Growing Energy

Author : Vaclav Smil
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262536161
Total Pages : 564 pages
Book Rating : 4.65/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Energy and Civilization written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.

Author : Greg Pahl
Publisher : Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN 13 : 160358093X
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.39/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Biodiesel written by Greg Pahl and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For anyone who is trying to keep up with the extremely rapid developments in the biodiesel industry, the second edition of Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy is an invaluable aid. The breathtaking speed with which biodiesel has gained acceptance in the marketplace in the past few years has been exceeded only by the proliferation of biodiesel production facilities around the United States--and the world--only to confront new social and environmental challenges and criticisms. The international survey of the biodiesel industry has been expanded from 40 to more than 80 countries, reflecting the spectacular growth of the industry around the world. This section also tracks the dramatic shifts in the fortunes of the industry that have taken place in some of these nations. The detailed chapters that cover the industry in the United States have also been substantially rewritten to keep abreast of its many new developments and explosive domestic growth. An expanded section on small-scale, local biodiesel production has been added to better represent this small but growing part of the industry. Another new section has been added to more fully explore the increasingly controversial issues of deforestation and food versus fuel, as well as GMO crops. The second edition concludes with updated views on where the industry is headed in the years to come from some of its key players.

Author : Kathryn A. Zeimetz
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 40 pages
Book Rating : 4.55/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Growing energy written by Kathryn A. Zeimetz and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : David Armentrout
Publisher : Carson-Dellosa Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1631550276
Total Pages : 48 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Growing Energy written by David Armentrout and published by Carson-Dellosa Publishing. This book was released on 2008-08-01 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides The History Of Biofuels, Different Uses, Positive And Negative Characteristics, And How They Will Impact The Future.

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.3K/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book International Energy Outlook written by and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Phaedra Bonewits
Publisher : Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN 13 : 1601639481
Total Pages : 206 pages
Book Rating : 4.86/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Real Energy written by Phaedra Bonewits and published by Red Wheel/Weiser. This book was released on 2007-02-09 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy. Psi, prana, mana, chi, divine power, the tao, reiki, or "vibes," every system of magic and mysticism calls the energies that power its practices by different names. Whether questioning the power of prayer or a healing session with a Reiki master an underlying question exists of whether this energy is all the same or if they exist as distinctly different "wavelengths" of some universal power? When New Agers, occultists, spiritual healers, metaphysicians, artists, and Neopagans talk about the "energies" they use, what do they actually mean? Now, for the first time, a single book discusses the vocabulary, magic, metaphysics, art, and science of energy from a multi-model, 21st century perspective. Lessons included will cover: Physical vocabulary of energy Metaphysical vocabulary of energy How the laws of magic affect energy The Importance of Focus Real Energy will then take these lessons to the next level giving you direction on how to understand and begin working with different energies. Half of the book is dedicated to showing you how to work with specific energies, including: the four elements, crystals, plants, animals, your own body, nature spirits, ancestors, and deities to accomplish your goals and enhance life experiences. Specific energy work practices are also covered, including: Reiki, The Huna System, working with "Pure" ESP and PK, Feng Shui, and the Tantra System. With tips from scientists, artists, magicians, and spiritual teachers, Real Energy will give you a solid introduction to both the theory and practice of energy work.

Author : Trevor M. Letcher
Publisher : Elsevier
ISBN 13 : 0080564879
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.76/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Future Energy written by Trevor M. Letcher and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2008-07-30 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Future Energy will allow us to make reasonable, logical and correct decisions on our future energy as a result of two of the most serious problems that the civilized world has to face; the looming shortage of oil (which supplies most of our transport fuel) and the alarming rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the past 50 years (resulting from the burning of oil, gas and coal and the loss of forests) that threatens to change the world’s climate through global warming. Future Energy focuses on all the types of energy available to us, taking into account a future involving a reduction in oil and gas production and the rapidly increasing amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. It is unique in the genre of books of similar title in that each chapter has been written by a scientist or engineer who is an expert in his or her field. The book is divided into four sections: • Traditional Fossil Fuel and Nuclear Energy • Renewable Energy • Potentially Important New Types of Energy • New Aspects to Future Energy Usage Each chapter highlights the basic theory and implementation, scope, problems and costs associated with a particular type of energy. The traditional fuels are included because they will be with us for decades to come - but, we hope, in a cleaner form. The renewable energy types includes wind power, wave power, tidal energy, two forms of solar energy, bio-mass, hydroelectricity, geothermal and the hydrogen economy. Potentially important new types of energy include: pebble bed nuclear reactors, nuclear fusion, methane hydrates and recent developments in fuel cells and batteries. - Written by experts in the key future energy disciplines from around the globe - Details of all possible forms of energy that are and will be available globally in the next two decades - Puts each type of available energy into perspective with realistic, future options

Author : Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran
Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN 13 : 1466893745
Total Pages : 402 pages
Book Rating : 4.40/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Power to the People written by Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2015-05-12 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guided tour of a revolution in the making that promises to change our lives Global warming, rolling black outs, massive tanker spills, oil dependence: our profligate ways have doomed us to suffer such tragedies, right? Perhaps, but Vijay Vaitheeswaran, the energy and environment correspondent for The Economist, sees great opportunity in the energy realm today, and Power to the People is his fiercely independent and irresistibly entertaining look at the economic, political, and technological forces that are reshaping the world's management of energy resources. In it, he documents an energy revolution already underway--a revolution as radical as the communications revolution of the past decades. From the corporate boardroom of a Texas oil titan who denies the reality of global warming to a think tank nestled in the Rocky Mountains where a visionary named Amory Lovins is developing the kind of hydrogen fuel-cell technology that could make the internal combustion engine obsolete, Vaitheeswaran gamely pursues the people who hold the keys to our future. Man's quest for energy is insatiable. It is also essential. By avoiding the traditional binaries that pit free markets against the wisdom of conservation and the need for clean energy, Power to the People is a book that debunks myths without debunking hope.

Author : Bill Gates
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0385546149
Total Pages : 201 pages
Book Rating : 4.40/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster written by Bill Gates and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical—and accessible—plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market, he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively, where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete, practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions—suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers, and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but if we follow the plan he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.

Author : Shalanda Baker
Publisher : Island Press
ISBN 13 : 1642830674
Total Pages : 226 pages
Book Rating : 4.75/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Revolutionary Power written by Shalanda Baker and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2021-01-14 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, completely upending the energy grid of the small island. The nearly year-long power outage that followed vividly shows how the new climate reality intersects with race and access to energy. The island is home to brown and black US citizens who lack the political power of those living in the continental US. As the world continues to warm and storms like Maria become more commonplace, it is critical that we rethink our current energy system to enable reliable, locally produced, and locally controlled energy without replicating the current structures of power and control. In Revolutionary Power, Shalanda Baker arms those made most vulnerable by our current energy system with the tools they need to remake the system in the service of their humanity. She argues that people of color, poor people, and indigenous people must engage in the creation of the new energy system in order to upend the unequal power dynamics of the current system. Revolutionary Power is a playbook for the energy transformation complete with a step-by-step analysis of the key energy policy areas that are ripe for intervention. Baker tells the stories of those who have been left behind in our current system and those who are working to be architects of a more just system. She draws from her experience as an energy-justice advocate, a lawyer, and a queer woman of color to inspire activists working to build our new energy system. Climate change will force us to rethink the way we generate and distribute energy and regulate the system. But how much are we willing to change the system? This unique moment in history provides an unprecedented opening for a deeper transformation of the energy system, and thus, an opportunity to transform society. Revolutionary Power shows us how.