Description
Book SynopsisThe enlightening, best-selling book on understanding sustainable energy and how we can make energy plans that add up.
If you''ve ever wondered how much energy we use, and where it comes from and where it could come from but are fed up with all the hot air and ''greenwash'', this is the book for you. Renewable resources are ''huge'', but our energy consumption is also ''huge''. To compare ''huge'' things with each other, we need numbers, not adjectives.
Sustainable Energy without the hot air addresses the energy crisis objectively, cutting through all the contradictory statements from the media, government, and lobbies of all sides. It gives you the numbers and the facts you need, in bite-sized chunks, so you can understand the issues yourself and organises a plan for change on both a personal level and an international scale for Europe, the United States, and the world. In case study format, this informative book also answers questions surround
Trade Review
"For anyone with influence on energy policy, whether in government, business or a campaign group, this book should be compulsory reading." -- Tony Juniper (Former Executive Director, Friends of the Earth)
"At last a book that comprehensively reveals the true facts about sustainable energy in a form that is both highly readable and entertaining." -- Robert Sansom (EDF Energy)
"MacKay brings a welcome dose of common sense into the discussion of energy sources and use. Fresh air replacing hot air." -- Prof Mike Ashby Royal Society Research Professor, Principal Investigator, Engineering Design Centre, Cambridge
"This year's must-read book about tackling our future energy needs." -- The Guardian
"... may be the best technical book about the environment that I've ever read. This is to energy and climate what Freakonomics is to economics." -- Cory Doctorow * Boing Boing *
"The book is a tour de force ... As a work of popular science it is exemplary ... For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the real problems involved [it] is the place to start." * The Economist *
"The first factual meme on renewable energy? A book about climate change that gets rave reviews from folk at oil companies, environmental groups and the Number One Blog of All Time has to be worth a peek." -- energysource blog * The Financial Times *
Table of Contents
I Numbers, not adjectives 1 Motivations 2 The balance sheet 3 Cars 4 Wind 5 Planes 6 Solar 7 Heating and cooling 8 Hydroelectricity 9 Light 10 Offshore wind 11 Gadgets 12 Wave 13 Food and farming 14 Tide 15 Stuff 16 Geothermal . 17 Public services 18 Can we live on renewables? II Making a difference 19 Every BIG helps 20 Better transport 21 Smarter heating 22 Efficient electricity use 23 Sustainable fossil fuels? 24 Nuclear? 25 Living on other countries’ renewables? 26 Fluctuations and storage 27 Five energy plans for Britain 28 Putting costs in perspective 29 What to do now . 30 Energy plans for Europe, America, and the World 31 The last thing we should talk about 32 Saying yes Acknowledgments III Technical chapters A Cars II B Wind II C Planes II D Solar II E Heating II F Waves II G Tide II H Stuff II IV Useful data I Quick reference J Populations and areas K UK energy history List of web links Bibliography Index About the author
