Contents -- List of Tables and Figures -- Acknowledgments -- Units of Measurement -- Introduction - In the Beginning -- 101 Views from Hubbert's Peak1 -- Prediction of World Peak Oil Production -- The Assessment and Importance of Oil Depletion -- 5 Coal Resources of the World -- The Caspian Chimera -- Update to the Caspian Chimera -- Battle of the Titans -- Dark Continent, Black Gold -- The Chinese Car Bomb -- Venezuela, Chávez, and Latin American Oil on the World Stage -- No Choice but International Energy Transition -- Population, Energy, and Economic Growth: the Moral Dilemma -- Renewable Energy Limits -- Peak Soil -- Notes on Terra Preta -- Nuclear Fission Power Options -- Fusion Illusions -- Geothermal -- France and Australia After Oil -- North Korea: The Limits of Fossil Energy- Based Agricultural Systems -- How Will Japan Feed Itself -- Without Fossil Energy? -- The Simpler Way -- In the End: Thermodynamics and the Necessity of Protecting the Natural World -- Notes on Contributors -- Index.