UNDERSTANDING ENERGY THROUGH SOCIAL, TECHNICAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL LENSES

Energy, Society, and Environment: A Critical Introduction explores the complex relationships between energy systems and the societies and environments they shape. Dustin Mulvaney provides a concise yet wide-ranging overview of energy production, distribution, and consumption, examining not only the physical and technical aspects but also the political, cultural, and ethical forces that underpin them. By situating energy within its broader social contexts, Mulvaney provides the tools to analyze the challenges of building more sustainable and just energy futures.

This accessible and engaging textbook guides students from the physical principles and sources of energy through to the infrastructures, policies, and social implications that define today’s global energy challenges. Case studies spanning fossil fuels, renewable technologies, and electricity grids are enriched by interdisciplinary perspectives from geography, sociology, science and technology studies, and environmental ethics. Contemporary issues—including the Strait of Hormuz closure, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical conflicts—are woven throughout to illustrate how energy is at the heart of global change.

Energy, Society, and Environment: A Critical Introduction is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students in geography, environmental studies, sociology, and energy studies programs. It is also an essential reference for researchers, policymakers, and professionals engaged in sustainability, environmental justice, and energy planning.

DUSTIN MULVANEY is Professor in the School of Planning, Policy, and Environmental Studies at San José State University, one of the first interdisciplinary environmental programs in the United States. His research spans political ecology, science and technology studies, and environmental justice, with a focus on solar energy commodity chains and public lands management. He is the author of Solar Power: Innovation, Sustainability, Environmental Justice and contributes widely to scholarship on energy transitions and sustainability.