Includes several new chapters and comprehensive updates addressing the implications of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), access to energy and social inequality, and climate science and planetary boundariesIntegrates energy and economics by combining natural and social sciencesUses predictive tools and measures, such as EROI, to show how the economy is embedded in a biophysical world subject to scientific rules and constraintsProvides a fresh approach to economics for those wondering "What's next?" after the Great Recession and continued volatility in energy pricesOffers economic analysis from the real-world perspective of peak oil, high energy prices, the role of alternative energy sources, and potential environmental impacts of energy use such as climate change