Money, Virtual Energy
Money, Virtual Energy

Author: Octavian Ksenzhek

Publisher: Universal-Publishers

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 158112953X

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Economic activity of humankind is considered in the book through the prism of fundamental physical concepts of Irreversible Thermodynamics. In the frame of such an approach the Economy appears as an immense global system, which performs work, necessary for functioning human societies, at the expense of dissipation of energy, both biological, provided with food, and technological, used for industrial and everyday needs. Money plays a fundamental role of virtual energy specific for economic processes, that makes possible mutual coupling of energy flows distinct in their nature. The author applies the concept of entropy of money and shows that it depends upon the degree of concentration of money. In turn entropy of money is shown to define attainable level of capability of money to perform work. An ambivalent role of inequality in income distribution in a society as a natural consequence of economic activity of humans and as a factor of its motivation is analyzed. Representing economy as a system driven by energy flows the author touches some conjugated global problems caused by developing economic activity of humankind, such as ecological ones. The considerations concerning the distinction between exogenous and endogenous energy as well as between heat-associated and substance-associated entropy seem to be very important.

Distributed Control Methods and Cyber Security Issues in Microgrids
Distributed Control Methods and Cyber Security Issues in Microgrids

Author: Wenchao Meng

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2020-03-20

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 012816946X

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Distributed Control and Cyber Security Issues in Microgrids presents a thorough treatment of distributed control methods and cyber security issues for power system researchers and engineers. With the help of mathematical tools, this reference gives a deep understanding of microgrids and new research directions, addressing emerging concepts, methodologies and applications of monitoring, control and protection in smart microgrids with large-scale renewables. With the integration of more distributed or aggregated renewables and the wide utilization of power electronic devices, the smart microgrid is facing new stability and security challenges.

Play Money
Play Money

Author: Julian Dibbell

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2007-03-09

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 0465003672

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Play Money explores a remarkable new phenomenon that's just beginning to enter public consciousness: MMORPGs, or Massively MultiPlayer Online Role-Playing Games, in which hundreds of thousands of players operate fantasy characters in virtual environments the size of continents. With city-sized populations of nearly full-time players, these games generate their own cultures, governments, and social systems and, inevitably, their own economies, which spill over into the real world. The desire for virtual goods -- magic swords, enchanted breastplates, and special, hard-to-get elixirs -- has spawned a cottage industry of "virtual loot farmers": People who play the games just to obtain fantasy goods that they can sell in the real world. The best loot farmers can make between six figures a year and six figures a month.Play Money is an extended walk on the weird side: a vivid snapshot of a subculture whose denizens were once the stuff of mere sociological spectacle but now -- with computer gaming poised to eclipse all other entertainments in dollar volume, and with the lines between play and work, virtual and real increasingly blurred -- look more and more like the future.

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Author: Bill Gates

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2021-02-16

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 0385546149

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#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.

Sustainable Energy and Economics in an Aging Population
Sustainable Energy and Economics in an Aging Population

Author: Kozo Torasan Mayumi

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-04-01

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 3030432254

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This book discusses current challenges in Japan, focusing on the nation’s rapidly aging population and low birth rate, along with persistent public bond issues with heavy interest payments, the potential collapse of social security systems, and income inequality, as well as the global picture. In turn, it examines the accessibility of global fossil fuels and feasibility of large-scale solar energy use. A new theory of money, interest, and capital is put forward, together with a proposal for an alternative system of international monetary cooperation, to promote a more sustainable and equitable world. Specific topics discussed include • the inverted population pyramid, due to the dramatic change in human life spans and declining birth rates; • the rapidly shrinking workforce, aging population, and declining GDP share sourced from industry; • disproportionate debt expansion due to public bond issues and coping with a persistent budget deficit; • the potential collapse of social security systems combined with income inequality; and • how to mitigate these bio-economic predicaments. Global Energy Sources offers an essential guide for policymakers, economists, researchers, and all those concerned with establishing a sustainable and equitable society from both energy and monetary perspectives. Further, it will be of interest to readers around the world, as the lessons learned from Japan are crucial to other developed societies that may eventually face the same types of challenge.

Wealth, Energy, and Human Values
Wealth, Energy, and Human Values

Author: Thomas P. Wallace

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 530

ISBN-13: 1438976283

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The degradation of the modern American culture, including its 2008 financial and economic crisis, and the modern rejuvenation of Asian cultures are best understood within the context of 4,000 years of human history. Such are the consequences of the dynamics of cultural change, responding to societal variables of wealth, energy, and human values. This work provides a unique and formidable science-based framework for civilization development that complements and enhances the work of preeminent historians and sociologists. Accordingly, the foundation for societal progress is placed on restrictive scientific definitions, principles, and concepts of energy and wealth consumption, rather than solely on behavioral perspectives derived from empirical data and historical events. Society's dynamic forces are linked to the cultural deterioration and collapse of Ancient Greece and Rome, Imperial Spain, and Great Britain. Specific chapters are devoted to stagnation of Western civilization, Asian and Islamic resurgence, deterioration of the American culture, and ecological degradation of North America's largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay; collateral damage of socio-economic profitability. The characteristics of America's current cultural deterioration parallel those of previous great civilizations. These include abuse of wealth and energy resources; excessive individual and national debt; lack of cultural civility, discipline, integrity, and ethics; unaffordable militarism, escalating income and wealth disparities; unresolved crises in health care and public education; and stultifying cultural complexity and bureaucracy. Themes include the underlying principles responsible for the eventual deterioration of all known civilizations; the basis for the recurring, sequential periodicity of civilization success and failure; and the roles and significance of militarism and religion in civilization growth, decay, and rebirth; Addressing these themes necessitates the integration of the academic disciplines of history, sociology, economics, and science, reflecting human nature and socioeconomic and political realities that fundamentally and continuously alter human values, priorities, and behavior, thus creating human history.

Decentralised Energy
Decentralised Energy

Author: Christoph Burger

Publisher: Ubiquity Press

Published: 2020-01-14

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1911529692

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The energy system is undergoing a fundamental transformation – from fossil to renewable energy, from central power plants to distributed, decentralised generation facilities such as rooftop solar panels or wind parks, from utilities to private residents as producers of energy, and from analogue to digital. This book looks at the energy transformation from two complementary angles: governance and business model innovation. On the one side, governance is a decisive factor for the success of the transformation because it can act as an accelerator, or it can delay the process. On the other side, entrepreneurs and corporate decision-makers provide new business models for a decentralised energy world. Based on best practices, country studies and interviews with CEOs and founders of startups from all over the world, the “Global Game Changer” suggests eight key principles for political decision-makers to successfully implement the transformation, and six core competencies for corporate decision-makers to thrive in the new marketplace.

The Energy Internet
The Energy Internet

Author: Wencong Su

Publisher: Woodhead Publishing

Published: 2018-10-26

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0081022158

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The Energy Internet: An Open Energy Platform to Transform Legacy Power Systems into Open Innovation and Global Economic Engines is an innovative concept that changes the way people generate, distribute and consume electrical energy. With the potential to transform the infrastructure of the electric grid, the book challenges existing power systems, presenting innovative and pioneering theories and technologies that will challenge existing norms on generation and consumption. Researchers, academics, engineers, consultants and policymakers will gain a thorough understanding of the Energy Internet that includes a thorough dissemination of case studies from the USA, China, Japan, Germany and the U.K. The book's editors provide analysis of various enabling technologies and technical solutions, such as control theory, communication, and the social and economic aspects that are central to obtaining a clear appreciation of the potential of this complex infrastructure. - Presents the first complete resource on the innovative concept of the Energy Internet - Provides a clear analysis of the architecture of the Energy Internet to ensure an understanding of the technologies behind generating, distributing and consuming electricity in this way - Includes a variety of global case studies of real-world implementation and pilot projects to thoroughly demonstrate the theoretical, technological and economic considerations

Financial Transmission Rights
Financial Transmission Rights

Author: Juan Rosellón

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-15

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 1447147871

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Whilst financial rights have appeared as a successful ingredient in North-American power markets, they have their shortcomings both theoretically and in practice. Financial Transmission Rights: Analysis, Experiences and Prospects present a systematic and comprehensive overview of financial transmission rights (FTRS). Following a general introduction to FTRs, including chapters to explain transmission pricing and the general properties of FTRS, experts in the field provide discussions on wide scope of topics. These include: Varying perspectives on FTRS: from electrical engineers to economists, Different mathematical formulations of FTRS Financial Hedging using FTRS, and Alternative solutions to FTRs The detail, expertise and range of content makes Financial Transmission Rights: Analysis, Experiences and Prospect an essential resource for electricity market specialists both at academic and professional levels. “This is THE BOOK we were all expecting to address all key ‘Financial Transmission Rights’ issues. It is comprehensive and reader friendly. You can pick at will in its menu: more or less theory, a bit of maths or none, empirical review of real cases or numerical simulations of many feasible options. Big names rally there to delight you like: Hogan , Oren, Perez-Arriaga, Smeers, Hobbs and... Rosellón. More than a must read: a light house, a map and a survival kit.” Jean – Michel Glachant, Director Florence School, Holder Loyola de Palacio Chair, Chief-editor Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy. "In the last two decades, economists have developed a better understanding of the impact of financial rights on risk management, market power and network expansion in electricity markets, while power systems have experimented with such rights. Striking a good balance between academics and practitioners, always at the frontier of the field, written by the best experts, this volume is essential reading for all those- power systems’ managers and users, regulators, students and researchers- who want to understand the new electricity environment and predict its evolution." Jean Tirole, Toulouse School of Economics and Institute for Industrial Economics (IDEI) Further comments inside.