russia
21. Saudi Arabia
22. Japan
23. China
24. India
25. South Korea
26. Country Roundup

Part IV. History, Inertia, Interventions, and Adaptation: Energy Policy Conundrums
27. Our Response to Limited Resources
28. Global Energy Price and Cost Points
29. Energy Policy Tool Kit
30. Four Repressive Forces on the Use of Fossil Fuels
31. The Only Path Forward Departs from the Use of Fossil Fuels

Appendix A. Primary Energy Consumption Factor and Fossil Fuel Wealth Factor
Appendix B. Energy Platforms of Presidential Candidates 1992–2016

Selected References
Index

Praise and Reviews:

“This work is highly significant. This book stands out for its logical development and treatment of sources of energy, new technologies, a scan of individual country energy plans, and policy for an energy transition.”
—David S. Chapman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geophysics, the University of Utah

“Too much writing in the energy and environmental fields is geared to advocacy of a single position and denigration of all contrary views. The balance of this book is a strong plus. I’m not aware of another book that takes such a broad look at the whole field of energy.”
—Donald N. Zillman, Godfrey Professor of Law, University of Maine School of Law