For a century, almost all light-duty vehicles (LDVs) have been powered by internal combustion engines operating on petroleum fuels. Energy security concerns about petroleum imports and the effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on global climate are driving interest in alternatives. Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels assesses the potential for reducing petroleum consumption and GHG emissions by 80 percent across the U.S. LDV fleet by 2050, relative to 2005. This report examines the current capability and estimated future performance and costs for each vehicle type and non-petroleum-based fuel technology as options that could significantly contribute to these goals. By analyzing scenarios that combine various fuel and vehicle pathways, the report also identifies barriers to implementation of these technologies and suggests policies to achieve the desired reductions. Several scenarios are promising, but strong, and effective policies such as research and development, subsidies, energy taxes, or regulations will be necessary to overcome barriers, such as cost and consumer choice. Table of Contents Front Matter Overview Summary 1 Introduction 2 Alternative Vehicle Technologies: Status, Potential, and Barriers 3 Alternative Fuels 4 Consumer Attitudes and Barriers 5 Modeling the Transition to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels 6 Policies for Reducing GHG Emissions from and Petroleum Use by Light-Duty Vehicles 7 Policy Options Appendixes Appendix A: Statement of Task Appendix B: Committee Biographies Appendix C: Meetings and Presentations Appendix D: Reports on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections to 2050 Appendix E: Glossary, Conversion Factors, and Acronyms and Abbreviations Appendix F: Vehicles Appendix G: Fuels Appendix H: Modeling

This EA presents information on the potential impacts associated with the distribution of a grant to Conergy for the construction of a solar facility in Philadelphia. This EA was prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); the National Environmental Policy Act, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508; and DOE NEPA Implementation Procedures 10 CFR 1021. This EA analyzes the following resource areas: Natural Resources - including water resources, geology, topography and soils, vegetation and wildlife, air quality, and noise; Historic Resources - including visual, and historical resources; Infrastructure - including roadways and traffic, potable water, storm water management, sanitary sewer, energy systems, solid waste, and hazardous material; Socioeconomic Resources - including land use, planning policies, demographics and environmental justice, and human health and safety. DOE's purpose and need is to ensure that SEP funds are used for activities that meet Congress's statutory aims to improve energy efficiency, reduce dependence on imported oil, decrease energy consumption, or promote renewable energy. However, it is not DOE's role to dictate to Pennsylvania how to allocate its funds among these objectives or to prescribe the projects it should pursue. PEDA's purpose and need is to take action to help fulfill its mission to finance clean, advanced energy projects in Pennsylvania, including solar energy projects. Applications are evaluated using criteria including but not limited to technical and financial feasibility of the project, number and quality of jobs created or preserved, and other economic benefits for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Projects must show financial commitment from at least one source other than PEDA and demonstrate a net environmental benefit to Pennsylvania. Conergy's purpose and need is to facilitate green job creation, economic development and growth and improve and drive the solar market place in Pennsylvania.

The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010, which was included in the final legislation (H.R. 3183, Public Law 111-85), directed the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop this report outlining domestic unconventional fossil energy resource opportunities and associated technology applications, in support of overall research, development, and deployment (RD&D) strategy for the further development of these resources. While the strategy report is prepared by DOE, the scope of the RD&D opportunities and associated technology application is nationwide. Based on the current state of ongoing private and public research efforts, the report summarizes: the potential magnitude of the resource base for each of the unconventional fossil energy sources; the technical, safety, and environmental challenges that have been identified in connection with each of the unconventional resources; and the current status of research activity, both public and private, focused on these resources. From this review of past research activity, the report identifies the following principal remaining technological and environmental challenges: production of residual oil that remains in large domestic oil reservoirs while simultaneously storing carbon dioxide (CO2) in those same reservoirs; potential development of the nation's unmineable coal resource via underground coal gasification; the producibility of natural gas from methane hydrate and the potential for simultaneously sequestering CO2; development of gas shale and tight gas sands; application of advance computational methods for evaluating cumulative environmental and socioeconomic impacts of simultaneous development of conventional and unconventional resources on a regional basis; collection and archiving of historical baseline data related to unconventional fossil fuel resources that may facilitate collaborative efforts among researchers; and quantifying the environmental and safety impacts of unconventional resource development and identifying ways to reduce and/or mitigate these impacts, thereby improving environmentally sustainable production of the resources.

The United States Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL) prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the potential environmental impacts of providing funding for the proposed Pope/Douglas Third Combustor Expansion Project in Alexandria, Minnesota. The Proposed Action is for DOE to provide $927,514 of cost-shared funding for this project, or 5% of the overall total project cost of $19,400,000. The proposed project is a Congressionally Directed Project selected by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) to advance research and the development and demonstration of energy efficiency or renewable energy technologies or programs. The proposed project would construct and operate a third Municipal Waste Combustor (MWC) to complement the two existing MWCs at the Pope/Douglas Solid Waste Management (PDSWM) waste-to-energy facility. The proposed project would be consistent with DOE's goal to increase the use and amount of renewable energy generation projects. The third MWC would have a nominal capacity of 120 tons of waste per day and would double the facility's overall capacity. Expansion of the facility would enable PDSWM to manage the solid waste of five counties and provide steam to three customers. Excess steam produced at the facility would be used to produce electricity for in-house use or would possibly be sold to the local energy grid. The proposed third MWC unit would be designed and operated similarly to the two existing MWC units, and would be constructed on an already paved surface, immediately south of the existing MWCs. The proposed project would require a construction permit and a Major Amendment to the facility's existing air emissions operating permit. However, no other permits are anticipated to be required. No significant adverse impacts are anticipated to result from implementation of this proposed project.

DOE prepared this EA to evaluate the potential environmental consequences of providing a financial assistance grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act; Public Law 111-5, 123 Stat. 115) to the Center for Commercialization of Electric Technology (CCET) to facilitate the development and demonstration of a multi-faceted, synergistic approach to managing fluctuations in wind power within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas transmission grid. This EA analyzes the potential environmental impacts of DOE's proposed action of providing the Recovery Act funding and of the No-Action Alternative. In this EA, DOE evaluated potential environmental consequences from a portion of the overall project that would involve land disturbance. Other portions are described as significant elements of the project, but because they involve only installation of equipment in existing facilities, they do not involve potential for significant environmental impact and are not evaluated further. With regard to the land disturbing actions considered in this EA, DOE evaluated impacts to air quality, noise, aesthetics and visual resources, surface water resources, and biological resources. After performing a screening analysis of other environmental resource areas, DOE concluded that impacts to some aspects of the environment would not be likely to occur or would be negligible. The proposed project would be designed in compliance with federal and state air quality regulations, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and would have a net beneficial impact on air quality in the region. New construction would involve a 500-kilowatt solar farm with an array of solar panels, a storage battery with capacity to hold at least 250 kilowatts, and other green technologies. Operation of the solar farm would not result in any increase in noise in the vicinity. The aesthetics of the Discovery at Spring Trails community would change with the addition of the solar photovoltaic panels, which would be housed on rows of metal framework designed to allow the panels to be sloped toward the south for optimal exposure to the sun. The top edge of the modules would be 10 to 11 feet above the ground and the bottom edge would be about 2 feet above the ground. Developing 4 acres for the solar farm on the Discovery at Spring Trails site would not significantly impact any population of plant or animal species because the project site is small and isolated from larger tracts of undisturbed land, and because plant and animal species found there are expected to be widespread in the region or, for sensitive species, the area is not unique habitat. The red-cockaded woodpecker, which is an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act, occurs in Montgomery County. However, forest habitat in the project vicinity is second growth due to past development of the area, and it is unlikely that this species would occur there.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to issue A123 Systems, Inc. (A123), loan and grant funding to retrofit several existing facilities and construct and equip a new facility to support lithium-ion phosphate battery manufacturing operations for hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. All facilities associated with the Proposed Action would be in the Detroit metropolitan area of southeastern Michigan. DOE prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), Council on Environmental Quality NEPA implementing regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations CFR] Parts 1500-1508), and DOE NEPA implementing procedures (10 CFR 1021). The EA examines the potential environmental effects associated with the Proposed Action and the No-Action Alternative. Using the targeted benchmark of 2012 for production, the incorporation of 1 year's output of A123 lithium-ion phosphate batteries into plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles would be expected to reduce national fuel consumption by more than 1 billion gallons of gasoline and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by approximately 12 million tons over a 10-year period. Therefore, the A123 project would help avoid and reduce emissions of air pollutants and human-caused greenhouse gases, as mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for passenger cars and trucks pursuant to federal emissions requirements under the Clean Air Act (65 Federal Register 6698, February 10, 2000). The analysis did not identify adverse impacts to land use (zoned use), visual resources, water resources, biological resources, cultural resources, noise, or public health and safety from implementing the Proposed Action. The analysis identified small adverse impacts to air quality and traffic. The analysis identified small short- and long-term beneficial impacts to socioeconomics in the region of influence from job creation associated with the proposed project. The No-Action Alternative would not impact the environmental resources evaluated in the EA. If DOE did not issue A123 loan and grant funding, A123 would not proceed with the project. Without the financial assistance a DOE loan and grant would provide, A123 would not pursue creation of lithium-ion phosphate battery manufacturing centers in the United States. This would not be consistent with DOE Incentive Program and Vehicle Technologies Program goals.

U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) prepared this draft Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate the potential environmental consequences of providing financial assistance in a cooperative agreement with Big Sky Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (BSCSP). If DOE decides to provide funding, in accordance with the terms of the cooperative agreement, BSCSP plans to test the injection of 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) over a four year project injection period into the Duperow formation in Kevin Dome. BSCSP would drill up to five production wells, one injection well, and four wells for monitoring. The project would also involve construction of a compressor station, five miles of roads, and six to ten miles of stainless steel pipeline, as well as various monitoring activities. Two activities, a three dimensional, nine-component seismic survey and some air and water baseline sampling, were allowed to proceed before this document was completed under an interim action request. However, the seismic survey work ceased after the seismic crews caused inadvertent adverse effects to cultural resources, and inclement weather caused postponement of the environmental monitoring. Under the terms of the financial assistance agreement, BSCSP has also initiated some desktop studies and administrative work that would have no effect on the environment (BSCSP, 2012a). DOE's proposed action evaluated in this draft EA is to provide approximately $63.8 million in financial assistance in a cost-sharing arrangement to BSCSP. The total cost of the proposed project would be approximately $81.4 million. This EA evaluates the environmental resource areas DOE commonly addresses in its EAs and identifies no significant adverse environmental impacts for the proposed project after mitigation.

The "Top 25 Oil and Gas KPIs of 2011-2012" report provides insights into the state of oil and gas performance measurement today by listing and analyzing the most visited KPIs for this industry on smartKPIs.com in 2011. In addition to KPI names, it contains a detailed description of each KPI, in the standard smartKPIs.com KPI documentation format, that includes fields such as: definition, purpose, calculation, limitation, overall notes and additional resources. This product is part of the "Top KPIs of 2011-2012" series of reports and a result of the research program conducted by the analysts of smartKPIs.com in the area of integrated performance management and measurement. SmartKPIs.com hosts the largest catalogue of thoroughly documented KPI examples, representing an excellent platform for research and dissemination of insights on KPIs and related topics. The hundreds of thousands of visits to smartKPIs.com and the thousands of KPIs visited, bookmarked and rated by members of this online community in 2011 provided a rich data set, which combined with further analysis from the editorial team, formed the basis of these research reports.

The DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the potential environmental impacts of providing funding to Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) for its proposed Norwich Cogeneration Initiative in Norwich, New London County, Connecticut. DOE's proposed action is to provide a financial assistance grant of about $718,000. The total project cost would be about $1.47 million, with NPU providing the balance of the funding. The proposed funding is based on a Congressional earmark. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy believes this project will advance research and development and demonstrate energy efficiency technology. NPU would construct and operate a high-efficiency natural-gas-fired reciprocating engine cogeneration facility on property leased from and adjoining Atlantic City Linen Supply New England (ACLS). ACLS operates an industrial laundry service at this location. The proposed project would install a natural-gas-fired reciprocating engine to generate 540 kilowatts of electricity and use the thermal energy, in the form of a closed-loop hot water heat exchanger, to produce hot water for ACLS's operations. The electricity generated by the unit would be transmitted to NPU's distribution system and offset electricity purchases, potentially reducing costs to all customers.

The basic question underlying our energy policy debates is this: Should we be free to generate more and more energy using fossil fuels? Or should we restrict and progressively outlaw fossil fuels as "dirty energy"? I believe that if we look at the big picture, the facts are clear. If we want a healthy, livable environment, then we must be free to use fossil fuels. Why? Because for the foreseeable future, fossil fuels provide the key to a great environment: abundant, affordable, reliable energy.

Launched to tie-in with the United Nations Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen (COP15), Dr Steffen Bohm and Siddhartha Dabhi's new book, Upsetting the Offset: The Political Economy of Carbon Markets, challenges the environmental claims made about carbon markets and carbon offsetting schemes. The book - which collates contributions from more than 30 leading experts - is another voice in the growing criticism about the business of carbon and how it has failed to deliver promised reductions in greenhouse gases. The book contributes to a growing field of critics of carbon markets by highlighting several up-to-date examples of where the system has failed and often led to negative social, economic and environmental impacts in deprived countries. http: //mayflybooks.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/9781906948078UpsettingtheOffset.pdf"

Poorly implemented energy subsidies are economically costly to taxpayers and damage the environment. This report aims at providing the emerging lessons form a representative sample of case studies in 20 developing countries that could help policy makers to address implementation challenges, including overcoming political economy and affordability constraints. The sample has selected on the basis of a number of criteria, including the country s level of development (and consumption), developing country region, energy security and the fuel it subsidies (petroleum fuel, electricity, natural gas). The case studies were supported by data collection related to direct budgetary subsidies, fuel and electricity tariffs, and household survey data. The analysis provides strong evidence of the success of reforms in reducing the associated fiscal burden. For the sample of countries, the average energy subsidy recorded in the budget was reduced from 1.8% in 2004 to 1.3%GDP in 2010. The reduction of subsidies is particularly remarkable for net energy importers. Pass-through of international fuel prices was also notable in the case of electricity generated by fossil fuel. For the sample of countries, the average end-user electricity tariff increased by 50%, from USD 6 cents in 2002 to USD 9 cents per kWh in 2010. In spite of the relatively price inelastic demand for gasoline and diesel, fossil fuel consumption in the road sector (per unit of GDP) declined in the 20 countries examined from 53 (44) in 2002 to about 23 kt oil equivalent per million of GDP in 2008 in the case of gasoline (Diesel). The most notable decline in consumption was recorded in the low and lower middle income countries. This reflects the much higher rate of growth in GDP in this group of countries and underlines the opportunities to influence future consumption behavior rather than modifying the existing consumption patterns, overcoming inertia and vested interests. Similar trends are recorded for power consumption. While there is no one-size-fits-all model for subsidy reform, implementation of compensatory social policies and an effective communication strategy, before the changes are introduced, reduces helped with the implementation of reforms."

This book presents a history of the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation (SFC) set in the context of the country's last large-scale energy crisis, which hit in the 1970s. 'Synthetic fuels' can be derived from solid coal and oil shale resources, which in the United States contain the energy equivalent many times over of all the oil in the Middle East. The author was Vice President of SFC and head of the U.S. Department of Treasury office overseeing the funded projects for ten years after Congress terminated the program in 1986. "This book recreates a vitally important story about our nation's energy planning that has not been touched on before in any serious fashion. It fills a gap in our understanding of how and why we havw wrestled ineffectively with questions of energy independence for too many decades." -Jack Prostko, Ph.D., The College of Professional Studies, The George Washington University. "This book is the only substantive history of a once-prominent government program that might as well have reached considerable size and scope. Beyond its role as historical resource, the work possesses a relevance to current events on the one hand and an insight into the workings of government on the other." -Douglas Seay, Senior staff on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Collapse of Common Sense: Preservation of Big Oil and the Big Three Automakers. In 2003 "FreedomCAR" (Freedom Cooperative Automotive Research) was created as a public-private partnership between the United States Department of Energy, BP America, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell Hydrogen, and The United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR - a partnership among Daimler/Chrysler, Ford Motor Company and General Motors). What are the oil and automotive corporations doing together? What happened to Toyota's RAV4-EV program that produced 100% electric sports utility vehicles (that's right, SUV's ) that are still running, today, at a cost of two cents per mile? Engineer Nevres Cefo shows how Americans are being systematically misinformed and trapped with only one choice for their future transportation needs: the internal combustion engine and liquid fuels. Can we change the course of where we are going and how we get there? Yes we can, and Cefo shows you how to do it.

This applied study addresses the large flood exposures of Central Europe and proposes efficient financial and risk transfer mechanisms to mitigate fiscal losses from such natural catastrophes. In 2010 the V-4 Visegrad countries (i.e., Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia) demonstrated their historical vulnerability to floods - Poland suffered $3.2 billion in flood related losses, comparable to it $3.5 billion of losses in 1997. Flood modeling analysis of the V-4 shows that a disaster event with a 5 percent probability in any given year can lead to economic losses in these countries of between 0.6 percent to 1.9 percent of GDP, as well as between 2.2 percent to 10.7 percent of government revenues. Larger events could quadruple such losses. The European Union Solidarity Fund is available as a mechanism for disasters but it comes into effect at only very high levels of losses, does not provide sufficient funding, and is not speedy. An insurance-like mechanism for National Governments can be tailored for country-portfolio needs for buildings, properties and critical infrastructure. By virtue of the broad territorial scope, fiscal support should use mechanisms that provide payments triggered by physical flood measurements in selected areas (rather than site-by-site losses as in the traditional insurance industry). A multi-country mechanism for insurance pooling of risks to protect infrastructure can also provide major cost efficiencies for all governments, using parametric-or index contracts. Savings from pooling can range from 25 to 33 percent of the financing costs that each country would otherwise have paid on its own. There are several instruments and options for both insurance, and debt financed mechanisms for funding catastrophes. All instruments can be analyzed based on equivalencies in terms of market spreads. A hybrid-like instrument, the catastrophe bond, is really a risk transfer instrument but structured as a debt security. The V-4 countries should therefore begin to set up the financial mechanisms to prevent major fiscal losses from future catastrophic floods and avoid fiscal disruptions when these occur. The instruments proposed can be market tested and supplemented with exacting studies on hydrology and topography used to fine tune the loss estimations per event and where property and infrastructure are exposed.|Kill the Messenger is perhaps the most thorough and authoritative work in defense of educational testing ever written. Phelps points out that much research conducted by education insiders on the topic is based on ideological preference or profound self-interest. It is not surprising that they arrive at emphatically anti-testing conclusions. Much, if not most, of this hostile research is passed on to the public by journalists as if it were neutral, objective, and independent. This volume explains and refutes many of the common criticisms of testing; describes testing opponents strategies, through case studies of Texas and the SAT; illustrates the profound media bias against testing; acknowledges testings limitations, and suggests how it can be improved; and finally, outlines the consequences of losing the war on standardized testing.

In 2008, Canadian pipeline company TransCanada filed an application with the U.S. Department of State to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport crude oil from the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Keystone XL would ultimately have the capacity to transport 830,000 barrels per day, delivering crude oil to the market hub at Cushing, OK, and further to points in Texas. TransCanada plans to build a pipeline spur so that oil from the Bakken formation in Montana and North Dakota can also be carried on Keystone XL. As a facility connecting the United States with a foreign country, the pipeline requires a Presidential Permit from the State Department. In evaluating such a permit application, the department must determine whether it is in the "national interest," considering the project's potential effects on the environment, economy, energy security, foreign policy, and other factors. Environmental impacts are considered pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, and documented by the State Department in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The final EIS was released for the Keystone XL pipeline permit application in August 2011, after which a 90-day public review period began to make the national interest determination. During that time the State Department determined that more information was needed to consider an alternative pipeline route avoiding the environmentally sensitive Sand Hills region of Nebraska, an extensive sand dune formation with highly porous soil and a shallow depth to groundwater recharging the Ogallala aquifer. The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-78) required the Secretary of State to approve or deny the project within 60 days. On January 18, 2012, the State Department, with the President's consent, denied the Keystone XL permit, citing insufficient time under this deadline to properly assess the reconfigured project. Subsequently, TransCanada announced that it would proceed with development of the pipeline segment connecting Cushing, OK, to the Gulf Coast as a stand-alone project not requiring a Presidential Permit-a decision supported by the Obama administration. In April 2012, TransCanada submitted to Nebraska proposed pipeline routes avoiding the Sand Hills. Subsequently, on May 4, 2012, TransCanada submitted a new application for a Presidential Permit that includes proposed new routes through Nebraska. With the new permit application, the NEPA compliance process begins anew, although it may draw from relevant existing analysis and documentation prepared for the August 2011 final EIS. In the wake of the State Department's denial of the Presidential Permit, Congress has debated legislative options addressing the Keystone XL pipeline. The Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II (H.R. 4348) and the North American Energy Access Act (H.R. 3548) would transfer the permitting authority for the Keystone XL pipeline project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, requiring FERC to issue a permit within 30 days of enactment. The Keystone For a Secure Tomorrow Act (H.R. 3811), the Grow America Act of 2012 (S. 2199), S. 2041 (a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline), the EXPAND Act (H.R. 4301), and the Energizing America through Employment Act (H.R. 4000) would immediately approve the original permit application filed by TransCanada.

This study analyzes the impacts of the financial crisis on power sectors in five countries in the region: Armenia, Kyrgyz Republic, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. Before the financial crisis, these countries faced expected power shortages as a result of large investment gaps. With the financial crisis, GDP dropped, leading to a drop in demand for electricity. The drop in demand created a window of opportunity for meeting investment needs, but the crisis has limited the sources of financing available to the sector. In the post-crisis period, the study concludes that policymakers need to prioritize public spending and create a legal and regulatory environment more conducive to private investment.

On April 20, 2010, the "Deepwater Horizon" oil rig exploded, killing eleven workers and creating the largest oil spill in the history of U.S. offshore drilling. But this wasn't the first time British Petroleum and its cost-cutting practices destroyed parts of the natural world. It also was not the first time that BP's negligence resulted in the loss of human life, ruined family businesses, or shattered dreams. From Alaska to Kansas to the Gulf, journalist Mike Magner has been tracking BP's reckless path for years, and in "Poisoned Legacy" he focuses, for the first time, on the human price of BP's rise to power.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

With Central Asia and the Caspian region having emerged as vital source of energy supply, there has been a new quest for alternative and shortest transportation routes to export oil/gas from this region to other countries, especially the South Asian countries. The Middle East being in a flux, particularly after the Iraqconflict, the ongoing Iran imbroglio and now the war in Libya, energy-importing countries have been diversifying their sources of supply. Whereas Europe is looking towards Russian supplies, Japan and Chinaare keen to tap the Russian Far East, Siberia, Kazakhstan and the Caspian region for their growing energy needs. China needs to boost its energy consumption by about 150 per cent to maintain its economic growth rate. For India, with its huge demand for energy, Central Asia in its extended neighbourhood presents a potential source of energy. Being the sixth largest energy consumer in the world, India's crude imports are expected to double in a decade. India is facing logistic hazards due to lack of common border with Central Asian countries. The North-South Transport Corridor which seeks to restore the historic trade of conventional commodities between South Asia and Central Asia by facilitating faster and cheaper movement of goods from South Asia to Europe, and establishing a strategic transport link between Asia and Europe via Central Asia, Iran and Russia, is also beset with certain problems on the ground.

Our future depends on what we do about energy. This stark fact, clear since the oil embargo of the 1970s, has been hammered home through crisis after crisis and yet our government has failed to come up with a coherent energy policy. John Deutch, with his extraordinary mix of technical, scholarly, corporate, and governmental expertise in the realm of energy, is uniquely qualified to explain what has stood in the way of progress on this most pressing issue. His book is at once an eye-opening history of the muddled practices that have passed for energy policy over the past thirty years, and a cogent account of what we can and should learn from so many breakdowns of strategy and execution.

Three goals drive any comprehensive energy policy: develop an effective approach to climate change; transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy technologies; and increase the efficiency of energy use to reduce dependence on imported oil. Why has every effort in this direction eventually fallen short? Deutch identifies the sources of this failure in our popular but unrealistic goals, our competing domestic and international agendas, and our poor analysis in planning, policy-making, and administering government programs. Most significantly, "The Crisis in Energy Policy" clarifies the need to link domestic and global considerations, as well as the critical importance of integrating technical, economic, and political factors. Written for experts and citizens alike, this book will strengthen the hand of anyone concerned about the future of energy policy.

This book examines the plans and goals to secure and transform America's energy future. Even as we develop next generation energy technologies, we will continue to rely on oil and gas. Last year, U.S. crude production reached its highest level since 2003. But we must ensure that production is safe, responsible and efficient. In the wake of Deepwater Horizon, the Administration has reformed safety and environmental standards for oil and gas exploration, making structural reforms within the Department of the Interior to improve oversight. At the same time, we are encouraging exploration, development and production; rewarding industry for effectively and responsibly utilising resources that belong to the American people. Additionally, we are encouraging the exploration of new frontiers of production and of new ways to safely make use of domestic assets like our vast reserves of natural gas.