Our world faces an unprecedented energy crisis. Fuel shortages, skyrocketing energy prices, climate change, nuclear contamination, catastrophic oil spills and energy wars define the global scenario. The nonrenewable energy path of oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear is headed for a dead-end at an accelerated speed. In our race for survival we are awakened to the simple truth that the essential condition of sustainability lies in our ability to live within the limits and renewability of natural resources. It invokes within us an urgent need for transition – from an obsolete, destructive and unsustainable energy path to a sustainable path of innovation, renewable energy and peace. The good news is that the technology required to make this transition is already available.

From an author with over 30 years of experience campaigning for and setting up renewable energy projects around the world, this book is unique for its interdisciplinary approach – interweaving technology, economics, environmental science, philosophy, history, spirituality and politics, asserting that to understand the crisis and find a sustainable solution requires a holistic perspective. Readers will understand the vast renewable resources we have at our disposal in the form of sunlight, wind, heat, water movement and photosynthesis, and the technologies used to harness this power. There are also the emerging prospects of solar hydrogen fuel cells, biofuels and geothermal systems. The true economic advantages of a shift to a renewables-based economy (and how we can get there) are laid out clearly. There’s much to learn from examples around the world while we devise local and appropriate solutions.

Written for a crossover readership of students, educators, professionals, academics, activists and policymakers, both nationally and internationally, this is a comprehensive but readable and practical book that will inspire people to wake up to renewable solutions.