This book analyzes the entire spectrum of energy, from conventional sources to various alternative sources. Historically, the Sun has been viewed as the ultimate source of energy on the Earth. All forms of energy – fossil fuels and renewables alike – owe their existence to the Sun. The book also provides a historical perspective on energy policy over the years. It explains the fundamentals of energy and all related aspects using clear and straightforward language, and will serve as a reference guide for all stakeholders including policymakers, academics, students and world citizens in general.
World Energy Handbook presents an overview of the energy systems of selected countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It is a complete guide to energy history and generation in these countries, including renewable energy, storage, and use. The authors follow the same analytical approach for each country to construct comprehensive surveys of all aspects of energy systems, examining the advantages and disadvantages of each country’s energy infrastructures. The handbook aims to raise awareness about the condition and deficiencies of energy systems in developing countries, and the potential for the countries to improve, grow, and advance the technologies for energy generation – especially by turning to renewable energy sources to increase energy storage capacities and optimizing the way subsystems are integrated. The book serves as a must-have guide for decision-makers, investors, business people, and other professionals to understand the global distribution of energy generation, transmission, and each country’s carbon footprint and identify opportunities for energy system improvement worldwide.
The topic of energy is one of the most pressing issues across the globe. In this bundle, consisting of Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know, Nuclear Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know, and Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know, readers will explore everything from the the basic scientific concepts of energy to questions surrounding the specific ways we obtain it.
From two influential and visionary thinkers comes a big idea that is changing the way movements catch fire and ideas spread in our highly connected world. For the vast majority of human history, power has been held by the few. "Old power" is closed, inaccessible, and leader-driven. Once gained, it is jealously guarded, and the powerful spend it carefully, like currency. But the technological revolution of the past two decades has made possible a new form of power, one that operates differently, like a current. "New power" is made by many; it is open, participatory, often leaderless, and peer-driven. Like water or electricity, it is most forceful when it surges. The goal with new power is not to hoard it, but to channel it. New power is behind the rise of participatory communities like Facebook and YouTube, sharing services like Uber and Airbnb, and rapid-fire social movements like Brexit and #BlackLivesMatter. It explains the unlikely success of Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and the unlikelier victory of Donald Trump in 2016. And it gives ISIS its power to propagate its brand and distribute its violence. Even old power institutions like the Papacy, NASA, and LEGO have tapped into the strength of the crowd to stage improbable reinventions. In New Power, the business leaders/social visionaries Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms provide the tools for using new power to successfully spread an idea or lead a movement in the twenty-first century. Drawing on examples from business, politics, and social justice, they explain the new world we live in--a world where connectivity has made change shocking and swift and a world in which everyone expects to participate.
A timely and thought-provoking solution to the world's energy shortfall The dramatic increases in oil and natural gas prices, the finite supply of fossil fuels, and concerns over emissions and global warming are forcing us to consider alternatives. In this measured and knowledgeable book, energy experts Alan Herbst and George Hopley argue that the time has come for the U.S. to revitalize its nuclear generation assets in order to successfully meet growing domestic electricity requirements and lessen our dependence on foreign sources of energy. Nuclear Energy Now provides an informed look at the benefits and drawbacks associated with this controversial alternative to traditional energy sources. It opens with a brief overview of commercial nuclear development in the U.S. during the past half-century and moves on to discuss what the future may hold if new initiatives-supported by the Energy Policy Act of 2005-gain traction. Along the way, readers will find informed insights into why the need for nuclear power has become so critical and how we can safely add capacity in the coming years. Exploring all of the issues related to developing America's nuclear energy capabilities safely and cost-effectively, Nuclear Energy Now is a must-read for anyone concerned about our oil dependency, the environment, and future of the nation.
In this updated edition of a groundbreaking text, concepts such as energy return on investment (EROI) provide powerful insights into the real balance sheets that drive our “petroleum economy.” Hall and Klitgaard explore the relation between energy and the wealth explosion of the 20th century, and the interaction of internal limits to growth found in the investment process and rising inequality with the biophysical limits posed by finite energy resources. The authors focus attention on the failure of markets to recognize or efficiently allocate diminishing resources, the economic consequences of peak oil, the high cost and relatively low EROI of finding and exploiting new oil fields, including the much ballyhooed shale plays and oil sands, and whether alternative energy technologies such as wind and solar power can meet the minimum EROI requirements needed to run society as we know it. For the past 150 years, economics has been treated as a social science in which economies are modeled as a circular flow of income between producers and consumers. In this “perpetual motion” of interactions between firms that produce and households that consume, little or no accounting is given of the flow of energy and materials from the environment and back again. In the standard economic model, energy and matter are completely recycled in these transactions, and economic activity is seemingly exempt from the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As we enter the second half of the age of oil, when energy supplies and the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption are likely to constrain economic growth, this exemption should be considered illusory at best. This book is an essential read for all scientists and economists who have recognized the urgent need for a more scientific, empirical, and unified approach to economics in an energy-constrained world, and serves as an ideal teaching text for the growing number of courses, such as the authors’ own, on the role of energy in society.
A spirited survey of humanity's historical and modern efforts to harness sun-based energy reveals how the human race's successes have hinged directly on effective uses of sun energy, cites rates in pollution and global warming as warning signs of fossil fuel limits, and makes optimistic predictions about future innovations. 13,000 first printing.
The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an international forum consisting of 19 countries and the European Union. It was established in 1999 to promote international financial stability and sustainable economic growth. The G20 represents about 80% of the world's GDP, and its members include the United States, China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and many other major economies. Global finance and business strategies are topics of great importance in today's interconnected world. The global financial system plays a crucial role in facilitating trade, investment, and economic growth, while businesses operate in an increasingly competitive and rapidly changing environment. Strategies for success in this environment must take into account factors such as technological advancements, changing consumer preferences, and geopolitical risks. This book will explore these topics and provide valuable insights for policymakers, business leaders, and investors. It covers a wide range of topics, including macroeconomic trends, financial regulations, international trade, and corporate strategy. The book "G20: Global Finance & Business Strategies," is likely to focus on the role of the G20 in promoting global economic stability and the strategies that businesses can adopt to succeed in this environment.
Ronald Stein and Todd Royal, two seasoned veterans of the energy industry, explore the implications of a world reliant on intermittent green electricity in this book. They highlight how the use of petroleum led to the Industrial Revolution; the dark side of electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels; and why China and India – two of the world’s most populous countries – are rejecting the use of renewable electricity from wind and solar. Before fossil fuels, life was hard and dirty with shorter life expectancies. Thousands of products made from petroleum derivatives used for medications, electronics, plastics, and transportation simply did not exist. Many developing countries still don’t have easy access to fossil fuels. With limited transportation systems and few petroleum-based products, they do not enjoy the same opportunities as others. Meanwhile, leaders around the globe are suggesting intermittent electricity from solar panels and wind turbines can save us. The reality, however, is much more complicated. Find out what the world would really be like without fossil fuels with the insights and wisdom in Just GREEN Electricity.
