"The world is using oil at four times the rate it is finding it and the output of many existing fields, including the North Sea, is beginning to decline. According to one contributor to this book, global oil production will start falling within the next five to ten years and increases in natural gas output will cease to be capable of making up the shortfall after about 2015." "This groundbreaking book explores these and many other issues and its authors conclude that renewables do indeed have the capacity to provide the people of Europe with all the energy they need to live comfortable lives without using coal or nuclear energy at all. Moreover, the switch could be made within fifty years if the right decisions are taken immediately."--Jacket.