The fact is, we are hopelessly addicted to energy. It is the thin glue that holds our civilized world together and life without it would be unthinkable. That would be challenging enough in itself, but we have an additional problem. Our drug has unpleasant side effects - the emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants associated with fossil fuels. This book answers the fundamental, urgent question of how do we keep the lights on in 2030, or 2040, or indeed 2050, while keeping our planet alive? Politics drives energy policy as much or even more than economics, and the two don't always pull in the same direction. As a result, speculation and a financial bubble is being created in the green energy sector, as governments offer free money to companies to come up with renewable energy sources. But as the author argues, this is less of a solution to our energy needs and more of a political tactic. The real solution to our future energy demands as well as controlling the environmental crisis in fact lies in gas and, most controversially, in nuclear power.