
1© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
1
Introduction to Sustainable Energy
It is evident that the fortunes of the world’s human population, for better or for worse,
are inextricably interrelated with the use that is made of energy resources.
M. King Hubbert (1969)
The purpose of this chapter is to give an overview of the principles of sustainability in
the context of energy engineering. This chapter can be used as a stand-alone supple-
ment to any engineering course or the introduction to an energy engineering course.
Section 1.1 gives a historical review of sustainability principles. Section 1.2 presents the
critical issues for sustainability: population, ...