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One has only to read a newspaper or magazine to realize the importance of
energy at this early juncture of the 21st century. It will surely become more
critical as world demand for oil continues to increase and its supply peaks
and begins to fall.
Industrialized nations have become addicted to an ever-increasing amount
of energy, and developing nations are beginning to demand advantages in
their business and personal lives that require abundant energy. Competition
for scarce resources, primarily oil, is already shaping U.S. foreign policy, military
strategy, and international trade balances. Battles over energy sources
are not new. U.S. relations with Japan before the bombing of Pearl Harbor deteriorated
badly because of Japan’s aggression in oil-rich Indonesia. Germany
made a huge strategic error in World War II by attacking the Soviet Union to
take over its oil fi elds in Azerbaijan.
Conflicting with our need for energy is our desire to control pollution and
global warming. Th e complex issues surrounding energy are quite confusing
to the vast majority of citizens of the world and the United States. Americans
very much need to understand energy issues, including crises, shortfalls,
aff ordability, economics, dependence on foreign oil, political instability in
oil-producing nations, foreign relations, infrastructure, environmental considerations,
and alternative sources. Th ese are exactly the issues explained
by this excellent book. Young Americans will be making important national
and personal decisions regarding energy during their lives, and they will have
to be well informed to make the right decisions. For example, they should
form opinions on whether a nation’s economic security necessarily depends
on oil, what can be done about the environmental impact of energy use, and
whether alternatives to oil can be developed quickly enough to have the potential
to substitute for dwindling oil reserves. |
