200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Black Friday Sale on Now! Save up to 25% off Books, Toys, Board Games, & Puzzles! ✨

The Energy Trap

Why the renewable energy transition can’t work – and what can
By Richard Lyon
0.0 (0 reviews)
Brief Description
One of humanity's greatest modern threats involves an area of life we thought we had mastered: energy. For the last century, our energy system has delivered rising prosperity, increased lifespans, and largely eliminated famine. Now it is being dismantled - with confidence, with public money, and... Read More
Format: Hardback
$3299
Pre-order
Releases 5th January 2027 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "The Energy Trap" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

One of humanity's greatest modern threats involves an area of life we thought we had mastered: energy. For the last century, our energy system has delivered rising prosperity, increased lifespans, and largely eliminated famine. Now it is being dismantled - with confidence, with public money, and with almost no scrutiny.

In this short, sharp book, Richard Lyon - electrical engineer, petroleum engineer, and energy economist - strips the energy debate back to the physics. What he finds is alarming: fossil fuels are running out, the proposed replacements can't do the job, and the people in charge don't understand the science well enough to realise, much less pursue, solutions.

The consequences could be severe, but they are not yet inevitable. In a series of lucid chapters, The Energy Trap sets out the problem and proposes a way forward - provided we are willing to stop wasting our remaining resources on energy systems that can't work and get on with building one that can.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781800757356

Publisher: Swift Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 24 September 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Forum

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 144

Collections

Education & Reference Engineering, Technology & Agriculture Non-Fiction Non-Fiction Pre-Orders Pre-order Books Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date Richard Lyon Science & Nature

About the Author

Richard Lyon is an electrical engineer, petroleum engineer and energy economist. He began his career as a pilot in the Royal Air Force before spending over twenty-five years in the oil and gas industry, holding senior operational and commercial roles in the UK, Norway, Azerbaijan, Congo and Cameroon. He holds a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, an MEng in Petroleum Engineering, and an MSc in Energy Economics. His master's research focused on quantifying the degree of optimism in institutional estimates of remaining oil reserves.

The Energy Trap grew from a conviction, formed over three decades of producing, managing and studying energy, that the gap between energy policy and physical reality has become dangerous - and that the public are perfectly able to acquire and apply the knowledge needed to challenge the policies being made in their name.

Browse lists from our team

The Latest at Book Hero

View all

More from Science & Nature

View all
  • What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
    CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF THE MILLION-SELLING POP SCIENCE CLASSIC WITH A SPECIAL EDITION. THIS IS WHAT IF? . . . x10. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Nerd royalty' — BEN GOLDACRE 'Totally brilliant' — TIM HARFORD 'Required reading across the world' — NEW YORK TIMES From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, experience hilarious and informative answers to important questions...
    By Randall Munroe
    Hardback
    $4200
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Nuclear War
    The Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction thriller that has to be read to be believed. Baillie Gifford shortlisted, a favourite of Steven Bartlett, with an average reader rating of 4.6, sure to be a mass-market hit. Up to now, no one outside of official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the...
    By Annie Jacobsen
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    17% off
    The Anxious Generation
    A powerful argument for reclaiming childhood—and all human relationships—from the online world, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author. Jonathan Haidt has spent his career speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most difficult spaces—communities polarised by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the mental health emergency hitting teenagers today in many countries around...
    By Jonathan Haidt
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    17% off
    Prisoners of Geography
    Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present, and future to offer crucial insights into one of the major factors that determine world history – because if you don’t know geography, you’ll never have the full picture. Originally published in 2015, this completely revised and updated edition brings it up to date with the events and trends of the past...
    By Tim Marshall
    Paperback
    $2400
    Usually:
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Diddly Squat: Home to Roost
    It's been another memorable year on Diddly Squat Farm - will the chickens finally come home to roost? Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. The spring crop failed. Farming sheep, pigs, and cows was hardly more lucrative (better off breeding ostriches...) But in the face of uncooperative weather, bureaucracy, and the world's persistent refusal to recognise his genius, our hero's not...
    By Jeremy Clarkson
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    30% off
    The Place of Tides
    To save the world, we have to start somewhere. One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been...
    By James Rebanks
    Paperback
    $2100
    Usually:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    20% off
    Ultra-Processed People
    Launching the runaway bestseller with ambitions to be the biggest non-fiction paperback of the year IT'S NOT YOU. IT'S THE FOOD. "If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one" - Bee Wilson "You've got to get this book in your life . . . Completely compelling . . . Read a page...
    By Chris van Tulleken
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Pokemon Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded 2024
    The essential guide to all things Pokémon, this year’s Encyclopedia includes all of the details of Ash Ketchum’s battle to become Pokémon World Champion! The new updated and expanded final edition of the Pokémon Encyclopedia! Ash Ketchum’s journey to becoming a Pokémon Master, and winner of the Masters Eight World Championships, has come to an end. Travel through all 8...
    By Pokémon
    Hardback
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    20% off
    Kitchen Confidential
    The classic bestseller from the star of Parts Unknown and No Reservations: 25th Anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Irvine Welsh. BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN. ‘Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino’ — A.A. Gill ‘Fantastic: as lip-smackingly seductive as a bowl of fat chips and pungent aioli’ — Daily Telegraph After twenty-five years of sex,...
    By Anthony Bourdain
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • That's not my... Zoo
    A perfect introduction to zoo animals with eye-catching illustrations, touchy-feely patches and a noisy finale! Discover the fun of the zoo in this sound-book addition to the bestselling That's not my... series. Turn the pages to explore the zoo and meet a monkey, an elephant, a tiger and a parrot in this larger format touchy-feely book. Press the sound button...
    By Fiona Watt
    Board book
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Tim's Pick Tim's Pick
    Sapiens
    Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari is an extraordinary exploration of humanity's history from the dawn of our species to the present day. Harari delves into our evolution, offering insights into the cognitive revolutions that allowed Homo sapiens to rise above other animal species. Traversing through various stages of human development, he examines the Agricultural Revolution, the unification of humankind through...
    By Yuval Noah Harari
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Invisible Women
    Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez is a groundbreaking and meticulously researched exploration into the pervasive gender bias that infiltrates every aspect of our society. Through compelling case studies and thorough analysis, this book unveils the hidden ways women are systematically disadvantaged in a world predominantly designed by and for men. Perez's revelations stretch across various sectors including government policy,...
    By Caroline Criado Perez
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 200,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.