The Coming Energy Revolution


Book Description

There is a new and exciting revolution coming. It will dramatically change our landscape, our environment, our economy, and our lives. It will provide each and every one of us with a truly unique sense of independence. It will mark the end of oil-influenced politics, and the beginning of a bright new millennium - a time in which we all will have our own unlimited sources of nonpolluting energy. However, it will not come without a struggle, as history has already shown. The Coming Energy Revolution provides us with an intriguing and insightful look at the forces behind the free-energy movement. The Coming Energy Revolution introduces us to some of the inventors, both past and present, who have insisted that we are surrounded by a sea of energy that we can tap once we have learned nature's secrets. Conventional science says that space is cold and still, and that what energy does exist cannot be put to useful work. The new-energy innovators say that conventional science is wrong, and that new-energy research is being suppressed by a combination of scientific inertia and corporate self-interest. But the suppression cannot last, as this book shows - there are simply too many inventors who are close to new-energy breakthroughs. The Coming Energy Revolution examines the technologies on which these inventors are working. There are magnets that can redirect the energy of space. There is a gentler form of nuclear energy that can take place on a table top. There is hydrogen, a clean, abundant fuel that can be produced wherever needed. There is a form of hydropower that does not rely on massive dams. And there are other forms of new energy. The Coming Energy Revolution looks at them all, and at thekinds of changes that will be needed to overcome the roadblocks between our old-energy present and our new-energy future.




Power to the People


Book Description

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.




Power Surge


Book Description

Looks at developments in renewable energy sources, discusses the role of energy in society, and speculates on future energy developments




Energy Revolution


Book Description

The transformation from a carbon-based world economy to one based on high efficiency and renewables is a necessary step if human society is to achieve sustainability. But while scientists and researchers have made significant advances in energy efficiency and renewable technologies in recent years, consumers have yet to see dramatic changes in the marketplace—due in large part to government policies and programs that favor the use of fossil fuels. Energy Revolution examines the policy options for mitigating or removing the entrenched advantages held by fossil fuels and speeding the transition to a more sustainable energy future, one based on improved efficiency and a shift to renewable sources such as solar, wind, and bioenergy. The book: examines today's energy patterns and trends and their consequences describes the barriers to a more sustainable energy future and how those barriers can be overcome provides ten case studies of integrated strategies that have been effective in different parts of the world examines international policies and institutions and recommends ways they could be improved reviews global trends that suggest that the transition to renewables and increased efficiency is underway and is achievable Energy policy represents a linchpin for achieving a broader transition to a more sustainable economy. Energy Revolution offers a unique focus on policies and programs, and on the lessons provided by recent experience. It represents a key statement of the available options for reforming energy policy that have proven to be successful, and is an essential work for policymakers, researchers, and anyone concerned with energy and sustainability issues.




Power Surge


Book Description

The world economy stands poised to shift away from crude oil and environmentally-damaging coal. The authors of this work describe the rapid move to decentralized and efficient energy systems - a move encouraged by new investment opportunities, environmental demands and the need to stabilize the world's climate. The text explores the changes ahead: electric cars; wind power and solar-powered generators; fuel cells that allow the generation of personal electricity supplies; and the emergence of hydrogen as the world's main energy source.







Rooftop Revolution


Book Description

Here is the truth that the powerful Dirty Energy public relations machine doesn't want you to know: the ascent of solar energy is upon us. Solar-generated electricity has risen exponentially in the last few years and employment in the solar industry has doubled since 2009. Meanwhile, electricity from coal has declined to pre-World War II levels as the fossil fuel industry continues to shed jobs. Danny Kennedy systematically refutes the lies spread by solar's opponents—that it is expensive, inefficient, and unreliable; that it is kept alive only by subsidies; that it can't be scaled; and many other untruths. He shows that we need a rooftop revolution to break the entrenched power of the coal, oil, nuclear, and gas industries Solar energy can create more jobs, return our nation to prosperity, and ensure the sustainability and safety of our planet. Now is the time to move away from the dangerous energy sources of the past and unleash the amazing potential of the sun.




Energy Revolution


Book Description

We need a global energy revolution. In developed nations we are wasting massive quantities of energy providing heat and light to our homes and businesses while one and a half billion people have no access to electricity at all. The existing central-power-station model is based on old technology that spews carbon, energy, and money straight up the chimney. Energy Revolution shows us how we can change all of this. Telling stories from around the world of the change that's already happening and drawing on two decades of his own unique experience, Howard Johns demonstrates how we can develop our own renewable-energy projects to provide local energy and create a new fleet of businesses. He shows us how communities can build local energy solutions--renewable-power stations that will be a new form of building society where we come together to develop, finance, and construct the infrastructure that we and future generations so desperately need. Howard Johns explains how to design, set up, and fund community energy systems, citing examples from countries that already have cut the amount of energy they use and supply their needs from renewable energy. These new systems will create new jobs and businesses, reduce energy imports, and create new local-investment models. This handbook contains the map we need to change the system from the bottom up and make the next great leap forward to achieving clean, affordable energy. It covers everything needed to structure your community power company--the technology, site assessment, legal and business planning, fundraising and financial modeling, and putting people at the heart of your strategy. It's time to take control, re-localize, reduce costs and carbon emissions, and join the energy revolution.




Solar Revolution


Book Description

An innovative analysis that shows how the shift to solar energy—in particular, the use of photovoltaic cells—is both economically advantageous and inevitable, and will rival the information and communication technologies revolution in its transformative effects. In Solar Revolution, fund manager and former corporate buyout specialist Travis Bradford argues—on the basis of standard business and economic forecasting models—that over the next two decades solar energy will increasingly become the best and cheapest choice for most electricity and energy applications. Solar Revolution outlines the path by which the transition to solar technology and sustainable energy practices will occur. Developments in the photovoltaic (PV) industry over the last ten years have made direct electricity generation from PV cells a cost-effective and feasible energy solution, despite the common view that PV technology appeals only to a premium niche market. Bradford shows that PV electricity today has become the choice of hundreds of thousands of mainstream homeowners and businesses in many markets worldwide, including Japan, Germany, and the American Southwest. Solar energy will eventually be the cheapest source of energy in nearly all markets and locations because PV can bypass the aging and fragile electricity grid and deliver its power directly to the end user, fundamentally changing the underlying economics of energy. As the scale of PV production increases and costs continue to decline at historic rates, demand for PV electricity will outpace supply of systems for years to come. Ultimately, the shift from fossil fuels to solar energy will take place not because solar energy is better for the environment or energy security, or because of future government subsidies or as yet undeveloped technology. The solar revolution is already occurring through decisions made by self-interested energy users. The shift to solar energy is inevitable and will be as transformative as the last century's revolutions in information and communication technologies.




Communities and the Clean Energy Revolution


Book Description

Communities and the Clean Energy Revolution: Public Health, Economics, Design, and Transformation is an engaging and interdisciplinary investigation into clean energy systems such as solar and wind power and the need to transform our energy system. Looking at the intersection of clean energy with community engagement, diversity, and economic development, it is a remarkably accessible account from the front lines of the clean energy revolution. Organized as a series of case studies set in eight locations, the author profiles people leading varied renewable energy projects from using solar to survive hurricanes to passing a Green New Deal bill for America’s largest city, the beginnings of the offshore wind industry, modular solar power systems, and changing the culture of an entire utility. Each case study is set into context of broader research, addressing how cities and states meet clean energy goals, howsolar or wind power address blackouts, and how individuals can accelerate clean energy for their home, business, or community. This book goes beyond merely explaining clean energy transition by providing unique insight into the calls for a complete transformation of America’s energy system.