About the author

Vaclav Smil conducts interdisciplinary research in the fields of energy, environmental and population change, food production and nutrition, technical innovation, risk assessment and public policy. He has published more than 30 books and close to 500 papers on these topics. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (Science Academy), the first non-American to receive the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology, and in 2010 he was listed by Foreign Policy among the top 50 global thinkers.

Other books by this author

Chinas Energy
Energy in the Developing World (edited with W. Knowland)
Energy Analysis in Agriculture (with P. Nachman and
T. V. Long II)
Biomass Energies
The Bad Earth
Carbon Nitrogen Sulfur
Energy Food Environment
Energy in Chinas Modernization
General Energetics
Chinas Environmental Crisis
Global Ecology
Energy in World History
Cycles of Life
Energies
Feeding the World
Enriching the Earth
The Earths Biosphere
Energy at the Crossroads
Chinas Past, Chinas Future
Creating the 20th Century
Transforming the 20th Century
Energy: A Beginners Guide
Oil: A Beginners Guide
Energy in Nature and Society
Global Catastrophes and Trends
Why America Is Not a New Rome
Energy Transitions
Energy Myths and Realities
Prime Movers of Globalization
Japans Dietary Transition and Its Impacts (with K. Kobayashi)
Harvesting the Biosphere