Author : Joseph M. Shuster
Publisher : Bookhouse Fulfillment
Page : 412 pages
File Size : 34,87 MB
Release : 2008
Category : Political Science
ISBN :
Beyond Fossil Fools illustrates, explains, and quantifies the only practical solution to the energy problems of the United States and the world. The solution is a combination of "alternative energy" sources, reduced energy use, hybrid and all electirc cars and trucks, improved batteries, biofuels, nuclear power, political awareness, and political willingness to change.
Author : Dana Meachen Rau
Publisher : Capstone
Page : 34 pages
File Size : 24,30 MB
Release : 2010
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 0756542898
Alternative Energy.
Author : Ted Hamilton
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 41,73 MB
Release : 2021-12
Category :
ISBN : 9781682193259
Author : Richard Heinberg
Publisher : New Society Publishers
Page : 219 pages
File Size : 35,82 MB
Release : 2015-04-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1550925849
Essential, visionary essays about our post-carbon future Climate change, along with the depletion of oil, coal, and gas dictate that we will inevitably move away from our profound societal reliance on fossil fuels; but just how big a transformation will this be? While many policy-makers assume that renewable energy sources will provide an easy "plug-and-play" solution, author Richard Heinberg suggests instead that we are in for a wild ride; a "civilization reboot" on a scale similar to the agricultural and industrial revolutions. Afterburn consists of 15 essays exploring various aspects of the 21st century migration away from fossil fuels including: Short-term political and economic factors that impede broad-scale, organized efforts to adapt The origin of longer-term trends (such as consumerism), that have created a way of life that seems "normal" to most Americans, but is actually unprecedented, highly fragile, and unsustainable Potential opportunities and sources of conflict that are likely to emerge. From the inevitability and desirability of more locally organized economies, to the urgent need to preserve our recent cultural achievements and the futility of pursuing economic growth above all, Afterburn offers cutting-edge perspectives and insights that challenge conventional thinking about our present, our future, and the choices in our hands. AWARDS FINALIST | 2015 Foreword INDIES: Essays
Author : Holly Jean Buck
Publisher : Verso Books
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 27,50 MB
Release : 2021-11-16
Category : Science
ISBN : 1839762349
Ending the fossil fuel industry is the only credible path for climate policy Around the world, countries and companies are setting net-zero carbon emissions targets. But what will it mean if those targets are achieved? One possibility is that fossil fuel companies will continue to produce billions of tons of atmospheric CO2 while relying on a symbiotic industry to scrub the air clean. Focusing on emissions draws our attention away from the real problem: the point of production. The fossil fuel industry must come to an end but will not depart willingly; governments must intervene. By embracing a politics of rural-urban coalitions and platform governance, climate advocates can build the political power needed to nationalize the fossil fuel industry and use its resources to draw carbon out of the atmosphere.
Author : Alex Epstein
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 41,3 MB
Release : 2014-11-13
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0698175484
Could everything we know about fossil fuels be wrong? For decades, environmentalists have told us that using fossil fuels is a self-destructive addiction that will destroy our planet. Yet at the same time, by every measure of human well-being, from life expectancy to clean water to climate safety, life has been getting better and better. How can this be? The explanation, energy expert Alex Epstein argues in The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, is that we usually hear only one side of the story. We’re taught to think only of the negatives of fossil fuels, their risks and side effects, but not their positives—their unique ability to provide cheap, reliable energy for a world of seven billion people. And the moral significance of cheap, reliable energy, Epstein argues, is woefully underrated. Energy is our ability to improve every single aspect of life, whether economic or environmental. If we look at the big picture of fossil fuels compared with the alternatives, the overall impact of using fossil fuels is to make the world a far better place. We are morally obligated to use more fossil fuels for the sake of our economy and our environment. Drawing on original insights and cutting-edge research, Epstein argues that most of what we hear about fossil fuels is a myth. For instance . . . Myth: Fossil fuels are dirty. Truth: The environmental benefits of using fossil fuels far outweigh the risks. Fossil fuels don’t take a naturally clean environment and make it dirty; they take a naturally dirty environment and make it clean. They don’t take a naturally safe climate and make it dangerous; they take a naturally dangerous climate and make it ever safer. Myth: Fossil fuels are unsustainable, so we should strive to use “renewable” solar and wind. Truth: The sun and wind are intermittent, unreliable fuels that always need backup from a reliable source of energy—usually fossil fuels. There are huge amounts of fossil fuels left, and we have plenty of time to find something cheaper. Myth: Fossil fuels are hurting the developing world. Truth: Fossil fuels are the key to improving the quality of life for billions of people in the developing world. If we withhold them, access to clean water plummets, critical medical machines like incubators become impossible to operate, and life expectancy drops significantly. Calls to “get off fossil fuels” are calls to degrade the lives of innocent people who merely want the same opportunities we enjoy in the West. Taking everything into account, including the facts about climate change, Epstein argues that “fossil fuels are easy to misunderstand and demonize, but they are absolutely good to use. And they absolutely need to be championed. . . . Mankind’s use of fossil fuels is supremely virtuous—because human life is the standard of value and because using fossil fuels transforms our environment to make it wonderful for human life.”
Author : Leonardo Maugeri
Publisher : Praeger
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 40,15 MB
Release : 2010-02-26
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0313381712
The author puts forward a hard-headed, concrete plan in simple everyday language for how to shift the world economy's primary energy dependence from fossil fuels to renewable energies by 2035. Assuming no specialized knowledge, the author walks the reader chapter by chapter through each of the fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) and each of the alternative energy sources (nuclear, hydroelectric, biofuel, wind, solar, geothermal, and hydrogen).
Author : George A. Olah
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 351 pages
File Size : 14,92 MB
Release : 2011-08-24
Category : Science
ISBN : 3527644636
The world is currently consuming about 85 million barrels of oil a day, and about two-thirds as much natural gas equivalent, both derived from non-renewable natural sources. In the foreseeable future, our energy needs will come from any available alternate source. Methanol is one such viable alternative, and also offers a convenient solution for efficient energy storage on a large scale. In this updated and enlarged edition, renowned chemists discuss in a clear and readily accessible manner the pros and cons of humankind's current main energy sources, while providing new ways to overcome obstacles. Following an introduction, the authors look at the interrelationship of fuels and energy, and at the extent of our non-renewable fossil fuels. They also discuss the hydrogen economy and its significant shortcomings. The main focus is on the conversion of CO2 from industrial as well as natural sources into liquid methanol and related DME, a diesel fuel substitute that can replace LNG and LPG. The book is rounded off with an optimistic look at future possibilities. A forward-looking and inspiring work that vividly illustrates potential solutions to our energy and environmental problems.
Author : Alice J. Friedemann
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 205 pages
File Size : 14,76 MB
Release : 2021-03-29
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 3030703355
This book is a reality check of where energy will come from in the future. Today, our economy is utterly dependent on fossil fuels. They are essential to transportation, manufacturing, farming, electricity, and to make fertilizers, cement, steel, roads, cars, and half a million other products. One day, sooner or later, fossil fuels will no longer be abundant and affordable. Inevitably, one day, global oil production will decline. That time may be nearer than we realize. Some experts predict oil shortages as soon as 2022 to 2030. What then are our options for replacing the fossil fuels that turn the great wheel of civilization? Surveying the arsenal of alternatives – wind, solar, hydrogen, geothermal, nuclear, batteries, catenary systems, fusion, methane hydrates, power2gas, wave, tidal power and biomass – this book examines whether they can replace or supplement fossil fuels. The book also looks at substitute energy sources from the standpoint of the energy users. Manufacturing, which uses half of fossil fuels, often requires very high heat, which in many cases electricity can't provide. Industry uses fossil fuels as a feedstock for countless products, and must find substitutes. And, as detailed in the author's previous book, "When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation," ships, locomotives, and heavy-duty trucks are fueled by diesel. What can replace diesel? Taking off the rose-colored glasses, author Alice Friedemann analyzes our options. What alternatives should we deploy right now? Which technologies merit further research and development? Which are mere wishful thinking that, upon careful scrutiny, dematerialize before our eyes? Fossil fuels have allowed billions of us to live like kings. Fueled by oil, coal, and natural gas, we changed the equation constraining the carrying capacity of our planet. As fossil fuels peak and then decline, will we fall back to Earth? Are there viable alternatives?
Author : Fabio Orecchini
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 366 pages
File Size : 15,83 MB
Release : 2011-10-17
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 0857292447
What lies beyond the era of fossil fuels? While most answers focus on different primary energy resources, Energy Systems in the Era of Energy Vectors provides a completely new approach. Instead of providing a traditional consumption analysis of classical primary energy resources such as oil, coal, nuclear power and gas, Energy Systems in the Era of Energy Vectors describes and assesses energy technologies, markets and future strategies, focusing on their capacity to produce, exchange, and use energy vectors. Special attention is given to the renewable energy resources available in different areas of the world and made exploitable by the integration of energy vectors in the global energy system. Clear definitions of energy vectors and energy systems are used as the basis for a complete explanation and assessment of up-to-date, available technologies for energy resources, transport and storage systems, conversion and use. The energy vectors scheme allows the potential realization of a worldwide sustainable energy system to fulfill global development expectations by minimizing both the impact on the environment, and the international political frictions for access to limited and concentrated resources. Energy Systems in the Era of Energy Vectors is an informative read for researchers and advanced students in industrial, energy and environmental engineering. It also contains valuable information for managers and technicians working in the energy sector.
