World at the Crossroads

Download World at the Crossroads PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 9781844079513
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (795 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis World at the Crossroads by : Philip B. Smith

Download or read book World at the Crossroads written by Philip B. Smith and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Crossroads of the Natural World

Download Crossroads of the Natural World PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : UNC Press Books
ISBN 13 : 146960700X
Total Pages : 327 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (696 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Crossroads of the Natural World by : Tom Earnhardt

Download or read book Crossroads of the Natural World written by Tom Earnhardt and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2013-04-22 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this richly illustrated love letter to the wild places and natural wonders of North Carolina, Tom Earnhardt, writer and host of UNC-TV's Exploring North Carolina and lifelong conservationist, seamlessly ties deep geological time and forgotten species from our distant past to the unparalleled biodiversity of today. With varied topography and a climate that is simultaneously subtropical, temperate, and subarctic, he shows that North Carolina is a meeting place for living things more commonly found far to the north and south. Highlighting the ways in which the state is a unique ecological crossroads, Earnhardt's research, insightful writing, and stunning photography will both teach and inspire. Crossroads of the Natural World invites readers to engage a variety of topics, including the impacts of invasive species, the importance of forested buffers along our rivers, the role of naturalists, and the challenges facing the state in a time of climate change and sea-level rise. By sharing his own journey of more than sixty years, Earnhardt entices North Carolinians of every age to explore the natural diversity of our state.

The World at a Crossroads

Download The World at a Crossroads PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781786232663
Total Pages : 346 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (326 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The World at a Crossroads by : Peter Fieldman

Download or read book The World at a Crossroads written by Peter Fieldman and published by . This book was released on 2018-07-05 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this well-researched and well-informed book, Peter Fieldman addresses some of the major issues facing the modern world, politically, morally and financially.

At the Crossroads

Download At the Crossroads PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : UNC Press Books
ISBN 13 : 0807899895
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (78 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis At the Crossroads by : Jane T. Merritt

Download or read book At the Crossroads written by Jane T. Merritt and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining interactions between native Americans and whites in eighteenth-century Pennsylvania, Jane Merritt traces the emergence of race as the defining difference between these neighbors on the frontier. Before 1755, Indian and white communities in Pennsylvania shared a certain amount of interdependence. They traded skills and resources and found a common enemy in the colonial authorities, including the powerful Six Nations, who attempted to control them and the land they inhabited. Using innovative research in German Moravian records, among other sources, Merritt explores the cultural practices, social needs, gender dynamics, economic exigencies, and political forces that brought native Americans and Euramericans together in the first half of the eighteenth century. But as Merritt demonstrates, the tolerance and even cooperation that once marked relations between Indians and whites collapsed during the Seven Years' War. By the 1760s, as the white population increased, a stronger, nationalist identity emerged among both white and Indian populations, each calling for new territorial and political boundaries to separate their communities. Differences between Indians and whites--whether political, economic, social, religious, or ethnic--became increasingly characterized in racial terms, and the resulting animosity left an enduring legacy in Pennsylvania's colonial history.

Capitalism at the Crossoads

Download Capitalism at the Crossoads PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Pearson Prentice Hall
ISBN 13 : 0132715902
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (327 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Capitalism at the Crossoads by : Stuart L. Hart

Download or read book Capitalism at the Crossoads written by Stuart L. Hart and published by Pearson Prentice Hall. This book was released on 2007-07-18 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Capitalism at the Crossroads is built on strong theoretical underpinnings and illustrated with many practical examples. The author offers a pioneering roadmap to responsible macroeconomics and corporate growth." -Clayton Christensen, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School and author of The Innovator's Dilemma "I hope this book will be able to influence the thought processes of corporations and motivate them to adapt to forthcoming business realities for the sake of their own long-term existence. Besides business leaders, this is a thought-provoking book for the readers who are looking for solutions to capitalism’s problems." -Muhammad Yunus, Founder and Managing Director, Grameen Bank, Bangladesh and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize recipient "Capitalism at the Crossroads is a practical manifesto for business in the twenty-first century. Professor Stuart L. Hart provides a succinct framework for managers to harmonize concerns for the planet with wealth creation and unambiguously demonstrates the connection between the two. This book represents a turning point in the debate about the emerging role and responsibility of business in society." -C.K. Prahalad, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, co-author of Competing for the Future and author of The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid "Stuart Hart was there at the beginning. Years ago when the term ‘sustainability’ had not yet reached the business schools, Stuart Hart stood as a beacon glowing in the umbrage. It is clear commerce is the engine of change, design the first signal of human intention, and global capitalism is at the crossroads. Stuart Hart is there again; this time lighting up the intersection." -William McDonough, University of Virginia, co-author of Cradle to Cradle "Professor Hart is on the leading edge of making sustainability an understandable and useful framework for building business value. This book brings together much of his insights developed over the past decade. Through case studies and practical advice, he argues powerfully that unlimited opportunities for profitable business growth will flow to those companies that bring innovative technology and solutions to bear on some of the world’s most intractable social and environmental problems." -Chad Holliday, Chairman and CEO, DuPont "Capitalism at the Crossroads clearly reveals the essence of what sustainability means to today’s business world. Hart’s analysis that businesses must increasingly adopt a business framework based on building sustainable value speaks to the entire sustainability movement’s relevance. Sustainability is more than today’s competitive edge; it is tomorrow’s model for success." -Don Pether, President and CEO, Dofasco Inc. "Stuart Hart has written a book full of big insights painted with bold strokes. He may make you mad. He will certainly make you think." -Jonathan Lash, President, The World Resources Institute "A must-read for every CEO—and every MBA." -John Elkington, Chairman, SustainAbility "This book provides us with a vast array of innovative and practical ideas to accelerate the transformation to global sustainability and the role businesses and corporations will have to play therein. Stuart Hart manages to contribute in an essential way to the growing intellectual capital that addresses this topic. But, beyond that, the book will also prove to be a pioneer in the literature on corporate strategy by adding this new dimension to the current thinking." -Jan Oosterveld, Professor, IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain Member, Group Management Committee (Ret.), Royal Philips Electronics "Capitalism at the Crossroads captures a disturbing and descriptive picture of the global condition. Dr. Hart constructs a compelling new corporate business model that simultaneously merges the metric of profitability along with societal value and environmental integrity. He challenges the corporate sector to take the lead and to invoke this change so that the benefits of capitalism can be shared with the entire human community worldwide." -Mac Bridger, CEO of Tandus Group "Stuart L. Hart makes a very important contribution to the understanding of how enterprise can help save the world’s environment. Crucial reading." -Hernando de Soto, President of The Institute for Liberty and Democracy and author of The Mystery of Capital "Stuart Hart’s insights into the business sense of sustainability come through compellingly in Capitalism at the Crossroads. Any businessperson interested in the long view will find resonance with his wise reasoning." -Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman, Interface, Inc. "This stimulating book documents the central role that business will play in humanity’s efforts to develop a sustainable global economy. Professor Hart presents an attractive vision of opportunity for those corporations that develop the new technologies, new business models, and new mental frames that are essential to a sustainable future." -Jeffrey Lehman, Former President of Cornell University "The people of the world are in desperate need of new ideas if global industrial development is ever to result in something other than the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, with nature (and potentially all of us) suffering the collateral damage. Few have contributed more to meeting this need over the past decade than Stuart Hart by helping to illuminate the potential role for business and new thinking in business strategy in the journey ahead. Capitalism at the Crossroads challenges, provokes, and no doubt will stimulate many debates—which is exactly what is needed." -Peter Senge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chairperson of the Society for Organizational Learning, and author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization New Foreword by Al Gore Brand-New Second Edition, Completely Revised with: Up-to-the-minute trends and lessons learned New and updated case studies The latest corporate responses to climate change, energy, and terrorism Global capitalism stands at a crossroads-facing terrorism, environmental destruction, and anti-globalization backlash. Today's global companies are at a crossroads, too-searching desperately for new sources of profitable growth. Stuart L. Hart's Capitalism at the Crossroads, Second Edition is about solving both of those problems at the same time. It's about igniting new growth by creating sustainable products that solve urgent societal problems. It's about using new technology to deliver profitable solutions that reduce poverty and protect the environment. It's about becoming truly indigenous to all your markets, and avoiding the pitfalls of first-generation "greening" and "sustainability" strategies. Hart has thoroughly revised this seminal book with new case studies, trends, and lessons learned-including the latest experiences of leaders like GE and Wal-Mart. You'll find new insights from the pioneering BoP Protocol initiative, in which multinationals are incubating new businesses in income-poor communities. You'll also discover creative new ways in which corporations are responding to global warming and terrorism. More than ever, this book points the way toward a capitalism that's more inclusive, more welcome, and far more successful-for both companies and communities, worldwide. Paths to profitable sustainability: Lessons from GE and Wal-Mart Shattering the "trade-off" myth New commercial strategies for serving the "base of the pyramid" What enterprises have learned about doing business in income-poor regions Becoming indigenous-for real, for good Codiscovering new opportunities, cocreating new businesses with the poor Learning from leaders: 20+ new and updated case studies Best practices from DuPont, HP, Unilever, SC Johnson, Tata, P&G, Cemex, and more About the Author xii Acknowledgments xiii Foreword: Al Gore, Former Vice President of the U.S. xxiv Foreword: Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO, S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. xxvii Prologue: Capitalism at the Crossroads xxxi PART ONE: MAPPING THE TERRAIN Chapter 1: From Obligation to Opportunity 3 Chapter 2: Worlds in Collision 31 Chapter 3: The Sustainable Value Portfolio 59 PART TWO: BEYOND GREENING Chapter 4: Creative Destruction and Sustainability 87 Chapter 5: The Great Leap Downward 111 Chapter 6: Reaching the Base of the Pyramid 139 PART THREE: BECOMING INDIGENOUS Chapter 7: Broadening the Corporate Bandwidth 169 Chapter 8: Developing Native Capability 193 Chapter 9: Toward a Sustainable Global Enterprise 223 Epilogue 249 Index 254

Crossroads of Twilight

Download Crossroads of Twilight PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Tor Fantasy
ISBN 13 : 1429960744
Total Pages : 623 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Crossroads of Twilight by : Robert Jordan

Download or read book Crossroads of Twilight written by Robert Jordan and published by Tor Fantasy. This book was released on 2010-07-20 with total page 623 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wheel of Time is now an original series on Prime Video, starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine! In Crossroads of Twilight, the tenth novel in Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®, Rand al'Thor and his allies endure trials by fire amidst battles, sacrifices, and treachery. Fleeing from Ebou Dar with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, whom he is fated to marry, Mat Cauthon learns that he can neither keep her nor let her go, not in safety for either of them, for both the Shadow and the might of the Seanchan Empire are in deadly pursuit. Perrin Aybara will stop at nothing to free his wife Faile from the Shaido Aiel. Consumed by rage, he offers no mercy to those he takes prisoner. And when he discovers that Masema Dagar, the Prophet of the Dragon, has been conspiring with the Seanchan, Perrin considers making an unholy alliance. Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn himself, has cleansed the Dark One's taint from the male half of the True Source, and everything has changed. Yet nothing has, for only men who can channel believe that saidin is clean again, and a man who can channel is still hated and feared—even one prophesied to save the world. Now, Rand must gamble again, with himself at stake, and he cannot be sure which of his allies are really enemies. Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time® by Robert Jordan has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. The last six books in series were all instant #1 New York Times bestsellers, and The Eye of the World was named one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read. The Wheel of Time® New Spring: The Novel #1 The Eye of the World #2 The Great Hunt #3 The Dragon Reborn #4 The Shadow Rising #5 The Fires of Heaven #6 Lord of Chaos #7 A Crown of Swords #8 The Path of Daggers #9 Winter's Heart #10 Crossroads of Twilight #11 Knife of Dreams By Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson #12 The Gathering Storm #13 Towers of Midnight #14 A Memory of Light By Robert Jordan and Teresa Patterson The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time By Robert Jordan, Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons The Wheel of Time Companion By Robert Jordan and Amy Romanczuk Patterns of the Wheel: Coloring Art Based on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Preaching at the Crossroads

Download Preaching at the Crossroads PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Fortress Press
ISBN 13 : 0800699734
Total Pages : 126 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (6 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Preaching at the Crossroads by : David Lose

Download or read book Preaching at the Crossroads written by David Lose and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world is changing, and preaching needs to do the same. With that change, the notion of truth need not be surrendered in a postmodern age, but it must be approached differently. David Lose argues that preaching is a confession made openly for the hearers to embrace and engage in the midst of the real lived world they experience.

Caribbean

Download Caribbean PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780300178548
Total Pages : 491 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (785 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Caribbean by : Deborah Cullen

Download or read book Caribbean written by Deborah Cullen and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 491 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unprecedented in scope, this book examines the modern history of the Caribbean through its artistic culture. Acknowledging the individuality of various islands, the richness of the coastal regions, and the reach of the Diaspora, Caribbean looks at the vital visual and cultural links that exist among these diverse constituencies. The authors examine how the Caribbean has been imagined and pictures, and the role of art in the development of national identity.

At a Crossroads

Download At a Crossroads PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton Architectural Press
ISBN 13 : 9781568987149
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (871 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis At a Crossroads by : Kate T. Williamson

Download or read book At a Crossroads written by Kate T. Williamson and published by Princeton Architectural Press. This book was released on 2008-03-20 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In graphic novel style, Williamson describes the ups and downs of her life as a single twenty-something living at home with her parents while she worked on her first book.

The Crossroads of Should and Must

Download The Crossroads of Should and Must PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Workman Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 0761184201
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (611 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Crossroads of Should and Must by : Elle Luna

Download or read book The Crossroads of Should and Must written by Elle Luna and published by Workman Publishing Company. This book was released on 2015-04-07 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are two paths in life: Should & Must. We arrive at this crossroads over and over again, and every day. And we get to choose. Starting out or starting over, making a career change or making a life change, the most life-affirming thing you can do is to honor the voice inside that says your have something special to give, and then heed the call and act. Many have traveled this road before. Here’s how you can, too. #choosemust An inspirational gift book for every recent graduate, every artist, every seeker, and every career change.

One Times Square

Download One Times Square PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : David R. Godine Publisher
ISBN 13 : 156792364X
Total Pages : 66 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (679 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis One Times Square by :

Download or read book One Times Square written by and published by David R. Godine Publisher. This book was released on 2011 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the story of this intersection, from when Broadway was a mere dirt path known as Bloomingdale Road, through the district's decades of postwar decay, to its renewal as a tourist-friendly mecca.

International Education at the Crossroads

Download International Education at the Crossroads PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253053935
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (53 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis International Education at the Crossroads by : Deborah N. Cohn

Download or read book International Education at the Crossroads written by Deborah N. Cohn and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: International Education at the Crossroads captures the essence and complexity of international education in an interconnected and globalized world. Written by leading scholars, international educators, and policy makers, the 26 essays in this volume take stock of the unpredictable landscape of international education and demonstrate why international higher education is more essential now than ever before. Responding to a timely global moment where education and international engagement are being redefined and practiced in new ways, the authors call for a reconsideration of paradigms and critical reflection of the entire field of international education. At the same time, the authors show how international education is an imperative for the future of learning and the world, and also, crucially, that this work cannot be done in a silo. International Education at the Crossroads offers readers a chance to join in the conversation that is as global as it is meaningful in communities, the lives of learners, and institutions around the world. International education requires that everyone the world over work together to produce new knowledge, to navigate the "crossroads," and to collectively chart the directions in which the field will move into the future.

The Crossroads of Civilization

Download The Crossroads of Civilization PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1639361960
Total Pages : 358 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (393 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Crossroads of Civilization by : Angus Robertson

Download or read book The Crossroads of Civilization written by Angus Robertson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-08-02 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "From the Congress of Vienna to the Austria World Summit, the city of Vienna has hosted key meetings on peace to climate action. This is a first-class book about Vienna as the crossroads of civilization and as the international capital." —Arnold Schwarzenegger A rich and illuminating history of the world capital that has transformed art, culture, and politics. Vienna is unique amongst world capitals in its consistent international importance over the centuries. From the ascent of the Habsburgs as Europe's leading dynasty to the Congress of Vienna, which reordered Europe in the wake of Napoleon's downfall, to bridge-building summits during the Cold War, Vienna has been the scene of key moments in world history. Scores of pivotal figures were influenced by their time in Vienna, including: Empress Maria Theresa, Count Metternich, Bertha von Suttner, Theodore Herzl, Gustav Mahler, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, John F. Kennedy, and many others. In a city of great composers, artists, and thinkers, it is here that both the most positive and destructive ideas of recent history have developed. From its time as the capital of an imperial superpower, through war, dissolution, dictatorship to democracy Vienna has reinvented itself and its relevance to the rest of the world.

At the Crossroads of the Earth and the Sky

Download At the Crossroads of the Earth and the Sky PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 0292790511
Total Pages : 247 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (927 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis At the Crossroads of the Earth and the Sky by : Gary Urton

Download or read book At the Crossroads of the Earth and the Sky written by Gary Urton and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2013-12-18 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Above Misminay, the sky also is so divided by the alternation of the two axes of the Milky Way passing through the zenith. This mirror-image quadri-partition of terrestrial and celestial spheres is such that a point within one of the quarters of the earth is related to a point within the corresponding celestial quarter. The transition between the earth and the sky occurs at the horizon, where sacred mountains are related to topographic and celestial features. Based on fieldwork in Misminay, Peru, Gary Urton details a cosmology in which the Milky Way is central. This is the first study that provides a description and analysis of the astronomical and cosmological system in a contemporary community in the Americas. Separate chapters take up the sun, the moon, meteorological phenomena, the stars, and the planets. Star-to-star constellations, the "animal" dark-cloud constellations that cut through the Milky Way, and certain twilight- and midnight-zenith stars are analyzed in terms of their spatial and temporal integration within an indigenous cosmological framework. Urton breaks new ground by demonstrating the indigenous merging of such forms of "precise knowledge" as astronomy, meteorology, agriculture, and the correlation of astronomical and biological cycles within a single calendar system. More than sixty diagrams clarify this Quechua system of astronomy and relate it to more familiar principles of Western astronomy and cosmology.

Crossroads

Download Crossroads PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108655319
Total Pages : 261 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (86 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Crossroads by : Anna K. Boucher

Download or read book Crossroads written by Anna K. Boucher and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-03 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this ambitious study, Anna K. Boucher and Justin Gest present a unique analysis of immigration governance across thirty countries. Relying on a database of immigration demographics in the world's most important destinations, they present a novel taxonomy and an analysis of what drives different approaches to immigration policy over space and time. In an era defined by inequality, populism, and fears of international terrorism, they find that governments are converging toward a 'Market Model' that seeks immigrants for short-term labor with fewer outlets to citizenship - an approach that resembles the increasingly contingent nature of labor markets worldwide.

At the Crossroads

Download At the Crossroads PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Perfection Learning
ISBN 13 : 9780780739635
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (396 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis At the Crossroads by : Rachel Isadora

Download or read book At the Crossroads written by Rachel Isadora and published by Perfection Learning. This book was released on 1994-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: South African children gather to welcome home their fathers who have been away for several months working in the mines.

Energy at the Crossroads

Download Energy at the Crossroads PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 026230368X
Total Pages : 452 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (623 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Energy at the Crossroads by : Vaclav Smil

Download or read book Energy at the Crossroads written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2005-02-11 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An objective, comprehensive, and accessible examination of today's most crucial problem: preserving the environment in the face of society's insatiable demand for energy. In Energy at the Crossroads, Vaclav Smil considers the twenty-first century's crucial question: how to reconcile the modern world's unceasing demand for energy with the absolute necessity to preserve the integrity of the biosphere. With this book he offers a comprehensive, accessible guide to today's complex energy issues—how to think clearly and logically about what is possible and what is desirable in our energy future. After a century of unprecedented production growth, technical innovation, and expanded consumption, the world faces a number of critical energy challenges arising from unequal resource distribution, changing demand patterns, and environmental limitations. The fundamental message of Energy at the Crossroads is that our dependence on fossil fuels must be reduced not because of any imminent resource shortages but because the widespread burning of oil, coal, and natural gas damages the biosphere and presents increasing economic and security problems as the world relies on more expensive supplies and Middle Eastern crude oil. Smil begins with an overview of the twentieth century's long-term trends and achievements in energy production. He then discusses energy prices, the real cost of energy, and "energy linkages"—the effect energy issues have on the economy, on quality of life, on the environment, and in wartime. He discusses the pitfalls of forecasting, giving many examples of failed predictions and showing that unexpected events can disprove complex models. And he examines the pros and cons not only of fossil fuels but also of alternative fuels such as hydroenergy, biomass energy, wind power, and solar power. Finally, he considers the future, focusing on what really matters, what works, what is realistic, and which outcomes are most desirable.