"Urban transport systems based on a combination of rail lines, bus lines, bicycle pathways, and pedestrian walkways offer the best of all possible worlds in providing mobility, low-cost transportation, and a healthy urban environment." –Lester R. Brown, Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization.
Released 2015
The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy
Lester R. Brown, with Janet Larsen, J. Matthew Roney, and Emily E. Adams
The energy transition is here. As fossil fuel resources shrink, as air pollution worsens, and as concerns about climate instability cast a shadow over the future of coal, oil, and natural gas, a new world energy economy is emerging. The old economy, fueled largely by coal and oil, is being replaced with one powered by solar and wind energy.
The Great Transition details the accelerating pace of this global energy revolution. As many countries become less enamored with coal and nuclear power, they are embracing an array of clean, renewable energies. Whereas solar energy projects were once small-scale, largely designed for residential use, energy investors are now building utility-scale solar projects. Strides are being made: some of the huge wind farm complexes under construction in China will each produce as much electricity as several nuclear power plants, and an electrified transport system supplemented by the use of bicycles could reshape the way we think about mobility.
PRAISE FOR THE GREAT TRANSITION
A “primer on energy.” – Daniel Coffey, San Diego Source
“A book that promises some good news regarding viable energy resources in the age of climate change.” – Booklist
A “lucid overview of world energy … surprisingly devoid of gloom.” – Nature