How to Boil an Egg

Surprisingly optimistic. That is what the future of energy looks like, according to author Ad van Wijk. Over a quarter of a century ago Van Wijk co-founded and was CEO of Econcern, the company that developed into the largest Dutch sustainable energy business. Surprisingly optimistic, our energy future? And what about rising prices of fossil fuels, depleting resources, pollution, energy related health problems, dependency on unpleasant and unstable regimes? Furthermore, isn’t sustainable energy expensive, difficult to harvest, unreliable and not yet available by a long shot? And didn’t Econcern itself go bankrupt during the financial crisis? Van Wijk’s optimism seems to be against the odds. But those who are prepared to take an unbiased look at the energy possibilities already existing today, get a whole new perspective. Sustainable energy for everyone, all over the world, does appear to be a goal within reach, both technologically and financially. And much, much quicker than many would tend to believe. In this book Ad van Wijk, currently professor in Future Energy Systems at Delft Technical University, succeeds in presenting a refreshing new outlook on the ‘energy’ phenomenon. It is concise, surprising and a very good read too, full of day-to-day examples (hence the title ‘How to boil an egg’). It is a surprisingly optimistic book indeed. But surprisingly realistic too.