Feeding the Fire

Fromthefirstsparkcreatedbyhumanhandsthousandsofyearsago，mankindhasgrowndependentonnature’svaststoresofenergytobuild，explore，andexperiment.Ourexpandingknowledgeandtechnologieshavecomefromthefellingofforeststotheharnessingofwindandwater，fromtheburningofcoalandoiltotappingtheenergyoftheatom.Energydoesmorethanheatourhomesandfillourgastanks;itfuelsourimaginations.Ourfutureisinextricablylinkedtoenergy，andinthisgroundbreakingbook，MarkEberhartexaminesourhistoricquestforpowerandtacklesthebrutalrealizationthattherearelimitstotheenergyEarthcanprovide.InWesternsociety，wetreatenergyasagiven—thebackgroundnoiseofmodernlife.Butasworldwideenergydemandgrows，suppliesare，atbest，holdingsteady—andatworst，shrinking.Theimplicationsofourdependenceareenormous.Andwhilethereisevidencethatgreatculturesofthepast—theMaya，Anasazi，EasterIslanders—collapsedwhentheirenergyresourceswereexhausted，Eberhartarguesthatwehavetheresponsibilityandtheabilitytodeveloprenewableenergysourcesnow.Eberhartleadsusonatourthroughthehistoryofenergy，howitwasformedandhowitevolved，andrevealshowwebecameenergy-dependentcreatures.Withanunblinkingeye，hetakesacloselookattheconsequencesofourenergyappetite，and，mostimportant，imaginesasecureenergyfuturethatwecanallplayapartinachieving.Enlightening，bold，andpractical，FeedingtheFireweavestogetherhistory，science，andcurrentaffairstocreateanimportantandcompellingthesisabouthumanity’senergyneeds—anddrawsahardlineontheimperativeneedtoavertthecatastrophethatloomsifwecontinueonourpresentcourse.，TheauthorofWhyThingsBreaktakesaclose-uplookatthehistory，science，andcurrentissuessurroundingourstrategicenergyresources，examiningthescienceofenergyfromtheBigBangtoBigOil，howandwhywebecamesuchenergy-guzzlingcreatures，whatweneedtodotoinsureourfutureenergysupply，andmore.25，000firstprinting.，Looksatthehistory，science，andcurrentissuessurroundingenergyresources，examiningthescienceofenergyfromtheBigBangtooil，howandwhywebecamesuchenergy-guzzlingcreatures，andwhatweneedtodotoinsureourfutureenergysupply.