Review: There's been a great deal written about global warming and much of the debate concerns energy usage and energy futures. What's been lacking are the texts that deal with energy supply and production. It's one thing trying to reduce energy usage as part of a greenhouse strategy, it's another knowing which strategy is the better one. Some years ago there was a great deal of material of this theme; this year seems to be shaping up as another good crop after too many quiet times.

The aim of this book is to present the reader with a basic overview of the range of energy systems we have available and to produce some critique of their workings and efficiency. We start with a brief introduction to the problem - the nature of global energy usage and the issues that arise. Chapter two continues the introductory theme by describing the changes in global temperatures, the impacts that arise and the ways in which we can respond from technology to policy. Having provided this overview, subsequent chapters each examine one part of the energy scene and in so doing, demonstrate the range of options we have. Chapter three opens this review by looking at geothermal energy and the range of hot rocks schemes as well as more recent ideas of co-production with oil and gas wells. Chapter four examines marine power - waves and tide. The UKs main option used to be 'Salter's Duck' but this is now just one of many options being tried in a range of locations around the world. The third key player in the UK situation is wind power for which, along with marine and geothermal, the UK has some good resources. We get an overview of the best sites as well as some of the technologies involved. The next move is nuclear fission - the 'old' alternative technology that has once more become of interest to us in the search for pollution-free energy. The systems of the past have been replaced but still public perception has to be overcome. Perhaps chapter seven shows us that there is more than just public opinion to be overcome when nuclear fusion joins the debate. It's a tiny chapter but it does show the way in which the goal of fusion energy moves closer. Chapter 8 returns to more conventional material with photovoltaics. There's a description of the basic technologies involved and some idea of where they can best be used. Chapter 9 continues the sun theme but with the indirect use of energy via photosynthesis. After an outline of this process, the chapter discusses biomass and the recent ideas in artificial photosynthesis. Hydrogen seems like a useful fuel with no harmful chemical residues but, as it unfolds in chapter 10, there are many problems we need to overcome before we can use it as a reliable fuel. A similar issue of reliability is seen in the next chapter where the topic is the fuel cell. Hailed as a potential answer it still needs to overcome a series of practical problems before it can be useful. From chapter 12 there is a sudden change of emphasis. Up to this point, the focus has been on increasing energy but the same effect can also be had by reducing demand. This part of the equation rarely has enough publicity and yet it's impact could be both considerable and long lasting. At least there's some discussion in this book with low energy design and sustainability principles given some consideration. Finally, chapter 13 gets to look at the policy dimension. A brief summary concludes the work.

Although there are gaps in the systems described (heat pumps, salt ponds etc) the coverage in such a small book is very impressive. Not only do we get the main systems but also a range of discussions about the useability and suitability of such systems. It provides the reader with a good insight into energy futures and with its lack of rhetoric, it provides a sound foundation for further study. Overall, well worth adding to the library.