Who Needs Nuclear Power challenges conventional thinking about the role of civil nuclear power in a rapidly changing energy context, where new energy carriers are penetrating markets around the world. Against the backdrop of a global energy transition and the defining issue of Climate Change, Chris Anastasi assesses new nuclear build in a fast-moving sector in which new technologies and practices are rapidly emerging. He considers various countries at different stages of nuclear industry development, and discusses their political, legal and technical institutions that provide the framework for both existing nuclear facilities and new build, as well as a country's technical capability. He also highlights the critical issue of nuclear safety culture, exploring how organisations go about instilling it and maintaining it in their operations and encouraging it in their supply chains; the critical role played by independent regulators and international institutions in ensuring the integrity of the industry is also highlighted. This book provides a balanced and holistic view of nuclear power for both an expert and non-expert audience, and a realistic assessment of the potential for this technology over the critical period to 2050 and beyond.

How do governments make key decisions on vital economic questions of national importance? Can they advance the national interest on issues that are highly politicized? How do they respond to competing pressures from the international and domestic environments? Forming Economic Policy explores these and other questions in Canada and Mexico, two very different countries which share a common vulnerability to the world economy. Using the case of energy, the book argues that policymakers will address the national interest, but only episodically with the onset of major national crises that invoke a higher and sustained sense of national priorities. These crises are frequently induced by the interaction of domestic and foreign political and economic forces. The conclusions are surprising. Despite profound political and economic differences between these two countries, policymakers have behaved in remarkably similar ways when arriving at key policy decisions. The explanation - which integrates two competing views of politics, the pluralist and the statist - has important implications with regard to the political processes in those states which, like Canada and Mexico, are exposed to the world economy and face problems of political legitimacy at home. Forming Economic Policy will appeal to students and teachers of political economy and comparative politics as well as to those interested in the politics of energy policy.

An exceptionally timely volume that weighs the costs and benefits of alternative energy sources and their implications for reducing energy consumption. As this book makes clear, civilization cannot long continue to ride on an oil slick. Worldwide, many people have come to see dependence on coal, and especially on oil, not only as unsustainable, but as profoundly destabilizing, both environmentally and politically. While ever-increasing demands continue to be placed on "mainstream" energy sources, recurring attempts have been made to generate power in "alternative" ways. After retracing some of these efforts, this succinct and historically informed volume explores the ongoing debate over alternative energy that gathered strength in the 20th century, showing how that debate mirrors larger attitudes toward energy and consumption. Like other volumes in this series, Alternative Energy is designed to provide material for student reports and debate arguments. It is an outstanding sourcebook for those interested in investigating the problems and prospects of alternative fuels.

This book examines recent energy use trends and their potential consequences for the global population. Global energy needs have increased dramatically over the past 100 years, and they will continue to increase, creating energy, environmental, and social crises. Can we solve this problem? The first step, according to the authors of Energy Use Worldwide: A Reference Handbook, is to understand fundamental energy issues. Combining their knowledge from the complementary fields of science and policy, the authors begin by explaining the basic facts of energy—what it is, where it comes from, why it is important. Then they show how energy use is linked to global economics, identify key players, and examine the social and environmental consequences of our energy decisions. For readers interested in—or worried about—our use of fossil fuels, this book provides a keen understanding of both the problem and the possible solutions.

The Middle Eastern and North African region (MENA) dominates world energy exports today and will likely do so for decades to come, even if world consumers make steady progress in conservation, renewable energy sources, and increases from gas, coal, and nuclear power. The MENA region, however, has been the scene of both internal crises and external conflicts. On several occasions, these crises have affected either the flow of MENA energy exports or the development of energy production and export capacity. The politics, economics, and social dynamics that shape threats to regional stability are complex. Cordesman details the factors behind these diverse forces and outlines current supply levels and future trends, taking each of these variables into consideration. The MENA area includes at least 22 states, with a combined population of nearly 300 million, each with different political, economic, demographic, and security conditions and needs. It is divided into at least four sub-regions including the Maghreb (Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia); the Levant and the Arab-Israeli confrontation states (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria); the Gulf (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman); and the Red Sea states (Yemen, the Sudan, and Somalia). This important guide outlines the forces affecting each sub-region, including supply, demand, and financing, and forecasts the likely impact that different scenarios would have on energy resources under varying world conditions.

In this highly anticipated volume, the world-renowned authors take a basic approach to present the principles of petroleum reservoir simulation in an easy-to-use and accessible format. Applicable to any oil and gas recovery method, this book uses a block-centered grid and a point-distributed grid. It treats various boundary conditions as fictitious wells, gives algebraic equations for their flowrates and presents an elaborate treatment of radial grid for single-well simulation to analyze well test results and to create well pseudo-functions necessary in conducting a practical reservoir simulation study. This book is accompanied by companion site that includes a single-phase simulator, a user s manual, data and output files for four solved problems. The easy-to-use simulator allows students, readers and educators to input new problems and get their solutions."

This extensive Handbook captures a range of expertise and perspectives on the changing geographies and landscapes of energy production, distribution, and use. Combining established and emerging scholarship from across disciplines, the expert contributions provide a broad overview of research frontiers for the changing geographies of energy worldwide. Interdisciplinary in nature and broad in scope, it serves to answer a range of questions and provide the reader with conceptual and methodological foundations. The conversation spans the gamut from smart grids to alternative fuels, discussed in a range of settings from India to Nigeria and from Brazil to North America, highlighting the ways in which new energy technologies and consumer dynamics are changing the way people, places, and the physical world are interconnected through energy systems. In addition to a compendium of regional case studies, the Handbook identifies emerging conceptual and methodological frameworks that help us better understand energy and energy transitions. Unique in scope and breadth, this Handbook's dual purpose as a capsule for existing and emerging geographical perspectives on energy will be of immense value to students and scholars in the social sciences, environmental sciences, and humanities. Policymakers and planners will also benefit from the novel perspectives and the illuminating exploration of geographic information systems, community energy planning, and energy landscapes. Contributors include: J.E. Baka, R.E. Baxter, K. Bickerstaff, M.J. Blair, S. Bouzarovski, G. Bridge, K. Burchell, L. Cabral, K.E. Calvert, V. Castan Broto, D. Chatti, P.M. Connor, E.B. Davis, N. Dusyk, K. Ellegard, C. Enaux, K.-H. Erb, M. Finley-Brook, D. Fitzpatrick, P. Gerber, J.K. Graybill, H. Haberl, J.H. Haggerty, H. Haniotou, C. Harrison, A. Hesse, P. Huang, P. Johnstone, F. Krausmann, P. Le Billon, H. Leck, A. Livino, K. Lo, E.P. Louie, W.E. Mabee, S.M. McCauley, B. Mitchell, D. Mulvaney, M. Niedertscheider, J. Palm, P. Parker, M.J. Pasqualetti, S. Petrova, P. Picchi, E.J. Popke, N. Simcock, H.C.M. Smith, B.D. Solomon, J.D. Stephen, J.C. Stephens, R. Stock, S. Stremke, M.J. Taylor, H. Thomson, M.T. Tolmasquim, D. van der Horst, M.J. Watts, E. Webb, M.D. Woodworth, K.S. Zimmerer

In this superb new volume, Edward Whitticks has charted the course for anyone working with contracts and dispute control in oil and gas, one of the most volatile industries in the world. His practical, straightforward approach will move you step by step through the process of contractual negotiations, bids and closeouts. For anyone working in the oil and gas industry today, finding your way through the maze of contract management seems more cutthroat and challenging than ever before. In "Construction Contracts," Edward Whitticks dispels the myth that there has to be a winner and a loser in contractual management and dispute control. As a desktop companion for project managers and engineers, contract administrators, cost scheduling engineers and others engaged in the field of refinery, pipeline and petrochemical construction, this book covers the entire contract process."

This title presents key information on the oil industry world-wide, and will be of interest to anyone involved in or studying the politics of oil production, processing and selling. Oil has long been at the forefront of political agendas, and with increased tensions in the Middle East, there has never been a greater need for up-to-date, reliable information on this key industry. Four sections present a through overview of current issues in the politics of oil in historical perspectives. The first section consists of essays written by a variety of academic and other experts on topics including oil and the global political economy, supermajor oil companies and geopolitics, oil and Iraq and environmental conflict in Nigeria. The second section is an A-Z glossary for reference of theories, issues, organizations, countries, conflicts and disputes, including entries on Azerbaijan, Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline, Carter Doctrine, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Greenpeace, Peak Oil etc. The third section includes detailed maps, both regional and worldwide, showing oil pipelines, oil reserves, production, consumption and trade flows, as well as statistics on petroleum reserves, production, consumption, trade movements and imports and exports. The final section is a select bibliography.

Listed alphabetically from A-Z, Crtis Notes on Water and Ion Exchange was compiled with over 50 years of water treatment field service experience. George Crits has produced a full body of work on water treatment and ion exchange system maintenance which includes: - His compilation of field notes, charts, and formulas, for the water treatment professional. - Real world examples, references and observations that are used in the field. - Contact listings of suppliers, including company specific products and prices. - Field exercises and experiments that are useful to the professional working in the water treatment field. - Observations and tips that George Crits has compiled over his long career in the field of water treatment. A number of real world examples including charts, illustrate how to set up systems for different types of water treatment applications.

This handbook is an edited version of the final report of the European Commission and IEA Bioenergy sponsored Pyrolysis Network that officially finished in 2004. It provides a companion volume to the first (ISBN 978-1-872691-07-7) and second (ISBN 978-1-872691-47-3) handbooks published in 1999 and 2002 respectively also available from CPL Press (www.cplpress.com). It is again intended that this will provide a useful guide both to newcomers to the subject area as well as those already involved in research, development and implementation. A significant feature of this third volume is the greater attention paid to wider issues concerning pyrolysis including environment, health and safety, norms and standards and marketability.

High oil prices are bound to undermine the U.S. economic recovery, unless global supplies increase significantly. Latin America holds the world's biggest oil reserves after the Middle East, but politics are hindering its potential, especially in Venezuela. Global U.S. security would benefit from a revamping of outdated and misguided idealism-driven policies toward Latin America, which, in fact, strengthen anti-American forces led by President Hugo Chavez.
This is a blind spot in American politics, one that threatens U.S. geopolitical and economic interests. At stake, ultimately, is the U.S.'s ability to navigate a shifting world and protect its way of life. Washington needs a new regional policy not only to neutralize Chavez, but also to secure long term access to Latin America's oil, improve global security, and counter the rising influence of regional players.
"America's Blind Spo"t offers a fascinating and thorough analysis of key geopolitical and economic threats to the U.S., highlighting the need for a new Latin American policy doctrine based on military and strategic priorities.

This book applies interactive perspectives, which have historically mainly been discussed in the context of Western European countries, to case studies on water governance in Asia. It examines how these perspectives can be used to reveal complex and dynamic interactions in water governance in Asia, and how interactions between policies and practices, as well as those between formal institutes and emerging informal institutes, come to pass. In two introductory chapters and seven case studies in Asia (two from China, and each one from Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and India), the book reveals the interactive forms currently emerging in Asia under hierarchical but often fragmented administrative systems. In addition, it explores emerging hybrid forms of interactive governance, which bring together governmental and non-governmental actors, and discusses how the expected role of government and roles of non-governmental actors could be changed to solve problems in a more cooperative manner. In this context, researchers from outside the locality could play an important role, helping facilitate such forms of interactive governance. The book offers extensive information on the essential features of interactive forms, and on the role of such transdisciplinary approaches, making it a valuable resource not only for scholars and university students, but also for policymakers and grass-roots practitioners directly involved in the interactive process of water governance.

Electricity is a basic requirement for a modern economy, and transmission grids at the center of transition to a low-carbon power system. They are the principal means to integrate large shares of wind and solar power and they are essential to ensuring a secure and reliable electricity supply. Grid companies around the world are struggling to find their niche in this transition. The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) is one of the principal players in this round of global competition. Central state-owned enterprise (SOEs), such as SGCC, continue to hold the 'commanding heights' of the Chinese economy. Their relationship with the Party-state is crucial to understanding the questions of whether SOEs take orders from, and do the bidding of, the Chinese Communist Party, and how they operate under the state ownership and with a wide range of operational autonomy and expectation that they are profit-maximazing corporations. This book examines the origin, development and expansion of SGCC, the world's largest utility company and the 7th largest corporation. By telling both the electricity story and the SOE story, it provides insights into the challenges facing the grids and their possible futures. It challenges the orthodox account of Chinese politics that portrays SOEs as little more than puppets, jumping to every demand of the Party-state. It shows that SGCC has been built into a modern corporation by entrepreneurial managers. By extending its operation to four continents, SGCC is now a global player, competing with its peers and also having its input in the future low-carbon electricity system. This book challenges the popular interpretation of Chinese government. Piling detail on detail, it provides a comprehensive picture of Chinese political economy that is both new and utterly convincing.

For decades, studies of oil-related conflicts have focused on the effects of natural resource mismanagement, resulting in great economic booms and busts or violence as rebels fight ruling governments over their regions' hydrocarbon resources. In "Oil Sparks in the Amazon," Patricia I. Vasquez writes that while oil busts and civil wars are common, the tension over oil in the Amazon has played out differently, in a way inextricable from the region itself.
Oil disputes in the Amazon primarily involve local indigenous populations. These groups' social and cultural identities differ from the rest of the population, and the diverse disputes over land, displacement, water contamination, jobs, and wealth distribution reflect those differences. Vasquez spent fifteen years traveling to the oilproducing regions of Latin America, conducting hundreds of interviews with the stakeholders in local conflicts. She analyzes fifty-five social and environmental clashes related to oil and gas extraction in the Andean countries (Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia). She also examines what triggers local hydrocarbons disputes and offers policy recommendations to resolve or prevent them.
Vasquez argues that each case should be analyzed with attention to its specific sociopolitical and economic context. She shows how the key to preventing disputes that lead to local conflicts is to address structural flaws (such as poor governance and inadequate legal systems) and nonstructural flaws (such as stakeholders' attitudes and behavior) at the outset. Doing this will require more than strong political commitments to ensure the equitable distribution of oil and gas revenues. It will require attention to the local values and culture as well.

Cross Country Pipeline Risk Assessments and Mitigation Strategies describes the process of pipeline risk management and hazard identification, using qualitative risk assessment, consequence modeling/evaluation, pipeline failure rates, and risk calculations, as well as risk mitigation and control strategies. The book evaluates potential causes of pipeline failure in the oil and gas industry based on a wide range of data that cover more than 40 years of operating history. Additionally, it details a consistent approach that allows for proper estimation of potential risk and offers methods for mitigating this potential risk. This approach is then combined with consequence modeling to fully calculate the different forms of risk presented by pipelines. Cross Country Pipeline Risk Assessments and Mitigation Strategies is an essential resource for professionals and experts involved in pipeline design as well as researchers and students studying risk assessment, particularly in relation to pipelines.