ABSTRACT
Industrial societies have come to rely on fossil fuels for their energy needs. However, fossil fuels (i.e., oil, coal, and natural gas) are nonrenewable resources extracted from rapidly depleting reserves, the major factor contributing to the rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide responsible for global climate change, and increasingly a source of international conflict (e.g., Deffeyes, 2001; Heinberg, 2005; IPCC, 2007; Klare, 2004; Leggett, 2006; Roberts, 2005). A global shift in perspective is therefore occurring, toward a transition energy economy, with renewable and carbonneutral sources of local energy being developed to supplement or replace imported fossil fuels.
