A must-read for any educated, global citizen. Amidst all the day-to-day talk of trade imbalances and GDP growth differentials, it's easy to forget that Economics is based on the allocation of scarce resources. Lees provides a clear rundown of our current energy sources and technologies, and describes how the "energy dividend" from petrofuels has led to enormous productivity gains which are unsustainable. Lots of good science, using EROIE (energy returned on invested energy) to judge... (show more)

A must-read for any educated, global citizen. Amidst all the day-to-day talk of trade imbalances and GDP growth differentials, it's easy to forget that Economics is based on the allocation of scarce resources. Lees provides a clear rundown of our current energy sources and technologies, and describes how the "energy dividend" from petrofuels has led to enormous productivity gains which are unsustainable. Lots of good science, using EROIE (energy returned on invested energy) to judge different production methods. Lots of sober analysis, based on geopolitical history, relative advantage and trade flows, and real fundamental finance. The conclusions are extremely pessimistic for the global order, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel with the promise of nuclear fusion. (show less)