''Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak'' is a 2005 book by Kenneth S. Deffeyes. Deffeyes was a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

who warned of the coming oil crisis in a previous book called '' Hubbert's Peak''.

Overview

In this book, he explores the Earth's supply of potential replacement fuels for oil. ''Beyond Oil'' evaluates a range of primary energy sources ("fuels from the earth"), from

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

to heavy oil, oil shale, tar sands, natural gas, coal, uranium, and

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-to ...

(which, as he notes, is actually an energy carrier and not a source), and evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of each. Finally making scientific based policy decisions is a task for all citizens. The book begins with brief explanations of the supply problem of liquid hydrocarbons used mostly as transportation fuel. Then he explains a simpler math version of Hubbert's differential calculus to estimate what is available in the ground, see Hubbert linearization. The middle part covers the different energy resources which are available in the ground. Additionally the hydrogen path is discussed including conversion options and efficiencies from different energy forms (coal to electricity) into this gaseous energy carrier. Finally the last Chapter is an essay on the big picture from the perspective of a geologist.

External links

References

2006 non-fiction books 2006 in the environment Peak oil books Environmental non-fiction books {{environment-book-stub