About the author:
J. David Hughes is a geoscientist who has studied the energy resources of Canada for nearly four decades, including 32 years with the Geological Survey of Canada as a scientist and research manager. He developed the National Coal Inventory to determine the availability and environmental constraints associated with Canada's coal resources. As Team Leader for Unconventional Gas on the Canadian Gas Potential Committee, he coordinated the recent publication of a comprehensive assessment of Canada's unconventional natural gas potential. Over the past decade, Mr. Hughes has researched, published and lectured widely on global energy and sustainability issues in North America and internationally.

In 2011, Mr. Hughes authored a series of papers on the production potential and environmental impacts of U.S. natural gas. In early 2013, he released "Drill, Baby, Drill: Can Unconventional Fuels Usher in a New Era of Energy Abundance?," which takes a far-ranging and painstakingly researched look at the prospects for various unconventional fuels to provide energy abundance for the United States in the 21st Century. While the report examines a range of energy sources, the centerpiece of "Drill, Baby, Drill" is a critical analysis of shale gas and tight oil (shale oil) and the potential of a shale "revolution."

Mr. Hughes is president of Global Sustainability Research, a consultancy dedicated to research on energy and sustainability issues. He is also a board member of Physicians, Scientists & Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE Healthy Energy) and the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas - Canada, and is a Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute. Mr. Hughes recently contributed to "Carbon Shift," an anthology edited by Thomas Homer-Dixon on the twin issues of peak energy and climate change, and his work has been featured in Nature, Canadian Business, and other journals, as well as through the popular press, radio, and television.