Energy Security An Interdisciplinary Toolkit for Decision Makers

This book gives faculty and students, citizens, and leaders a tool set to systematically understand, evaluate, and address the current and emerging energy security challenges of the 21st century. The concept of energy security has been described in the literature as being too vague to be useful. A review of the relevant literature brings up many key attributes that would seem to make energy secure, qualities such as sufficient, affordable, stable, acceptable, reliable, resilient. Far from being useless, however, this complexity guides our approach: We present a framework of modeling tools based on established principles in the fields of physics, engineering, earth science and social science, through which one can accurately evaluate the energy technologies, markets, policies, and environmental impacts that lead to these key attributes. This model-based approach can provide sound guidance for policy decisions that impact energy security. While the book has a United States focus, the principles identified in the tools and the energy security model are applicable to any size community/state/nation making decisions about their energy portfolio. Not requuiring an extensive understanding of engineering and/or economic aspects of energy securing, the book is ideal for undergraduate students, professionals new to the field, and citizens at large.