There has been a proliferation in recent years of applications of sequence-stratigraphic concepts since the publications by Vail eta!. (1977a,b), Posamentier eta!. ( 1988), Posamentier and Vail ( 1 988a,b) and Van Wagoner et a!. ( 1 990). The use of this approach to enhance understanding of geological relationships within a time-stratigraphic framework clearly has achieved widespread acceptance. Along with the rapid acceptance of these concepts, however, has come a number of problems that are addressed in this paper.

Shale Oil represents a huge additional global fossil fuel resource. However, extracting oil from the shale is no simple task; much still needs to be understood to make the process more cost-effective to increase economic flow rates. Clear and rigorous, Oil Shale Production Process will prove useful for those scientists and engineers already engaged in fossil fuel science and technology as well as scientists, non-scientists, engineers, and non-engineers who wish to gain a general overview or update of the science and technology of fossil fuels. Not only does the book discuss the production processes but also provides methods which should reduce environmental footprint by properly addressing: surface mining and extraction processes, in situ conversion process and hydrotreatment.

The use of shallow geothermal energy has increased enormously over the past ten years. As the number of geothermal energy installations has risen, so has the number of technical developments in the field. There have been cases of damage in connection with the construction and operation of geothermal energy systems which have attracted much attention in the media. In particular, the cases of damage that have become public show that drilling to depths of several hundred metres is a technical activity that calls for responsible procedures in the sense of quality-assured design, construction and operation of the systems. Avoiding damage caused by shallow geothermal energy installations is a top priority for sustainable geothermal energy uses, especially when bodies of groundwater have to be protected against adverse effects.