Beschreibung
A fascinating insight into the global battle for our energy future The global competition for scarce natural resources that pits the West against the super-hot economies of China and India, plus a clutch of other contenders including Russia, Brazil, and Indonesia, has become one of the biggest issues facing the world today. Whether it is the rare metal lithium found in salt pans in the Andes, gas from the Caspian Sea, oil off the coast of Brazil, coal from Africa's Zambezi River, or uranium from Kazakhstan, China and India are desperate to ensure the security of their future energy supplies. The same goes for food and water, as contamination and over-use take their toll, the need to provide continued access for the next generation and beyond has increased exponentially. In Earth Wars: The Battle for Global Resources, international business journalist Geoff Hiscock explores the problems, potential solutions, and inevitable tensions in this ongoing scramble for finite natural resources. Going beyond "big power" politics to explore resource ownership and the use of innovative technology to get the most out of them, the book takes a forward-looking approach to this pressing issue. Written in clear, jargon-free language, it tells the global resources story in a fresh and engaging way that anyone can understand. * Includes insightful, up-to-the-minute coverage of the most pressing debates over resource allocations * Discusses the major Chinese and Indian businesses that are just becoming known to those in the West (Sinopec, CNOOC, CNPC, Indian Oil, ONGC, Reliance, Coal India, SAIL, and many others) * Presents resource- and region-specific chapters to help readers view the pertinent issues from multiple angles As the economies of China and India grow to challenge those of the West, the battle over natural resources will continue to heat up. Earth Wars looks at this very real problem in-depth, presenting a definitive look at one of the greatest challenges of our time.
Autorenporträt
InhaltsangabeFood, water, energy, and metals are the drivers of industrial, economic, and social growth. As the world's population rises and the clamour for higher living standards gets louder, so too the struggle for resource access intensifies. But whether it is water from the Nile, rice from the Mekong Delta, oil from the Middle East, coal from Africa, gas from Russia, rare earths from China, iron ore from the Australian Outback, uranium from Kazakhstan, or shale from North America, these resources, even those we consider "sustainable," are limited and valuable. For centuries, the West has controlled much of the resources flow, but now China, India, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, Iran, and a host of other nations want their share. In Earth Wars: The Battle for Global Resources, journalist and Asian business expert Geoff Hiscock takes an in-depth look at our energy future. He analyzes the new technologies, the key players, escalating tensions, and possible outcomes of the ultimate theme of the twenty-first century: resource ownership. China and India, with their combined population of 2.5 billion people, will be the engines of global growth in the next fifty years, and their drive to expand is already bringing them to the forefront of the supply-demand equation. In Earth Wars, Hiscock surveys the world at large, looking at the interconnections, exploring who has what, how they're using what they have, and what they're doing to protect, expand, or share their bounty.