Major energy transitions are accompanied by transformative cultural, economic, demographic, technological, and environmental changes. The transition to fossil fuel-based energy systems powered rapid economic growth and raised living standards, but it also caused pervasive environmental change at local, regional, and global scales, as well as violent conflict over remaining supplies of oil.  The fossil fuel transition co-evolved with a culture that places a high value on consumerism and affluence, a lifestyle that requires large amounts of energy to support and generates significant wastes.  In our time, the depletion of fossil fuels (especially oil), surging energy demand in the developing world, and the need to manage future climate change are driving humanity to the brink of another major energy transition.

The Energy Watch is dedicated to the discussion of this transition, and in particular the role of energy in human affairs and environmental change.  You can send us an email at editor@theenergywatch.com.

Editor

Cutler J. Cleveland

Cutler J. Cleveland is the Editor of the Energy Watch.  Dr. Cleveland is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at Boston University, with joint appointments in the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies and the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer Range Future.  He also is a Senior Fellow at the National Council for Science and the Environment.  Dr. Cleveland is the Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Energy–winner of an American Library Association award, and the Dictionary of Energy, and is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth, named as the 2008 Best Geoscience Website by the Geoscience Information Society.  He teaches classes in energy and environmental science. Dr. Cleveland holds a B.S. in Ecology from Cornell University, a M.S. in Marine Science from Louisiana State University, and a Ph. D. in Geography from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.