Infobox Book See Wikipedia WikiProject Novels or Wikipedia WikiProject Books name The Coal Question image File The Coal Question 2nd Edition Cover.jpg 200px image caption Cover of the second edition author William Stanley Jevons translator illustrator cover artist country UK language English language English genre publisher Macmillan Publishers Macmillan & Co. London release date 1865 media type Print pages isbn 978067800 073 The Coal Question An Inquiry Concerning the Progress of the Nation, and the Probable Exhaustion of Our Coal Mines 1865 was a book by economist William Stanley Jevons that explored the implications of United Kingdom Britain s reliance on coal . Given that coal was a finite, non renewable energy resource, Jevons raised the question of sustainability . Are we wikt wise wise , he asked rhetorically, in allowing the commerce of this country to rise beyond the point at which we can long maintain it? His central thesis was that the UK s supremacy over global affairs was transitory, given the finite nature of its primary energy resource. In propounding this thesis, Jevons covered a range of issues central to sustainability, including limits to growth , overpopulation , overshoot, ref name overshoot cite book last Catton first William authorlink William R. Catton, Jr. title Overshoot The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change date 1982 06 01 publisher University of Illinois Press isbn 978 0252009884 ref energy return on energy input EROEI , taxation of energy resources, renewable energy alternatives, and resource peaking emdash a subject widely discussed today under the rubric of peak oil . The significance of coal Jevons introduces the first chapter of The Coal Question with a succinct description of coal s wonders and of society s insatiable appetite for it blockquote Coal in truth stands not beside but entirely above all other commodities . It is the material energy of the country the universal aid the factor in everything we do. With coal almost a ... more details
File Athabasca Oil Sands map.png thumb The Athabasca oil sands in Alberta, Canada, are a very large source of bitumen , which can be upgrader upgraded to synthetic crude oil. Oil sands, tar sands or, more technically, bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional oil unconventional petroleum deposit . The oil sands are loose sand or partially consolidated sandstone containing naturally occurring mixtures of sand , clay , and water, Saturation chemistry saturated with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen or colloquially tar due to its similar appearance, odour and colour . Natural bitumen deposits are reported in many countries, but in particular are found in extremely large quantities in Canada . ref name wec ref name AOS2008 Cite journal title Alberta s Oil Sands Opportunity, Balance publisher Government of Alberta month March year 2008 url http www.environment.alberta.ca documents Oil Sands Opportunity Balance.pdf format PDF isbn 978 0 7785 7348 7 accessdate 13 May 2008 ref Other large reserves are located in Kazakhstan and Russia . Total natural bitumen reserves are estimated at convert 249.67 Goilbbl globally, of which convert 176.8 Goilbbl , or 70.8 , are in Canada. ref name wec Oil sands reserves have only recently been considered to be part of the world s oil reserves , as higher oil prices and new technology enable them to be profitably extracted and upgraded to usable products. They are often referred to as unconventional oil or crude bitumen, in order to distinguish the bitumen extracted from oil sands from the free flowing hydrocarbon mixtures known as crude oil traditionally produced from oil wells . The crude bitumen contained in the Canadian oil sands is described by Canadian authorities as petroleum that exists in the semi solid or solid phase in natural deposits. Bitumen is a thick, sticky form of crude oil, so heavy and viscous thick that it will not flow unless heated or diluted with lighter hydrocarbo ... more details
growth of petroleum has been that oil s historically high ratio of EROEI Energy Returned on Energy ... article. He pointed out the difficulty of increasing production even with vastly increased EROEI ... more details
Image Ethanol butler co iowa.jpg thumb 250px An ethanol fuel plant under construction, Butler County, Iowa Food vs. fuel is the dilemma regarding the risk of diverting farmland or crops for biofuel s production in detriment of the food supply on a global scale. The food vs. fuel or food or fuel debate is international in scope, with valid arguments on all sides of the issue. There is disagreement about how significant the issue is, what is causing it, and what can or should be done about it. ref cite web url http cleantechlawandbusiness.com cleanbeta index.php 1608 biofuels are not to blame for high food prices study finds publisher CleanBeta title Biofuels are not to blame for high food prices, study finds author date 2008 10 24 language accessdate 2009 01 20 Dead link date October 2010 bot H3llBot ref ref cite news url http news.bbc.co.uk 1 hi business 7026105.stm publisher BBC News title Will biofuel leave the poor hungry? author Maggie Ayre date 2007 10 03 language accessdate 2008 04 28 ref ref cite web url http www.farmfutures.com ME2 dirmod.asp?sid CD26BEDECA4A4946A1283CC7786AEB5A&nm News&type news&mod News&mid 9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier 3&nid BA3B97B230724D7C904E54CB50E9E9B5 title The Biofuel Smear Campaign publisher Farm Futures author Mike Wilson date 2008 02 08 accessdate 2008 04 28 language ref ref cite news url http www.time.com time magazine article 0,9171,1725975,00.html title The Clean Energy Scam publisher Time Magazine author Michael Grundwald date 2008 03 27 accessdate 2008 04 28 language ref ref name babcock http ictsd.org downloads 2011 12 the impact of us biofuel policies on agricultural price levels and volatility.pdf The Impact of US Biofuel Policies on Agricultural Price Levels and Volatility , By Bruce A. Babcock, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University, for ICTSD , Issue Paper No. 35. June 2011. ref Biofuel production has increased in recent years. Some commodities like maize corn , sugar cane or vege ... more details
Image Six full flex fuel Brazilian automobiles 09 2008.jpg thumb right Six typical Brazil ian flexible fuel vehicle flex fuel models from several car makers, popularly called flex cars, that run on any blend of hydrous ethanol fuel ethanol w Common ethanol fuel mixtures E100 E100 and gasoline w common ethanol fuel mixtures E20, E25 E20 to E25 . Brazil is the world s second largest producer of ethanol fuel , and until 2010, the world s largest exporter. Together, Brazil and the United States lead the industrial production of ethanol fuel, accounting together for 87.8 of the world s production in 2010, ref name RFAProd2010 ref name WorldBank cite web url http siteresources.worldbank.org INTWDR2008 Resources 2795087 1192112387976 WDR08 05 Focus B.pdf title Biofuels The Promise and the Risks, in World Development Report 2008 publisher The World Bank year 2008 pages 70 71 accessdate 2008 05 04 format PDF ref and 87.1 in 2011. ref name RFAOutlook2012 In 2011 Brazil produced 21.1 billion liters 5.57 billion gallon U.S. liquid gallons , representing 24.9 of the world s total ethanol used as fuel. ref name RFAOutlook2012 Brazil is considered to have the world s first sustainable biofuel s economy and the biofuel industry leader, ref name Wilson cite web url http www.wilsoncenter.org topics pubs Brazil SR e3.pdf title Brazil Institute Special Report The Global Dynamics of Biofuels author Daniel Budny and Paulo Sotero, editor publisher Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center date 2007 04 accessdate 2008 05 03 format PDF ref ref name Apollo Cite book last Inslee, Jay Bracken Hendricks title Apollo s Fire year 2007 pages 153 155, 160 161 publisher Island Press, Washington, D.C. isbn 9781597261753 chapter 6. Homegrown Energy ref ref name NYT100406 cite news url http www.nytimes.com 2006 04 10 world americas 10brazil.html?pagewanted 1&sq Bush 20Brazil 20ethanol&st nyt&scp 5 title With Big Boost From Sugar Cane, Brazil Is Satisfying Its Fuel Needs author Larry Rother publishe ... more details
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