Download or read book Climate Change and the Post Carbon Future written by and published by Evans Brothers. This book was released on 2009-11 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers practical ways to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. The authors demonstrate how all of us can help to make the shift from fossil fuels to a post-carbon future through an energy revolution.
Download or read book Our Renewable Future written by Richard Heinberg and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2016-06-02 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Over the next few decades, we will see a profound energy transformation as society shifts from fossil fuels to renewable resources like solar, wind, biomass. But what might a one hundred percent renewable future actually look like, and what obstacles will we face in this transition? Authors explore the practical challenges and opportunities presented by the shift to renewable energy."--Page 4 of cover.
Download or read book Educating for Hope in Troubled Times written by David Hicks and published by Trentham Books Limited. This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores three global issues - climate change, peak oil and the limits to growth. It sets out the facts about the inevitable yet still largely unknown changes, and examines the feelings and attitudes the coming changes engender. It offers teachers ways to engage with vital but too often avoided issues, and to share success stories and sources of hope for the future. In these troubled and fast changing times yesterday is no longer an accurate guide to tomorrow. We have to understand and be able to prepare young people for a future very different from today's world. This book is about developing new ways of being and exploring new horizons. The insight and support it provides will help make teachers more knowledgeable and better able to prepare learners for the transition to a post-carbon future. This book is essential reading for primary and secondary teachers and for students and tutors in Initial Teacher Education. It will also be of value to headteachers, governors, educational researchers and others concerned with matching policy and practice to the demands of changing times. It will develop critical enquiry in Geography, English, Science, Citizenship Education, Personal, Social and Health Education and inspire those working in education for sustainability, sustainable schools and global education.
Download or read book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster written by Bill Gates and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #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.
Download or read book Designing Climate Solutions written by Hal Harvey and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2018-11-01 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the effects of climate change already upon us, the need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions is nothing less than urgent. It’s a daunting challenge, but the technologies and strategies to meet it exist today. A small set of energy policies, designed and implemented well, can put us on the path to a low carbon future. Energy systems are large and complex, so energy policy must be focused and cost-effective. One-size-fits-all approaches simply won’t get the job done. Policymakers need a clear, comprehensive resource that outlines the energy policies that will have the biggest impact on our climate future, and describes how to design these policies well. Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy is the first such guide, bringing together the latest research and analysis around low carbon energy solutions. Written by Hal Harvey, CEO of the policy firm Energy Innovation, with Robbie Orvis and Jeffrey Rissman of Energy Innovation, Designing Climate Solutions is an accessible resource on lowering carbon emissions for policymakers, activists, philanthropists, and others in the climate and energy community. In Part I, the authors deliver a roadmap for understanding which countries, sectors, and sources produce the greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and give readers the tools to select and design efficient policies for each of these sectors. In Part II, they break down each type of policy, from renewable portfolio standards to carbon pricing, offering key design principles and case studies where each policy has been implemented successfully. We don’t need to wait for new technologies or strategies to create a low carbon future—and we can’t afford to. Designing Climate Solutions gives professionals the tools they need to select, design, and implement the policies that can put us on the path to a livable climate future.
Download or read book Energy Revolution written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers practical ways to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. The authors demonstrate how all of us can help to make the shift from fossil fuels to a post-carbon future through an energy revolution.
Download or read book The Future Is Not What It Used to Be written by Jorg Friedrichs and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2013-08-16 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A hard look at the twin challenges of climate change and energy scarcity that examines historical precedents and allows no room for complacency. The future is not what it used to be because we can no longer rely on the comforting assumption that it will resemble the past. Past abundance of fuel, for example, does not imply unending abundance. Infinite growth on a finite planet is not possible. In this book, Jörg Friedrichs argues that industrial society itself is transitory, and he examines the prospects for our civilization's coming to terms with its two most imminent choke points: climate change and energy scarcity. He offers a thorough and accessible account of these two challenges as well as the linkages between them. Friedrichs contends that industrial civilization cannot outlast our ability to burn fossil fuels and that the demise of industrial society would entail cataclysmic change, including population decreases. To understand the social and political implications, he examines historical cases of climate stress and energy scarcity: devastating droughts in the ancient Near East; the Little Ice Age in the medieval Far North; the Japanese struggle to prevent “fuel starvation” from 1918 to 1945; the “totalitarian retrenchment” of the North Korean governing class after the end of Soviet oil deliveries; and Cuba's socioeconomic adaptation to fuel scarcity in the 1990s. He draws important lessons about the likely effects of climate and energy disruptions on different kinds of societies. The warnings of climate scientists are met by denial and inaction, while energy experts offer little guidance on the effects of future scarcity. Friedrichs suggests that to confront our predicament we must affirm our core values and take action to transform our way of life. Whether we are private citizens or public officials, complacency is not an option: climate change and energy scarcity are emerging facts of life.
Download or read book Afterburn written by Richard Heinberg and published by New Society Publishers. This book was released on 2015-04-01 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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
Download or read book Carbon Governance Climate Change and Business Transformation written by Adam Bumpus and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-07-17 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transformation to a low carbon economy is a central tenet to any discussion on the solutions to the complex challenges of climate change and energy security. Despite advances in policy, carbon management and continuing development of clean technology, fundamental business transformation has not occurred because of multiple political, economic, social and organisational issues. Carbon Governance, Climate Change and Business Transformation is based on leading academic and industry input, and three international workshops focused on low carbon transformation in leading climate policy jurisdictions (Canada, USA and the UK) under the international Carbon Governance Project (CGP) banner. The book pulls insights from this innovative collaborative network to identify the policy combinations needed to create transformative change. It explores fundamental questions about how governments and the private sector conceptualize the problem of climate change, the conditions under which business transformation can genuinely take place and key policy and business innovations needed. Broadly, the book is based on emerging theories of multi-levelled, multi-actor carbon governance, and applies these ideas to the real world implications for tackling climate change through business transformation. Conceptually and empirically, this book stimulates both academic discussion and practical business models for low carbon transformation.
Download or read book The Approaching Great Transformation written by Joel Magnuson and published by Seven Stories Press. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A brave book by a smart person with a masterful command of economic theory."—Publisher's Weekly How should we act and think economically in the world as the era of cheap oil comes to an end? The Approaching Great Transformation begins to answer this massive question, focusing on the people and communities already at work on the transition: energy descent pioneers in the UK and the US educating their communities about the road ahead, small enterprises defying traditional “profit” in favor of permanence and sustainability, and cities preparing for a post carbon future. Highlighting the work of thinkers like John Ruskin and E. F. Schumacher, Magnuson here builds on his previous book, Mindful Economics.
Download or read book The World We Made Alex McKay s Story from 2050 written by Jonathon Porritt and published by Phaidon Press. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our planet's future is too often described in terms of doom and despair. However, there is another perspective that is not only positive, but credible, too. The World We Made describes a planet that is green, fair, connected, and collaborative. Based on extensive research, leading environmentalist Jonathon Porritt reveals how we can achieve a genuinely sustainable world by 2050 if we act immediately. Part history, part narrative, The World We Made describes the key events, technological breakthroughs, and lifestyle revolutions that could transform our planet, covering topics as wide-ranging as 3D printing, personal genomics, urban agriculture, and the digital landscape. The book's innovative ideas are brought to life with futuristic photographs, infographics, and hand-drawn sketches, while an extensive index provides the tools and tips needed to prepare for what's ahead. The World We Made is essential reading for anyone interested in preserving our planet. All royalties will support the work of Forum for the Future, one of the world's leading sustainable development non-profits.
Download or read book How Are We Going to Explain This written by Jelmer Mommers and published by Scribner. This book was released on 2020-11-17 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There’s a new story in the making, one in which the consequences of our actions add up—and every contribution is meaningful. If climate change is the biggest threat humanity has ever faced, then why are we doing so little about it? And where do we go from here? Journalist Jelmer Mommers knows most people prefer not to talk or even think about climate change, and that is exactly why he wrote this book. Denial and despair are not the only possible responses to the current crisis. Drawing on the latest science, Mommers describes how we got here, what possible future awaits us, and how you can help make a difference. Five years in the making, How Are We Going to Explain This was an instant bestseller in the Netherlands. With this revised and updated translation, including responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mommers brings his unique blend of realism and hope to the wider world.
Download or read book Smart Cities Energy and Climate written by Oleg Golubchikov and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2024-07-10 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collective insight of key thought leaders in the field to clarify and reshape the vision of smart cities Smart Cities, Energy and Climate: Governing Cities for a Low-Carbon Future is a seminal work that draws together representative insights and case studies on post-carbon urbanism across a variety of fieldsfrom smart energy grids to active buildings, sustainable mobility and urban design. Another objective is to foster an understanding of how digitally-enhanced smart city solutions can assist energy transitions, and what new developments and challenges they bring in areas ranging from urban governance to energy security. Key topics covered in this book include: Recent developments in urban planning, building design and smart technologies Urban-scale digital platforms and innovation for clean energy systems, energy efficiency and net-zero policies Socio-technical and political relationships in climate-neutral cities and smart cities Context-rich, situated perspectives from Europe, Africa and Asia Cities, Energy and Climate Governing Cities for a Low-Carbon Future serves as a primary reference for scholars, students and policy makers interested in the conceptual, technical, economic and political challenges associated with the transition towards a smart and sustainable urban future.
Download or read book Cities and Low Carbon Transitions written by Harriet Bulkeley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-12-14 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Current societies face unprecedented risks and challenges connected to climate change. Addressing them will require fundamental transformations in the infrastructures that sustain everyday life, such as energy, water, waste and mobility. A transition to a ‘low carbon’ future implies a large scale reorganisation in the way societies produce and use energy. Cities are critical in this transition because they concentrate social and economic activities that produce climate change related emissions. At the same time, cities are increasingly recognised as sources of opportunities for climate change mitigation. Whether, how and why low carbon transitions in urban systems take place in response to climate change will therefore be decisive for the success of global mitigation efforts. As a result, climate change increasingly features as a critical issue in the management of urban infrastructure and in urbanisation policies. Cities and Low Carbon Transitions presents a ground-breaking analysis of the role of cities in low carbon socio-technical transitions. Insights from the fields of urban studies and technological transitions are combined to examine how, why and with what implications cities bring about low carbon transitions. The book outlines the key concepts underpinning theories of socio-technical transition and assesses its potential strengths and limits for understanding the social and technological responses to climate change that are emerging in cities. It draws on a diverse range of examples including world cities, ordinary cities and transition towns, from North America, Europe, South Africa and China, to provide evidence that expectations, aspirations and plans to undertake purposive socio-technical transitions are emerging in different urban contexts. This collection adds to existing literature on cities and energy transitions and introduces critical questions about power and social interests, lock-in and development trajectories, social equity and economic development, and socio-technical change in cities. The book addresses academics, policy makers, practitioners and researchers interested in the development of systemic responses in cities to curb climate change.
Download or read book Transitioning to a Post Carbon Society written by Ernest Garcia and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-12-27 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book deals with one of the most pressing social and environmental issues that we face today. The transition to a post-carbon society, in which the consumption of fossil fuels decreases over time, has become an inevitability due to the need to prevent catastrophic climate change, the increasing cost and scarcity of energy, and complex combinations of both of these factors. As the authors point out, this will not only entail political adjustments and the replacement of some technologies by others, but will be accompanied by social and cultural changes that bring about substantial modifications in our societies and ways of life. This book examines whether the current conditions, which date back to the crisis that began in 2007, favour a benign and smooth transition or will make it more difficult and prone to conflict. It argues that, even if this transformation is unavoidable, the directions it will take and the resulting social forms are much less certain. There will be many post-carbon societies, the authors conclude, and any number of routes to social change. Transitioning to a Post-Carbon Society therefore represents a significant contribution to global debates on the environment, and is vital reading for academics, policymakers, business leaders, NGOs and the general public alike.
Download or read book A Bright Future written by Joshua S. Goldstein and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2019-01-08 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inspiration for Nuclear Now, the new Oliver Stone film, co-written by Joshua Goldstein As climate change quickly approaches a series of turning points that guarantee disastrous outcomes, a solution is hiding in plain sight. Several countries have already replaced fossil fuels with low-carbon energy sources, and done so rapidly, in one to two decades. By following their methods, we could decarbonize the global economy by midcentury, replacing fossil fuels even while world energy use continues to rise. But so far we have lacked the courage to really try. In this clear-sighted and compelling book, Joshua Goldstein and Staffan Qvist explain how clean energy quickly replaced fossil fuels in such places as Sweden, France, South Korea, and Ontario. Their people enjoyed prosperity and growing energy use in harmony with the natural environment. They didn't do this through personal sacrifice, nor through 100 percent renewables, but by using them in combination with an energy source the Swedes call käkraft, hundreds of times safer and cleaner than coal. Clearly written and beautifully illustrated, yet footnoted with extensive technical references, Goldstein and Qvist's book will provide a new touchstone in discussions of climate change. It could spark a shift in world energy policy that, in the words of Steven Pinker's foreword, literally saves the world.
Download or read book Spatial Planning and Climate Change written by Elizabeth Wilson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-09-13 with total page 645 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spatial planning has a vital role to play in the move to a low carbon energy future and in adapting to climate change. To do this, spatial planning must develop and implement new approaches. Elizabeth Wilson and Jake Piper explore a wide range of issues in this comprehensive book on the relationship between our changing climate and spatial planning, and suggest ways of addressing the challenges by taking a longer-sighted approach to our preparation for the future. This text includes: an overview of what we know already about future climate change and its impacts, as we attempt both to adapt to these changes and to reduce the emissions which cause them the role of spatial planning in relation to climate change, offering some theoretical and political explanations for the challenges that planning faces in the coming decades a review of policy and legislation at international, EU and UK levels in regard to climate change, and the support this gives to the planning system case studies detailing what responses the UK and the Netherlands have made so far in light of the evidence ways to help new and existing urban developments to reduce energy use and to adapt to climate change, through strengthening the relationships between urban and rural areas to avoid water shortage, floods or loss of biodiversity. The authors take an evidence-based look at this hugely important topic, providing a well-illustrated text for spatial planning professionals, politicians and the interested public, as well as a useful reference for postgraduate planning, geography, urban studies, urban design and environmental studies students.
