INTRODUCTION: Energy: The Master Resource by Robert L. Bradley Jr.

This primer on the history, technology, economics, and public policy of energy explains what energy is and how its use has evolved over the centuries. It also discusses the “sustainability” of the modern energy economy from the standpoint of both available resources and energy’s effect on the environment. The book combines introductory information that might be found in an energy encyclopedia—presented in a nontechnical way so that little prior knowledge of the field is required.

....  Energy is the stuff of life. With it, we can accomplish practically anything; without it, we can do nothing. Like most other useful things, energy can be misused. Improperly handled, it may be enormously destructive. Whether energy is used for good or ill depends entirely on the knowledge and wisdom of those wielding it. It is vital, therefore, that everyone understands as much about the subject as possible. When it comes to energy, knowledge really is power.

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About the Authors:

Robert L. Bradley, Jr. is one of the nation’s leading experts on the history and regulation of energy and related sustainable development issues. He is president of the Institute for Energy Research in Houston; visiting fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs in London; an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute; and a member of the academic review committee of the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. He is a former Senior Research Fellow at the University of Houston and the University of Texas at Austin. His books are: The Mirage of Oil Protection (1989), Oil, Gas, and Government: The U.S. Experience (2 volumes: 1996), Julian Simon and the Triumph of Energy Sustainability (2000), and Climate Alarmism Reconsidered (2003). His most recent book is Energy: the Master Resource (with Richard Fulmer). Bradley is currently working on his sixth book, Political Capitalism: Insull, Enron & Beyond.

Bradley’s "Renewable Energy: Not Cheap, Not 'Green'" (Cato Institute, 1997) is considered a classic in the energy sustainability debate. Other writings in this area include “Green Pricing” (Macmillan Encyclopedia of Energy, 2002) and “Climate Alarmism and Corporate Responsibility” (Electricity Journal, August/September 2002). Bradley received the Julian L. Simon Memorial Award for 2002 for his pioneering work on energy as the master resource.

Bradley’s book-published essays include “A Typology of Interventionist Dynamics,” in Jack High, ed., Economics, Philosophy, and Information Technology: Essays in Honor of Don Lavoie (Edward Elgar, 2006); "Interventionist Dynamics in the U.S. Energy Industry,” Advances in Austrian Economics JAI Press, 2006), “An Open Letter to George W. Bush on Climate Change Policy,” in James Griffin, ed., Global Climate Change: Science, Economics, and Politics (Edward Elgar, 2003); “The Origins and Development of Electric Power Regulation,” in Peter Grossman and Daniel Cole, editors, The End of a Natural Monopoly: Deregulation & Competition in the Electric Power Industry (JAI Press, 2003); “Energy for Sustainable Development,” in Julian Morris, ed., Sustainable Development: Promoting Progress or Perpetuating Poverty? (Progress Books, 2002); “The Increasing Sustainability of Conventional Energy,” in John Moroney, ed., Advances in the Economics of Energy and Natural Resources (JAI Press, 1999); and "The Distortions and Dynamics of Gas Regulation," in Jerry Ellig and Joe Kalt, eds., New Horizons in Natural Gas Deregulation (Praeger, 1996).

Bradley has presented professional testimony on energy issues to the California Energy Commission and United States Senate; his opinion-page editorials on energy policy have appeared in the New York Times and many other newspapers across the country; his energy views have been aired on National Public Radio, Voice of America, CBS Radio Network, and Armed Forces Radio, as well as local programs.

Bradley holds received his B.A. in economics (with honors) from Rollins College, where he received the S. Truman Olin Award in economics; a masters in economics from the University of Houston, a Ph.D. in political economy (with distinction) from International College. Bradley has also been a Schultz Fellow for Economic Research ( New York City) and Liberty Fund Fellow for Economic Research ( Menlo Park, California).

Bradley is a member of the International Association for Energy Economics, the American Economics Association, and the American Historical Association.

Richard W. Fulmer received a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from New Mexico State University in 1978. For the last 17 years he has worked as a systems analyst in the energy industry.

Mr. Fulmer is co-author (with Robert L. Bradley Jr.) of Energy: The Master Resource. He also contributed to the textbook, Mastering Cobol (Sybex, 2000) and has written a number of articles for The Freeman, a magazine published by the Foundation for Economic Education. His novel, Deadly Care, was published in 1994.