Energy and American society, thirteen myths / edited by Benjamin K. Sovacool and Marilyn A. Brown.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

About the authors -- Acknowledgements -- 1. Introduction : The compelling tangle of energy and American society / Benjamin K. Sovacool and Marilyn A. Brown -- 2. Energy myth one -- Today's energy crisis is "hype" / Marilyn A. Brown -- 3. Energy myth two -- The public is well informed about energy / Rosalyn Mckeown -- 4. Energy myth three -- High land requirements and an unfavorable energy balance preclude biomass ethanol from playing a large role in providing energy services / Lee R. Lynd, Mark S. Laser, John Mcbride, Kara Podkaminer and John Hannon -- 5. Energy myth four -- The hydrogen economy is a panacea to the nation's energy problems / Joseph Romm -- 6. Energy myth five -- Price signals are insufficient to induce efficient energy investments / Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren -- 7. Energy myth six -- The barriers to new and innovative energy "technologies are primarily technical : The case of distributed generation (DG) / Benjamin K. Sovacool and Richard F. Hirsh.

8. Energy myth seven -- Renewable energy systems could never meet growing electricity demand in America / Rodney Sobin -- 9. Energy myth eight -- Worldwide power systems are economically and environmentally optimal / Thomas R. Casten and Robert U. Ayres -- 10. Energy myth nine -- Energy efficiency improvements have already reached their potential / Amory B. Lovins -- 11. Energy myth ten -- Energy efficiency measures are unreliable, unpredictable, and unenforceable / Edward Vine, Marfy Kushler and Dan York -- 12. Energy myth eleven -- Energy R and D investment takes decades to reach the market / Daniel M. Kammen and Gregory F. Nemet -- 13. Energy myth twelve -- Climate policy will bankrupt the U.S. Economy / Eileen Claussen and Janet Peace -- 14. Energy myth thirteen -- Developing countries are not doing their part in responding to concerns about climate change / Thomas J. Wilbanks -- Conclusions -- Replacing myths with maxims : Rethinking the relationship between energy and American society / Benjamin K. Sovacool and Marilyn A. Brown -- Acronyms -- Index.