ABSTRACT
As the world moves into the 21st century, energy-related dilemmas are certain to become increasingly intense. Energy challenges have already grown quite severe in cities throughout the world, in countries at all levels of development. From Beijing to Calcutta, from Tehran to Mexico City and from Moscow to Los Angeles, city residents are exposed to unhealthy levels of energy-generated pollution. Urban emissions are also having regional impacts, reducing crop yields and forest integrity in wide areas across North America, Europe and eastern Asia. Furthermore, the greenhouse gas emissions generated in the course of providing power to the world’s cities are contributing significantly to the problem of global climate change.
At the same time that the negative environmental impacts of urban energy consumption are manifesting themselves on local, regional and global levels, the demand for energy continues to grow
