Competition for energy resources worldwide will almost certainly increase because of population growth and economic expansion, especially in countries such as China and India, with large populations. In addition, environmental concerns with the use of certain energy sources add a complicating factor to decisions about energy use. Therefore there is likely to be an increased commitment around the world to invest in energy systems.The World Scientific Handbook of Energy provides comprehensive, reliable and timely sets of data on energy resources and uses; it gathers in one publication a concise description of the current state-of-the-art for a wide variety of energy resources, including data on resource availability worldwide and at different cost levels. The end use of energy in transportation, residential and industrial areas is outlined, and energy storage, conservation and the impact on the environment included.Experts and key personnel straddling academia and related agencies and industries provide critical data for further exploration and research.Experts in these various areas who provide relevant data for further exploration and research include former Head of the Nuclear Reactors Directorate of the CEA; Director of the Potential Gas Agency, who leads a team of 100 geologists, geophysicists and petroleum engineers; former CEO of an Icelandic engineering company that specializes in the design, construction and operation of ¿Kalina¿ binary power plants for geothermal, biomass and industrial waste heat recovery applications; Chairman of the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Association; former Director of the Geo-Heat Center at the Oregon Institute of Technology, who received the Patricius Medal from the German Geothermal Association for ¿his pioneer work in the direct use of geothermal energy¿; Division Director of NETL's Strategic Center for Coal, who provides expert guidance and consultation to major DOE-funded clean coal technology and carbon sequestration demonstration projects; an internationally recognized expert in the physics and technology of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF); former Senior Scientist and Director of the Center for Distributed Generation and Thermal Distribution with Washington State University, who was responsible for state policy, technical assistance to resource developers and investigations related to geothermal energy development; a main author on the 2005 Billion Ton Report and 2011 Billion Ton Update; and many more extremely well published and well known individuals straddling academia and related agencies and industries.
