Energy and energy independence have become controversial topics linked with the equally topic of climate change. Ecologist Botkin (ecology, evolution, and marine biology, UC Santa Barbara) strips away the hype and spin in his objective assessment of what the possibilities, limits, risks and dangers, and costs of the various paths that could be taken. The author discusses traditional energy sources such as oil, coal, hydropower, and nuclear power as well as the developing crop of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, ocean power, and biofuels. He also addresses the transmission issue, the electric grid, storage batteries, and more. The book concludes with discussions of scenarios ranging from doing nothing to large-scale conservation and a heavy reliance on renewable energy. FT Press is an imprint of Pearson Education. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)