Solar Energy – History and Ways of Combating Modern Life Concerns
Solar Energy – History and Ways of Combating Modern Life Concerns

Author: Shawn Henry

Publisher: Omega Publishers

Published: 2021-07-28

Total Pages: 58

ISBN-13:

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Today we see people going bonkers for not having electricity. Something as important as clothing and food, shelter, and other necessities, this too has its worth. What happens when you see a closed room with no source of ventilation? Obviously... you tend to lose the cool (metaphorically and literally). What did you do to make the environment better? Again, too obvious... open the windows and doors if any. But how about taking a situation in mind and figure out the source of hope. Just imagine that you are sitting in a room with AC on. Bruno, the only dog you are left with plays with a red balloon that flies from one corner to another. All of a sudden, power fails and there is no other source of generating electricity to combat a 45-degree Celsius temperature. How would you feel? What will you think of doing? Feeling, I would say wouldn’t be great, right? However, what will you do – depends on two solutions. The first one being forgetting the situation, sweating and whining, and waiting for the power to resume. The second might be something better – make sure you do not experience the same pitying situation ever again. Let's dig right into it!

Energy and Civilization
Energy and Civilization

Author: Vaclav Smil

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2018-11-13

Total Pages: 564

ISBN-13: 0262536161

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A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.

How Solar Energy Became Cheap
How Solar Energy Became Cheap

Author: Gregory F. Nemet

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-20

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 0429643853

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Solar energy is a substantial global industry, one that has generated trade disputes among superpowers, threatened the solvency of large energy companies, and prompted serious reconsideration of electric utility regulation rooted in the 1930s. One of the biggest payoffs from solar’s success is not the clean inexpensive electricity it can produce, but the lessons it provides for innovation in other technologies needed to address climate change. Despite the large literature on solar, including analyses of increasingly detailed datasets, the question as to how solar became inexpensive and why it took so long still remains unanswered. Drawing on developments in the US, Japan, Germany, Australia, and China, this book provides a truly comprehensive and international explanation for how solar has become inexpensive. Understanding the reasons for solar’s success enables us to take full advantage of solar’s potential. It can also teach us how to support other low-carbon technologies with analogous properties, including small modular nuclear reactors and direct air capture. However, the urgency of addressing climate change means that a key challenge in applying the solar model is in finding ways to speed up innovation. Offering suggestions and policy recommendations for accelerated innovation is another key contribution of this book. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy technology and innovation, climate change and energy analysis and policy, as well as practitioners and policymakers working in the existing and emerging energy industries.

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

Author: Bill Gates

Publisher: Knopf Canada

Published: 2021-02-16

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 0735280452

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BESTSELLER In this urgent, singularly 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 an irreversible climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help and guidance of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science and finance, he has focused on exactly what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide toward certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only gathers together all the information we need to fully grasp how important it is that we work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases but also details exactly what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. 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 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 by following the guidelines he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.

The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy
The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy

Author: Lester R. Brown

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2015-04-20

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 0393351149

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The great energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy is under way. As oil insecurity deepens, the extraction risks of fossil fuels rise, and concerns about climate instability cast a shadow over the future of coal, a new world energy economy is emerging. The old economy, fueled by oil, natural gas, and coal is being replaced with one powered by wind, solar, and geothermal energy. The Great Transition details the accelerating pace of this global energy revolution. As many countries become less enamored with coal and nuclear power, they are embracing an array of clean, renewable energies. Whereas solar energy projects were once small-scale, largely designed for residential use, energy investors are now building utility-scale solar projects. Strides are being made: some of the huge wind farm complexes under construction in China will each produce as much electricity as several nuclear power plants, and an electrified transport system supplemented by the use of bicycles could reshape the way we think about mobility.

Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation
Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation

Author: Ottmar Edenhofer

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-11-21

Total Pages: 1088

ISBN-13: 9781107607101

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This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SRREN) assesses the potential role of renewable energy in the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy sources - bioenergy, solar, geothermal, hydropower, ocean and wind energy - as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It considers the environmental and social consequences associated with the deployment of these technologies, and presents strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion. SRREN brings a broad spectrum of technology-specific experts together with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. Prepared following strict IPCC procedures, it presents an impartial assessment of the current state of knowledge: it is policy relevant but not policy prescriptive. SRREN is an invaluable assessment of the potential role of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change for policymakers, the private sector, and academic researchers.

A House in the Sun
A House in the Sun

Author: Daniel A. Barber

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0199394016

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A House in the Sun describes a number of experiments in solar house heating in the 1940s and 1950s. It shows how resource limitations were seen as an opportunity for design to attain new relevance for social and cultural transformations.