Download or read book Energy and Humanity written by Jami Hossain and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2019-10-29 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sometime around three million years ago, the first hominid walked on this planet. In the time which has elapsed since then, the descendant of this biped has evolved to reach the top of the food chain. Furthermore, it has manipulated other lifeforms and Earth’s resources in a manner that makes these entirely subservient to only one species, homo sapiens. In a period less than 0.007% of Earth’s age, man has dramatically altered both the biosphere and the climate. This text argues that intelligent manipulation of ‘energy’ is at the heart of human supremacy. Energy is intertwined in an intricate manner with everything that happens around us. From the very beginning, nearly three million years ago, up until today, the human race has evolved and progressed by gaining mastery and control over energy. This book presents an insightful description of the evolution of human civilization from an energy perspective, showing that ‘energy’ is the vehicle that has catapulted the human race to a commanding position on Earth. From rudimentary Stone Age tools to classical physics, from animal power to the steam engine, and from relativity and quantum theory to geo-politics and climate change, drawing upon multiple disciplines, it weaves a fascinating story of the history of “energy” in human civilization. It also discusses the “dark side” of energy, exemplified by climate change, pollution, and deforestation, which is compelling modern human civilization to once again go into an energy transition mode, as well as those forms of energy which can counteract such forces: renewable and smart energy and their associated innovations.

Download or read book Energy and Civilization written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Energy Humanities written by Imre Szeman and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2017-04-22 with total page 606 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "... these fields of scholarship are ones that demonstrate how the scale and complexity of the issues being explored demand insights and approaches that transcend old school disciplinary boundaries. This book offers a selection of the most influential work in energy humanities that has appeared over the past decade. Selections range from anthropology and geography to philosophy, history, and cultural studies to recent energy-focused interventions in art and literature..."--Provided by publisher.

Download or read book Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet written by Thomas Murphy, Jr. and published by . This book was released on 2021-03 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Textbook for general-education college course on the physics of energy and its role in the broader context of society. Topics include exponential growth, economic growth, population, the role of space exploration, energy units, thermal energy, fossil fuels, climate change, hydroelectricity, wind power, solar power, biological energy, nuclear energy, comparison of alternative energy options, the role of human psychology, prospects for a plan, and adaptation strategies. Appendices include refreshers on math and chemistry, selected answers from end-of-chapter problems, and worthwhile tangents. Contains 195 graphics, 70 tables, a glossary, bibliography, and index.

Download or read book Energy written by Richard Rhodes and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “meticulously researched” (The New York Times Book Review) examination of energy transitions over time and an exploration of the current challenges presented by global warming, a surging world population, and renewable energy—from Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author Richard Rhodes. People have lived and died, businesses have prospered and failed, and nations have risen to world power and declined, all over energy challenges. Through an unforgettable cast of characters, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes explains how wood gave way to coal and coal made room for oil, as we now turn to natural gas, nuclear power, and renewable energy. “Entertaining and informative…a powerful look at the importance of science” (NPR.org), Rhodes looks back on five centuries of progress, through such influential figures as Queen Elizabeth I, King James I, Benjamin Franklin, Herman Melville, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Ford. In his “magisterial history…a tour de force of popular science” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Rhodes shows how breakthroughs in energy production occurred; from animal and waterpower to the steam engine, from internal-combustion to the electric motor. He looks at the current energy landscape, with a focus on how wind energy is competing for dominance with cast supplies of coal and natural gas. He also addresses the specter of global warming, and a population hurtling towards ten billion by 2100. Human beings have confronted the problem of how to draw energy from raw material since the beginning of time. Each invention, each discovery, each adaptation brought further challenges, and through such transformations, we arrived at where we are today. “A beautifully written, often inspiring saga of ingenuity and progress…Energy brings facts, context, and clarity to a key, often contentious subject” (Booklist, starred review).

Download or read book The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels written by Alex Epstein and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-11-13 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Could everything we know about fossil fuels be wrong? For decades, environmentalists have told us that using fossil fuels is a self-destructive addiction that will destroy our planet. Yet at the same time, by every measure of human well-being, from life expectancy to clean water to climate safety, life has been getting better and better. How can this be? The explanation, energy expert Alex Epstein argues in The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, is that we usually hear only one side of the story. We’re taught to think only of the negatives of fossil fuels, their risks and side effects, but not their positives—their unique ability to provide cheap, reliable energy for a world of seven billion people. And the moral significance of cheap, reliable energy, Epstein argues, is woefully underrated. Energy is our ability to improve every single aspect of life, whether economic or environmental. If we look at the big picture of fossil fuels compared with the alternatives, the overall impact of using fossil fuels is to make the world a far better place. We are morally obligated to use more fossil fuels for the sake of our economy and our environment. Drawing on original insights and cutting-edge research, Epstein argues that most of what we hear about fossil fuels is a myth. For instance . . . Myth: Fossil fuels are dirty. Truth: The environmental benefits of using fossil fuels far outweigh the risks. Fossil fuels don’t take a naturally clean environment and make it dirty; they take a naturally dirty environment and make it clean. They don’t take a naturally safe climate and make it dangerous; they take a naturally dangerous climate and make it ever safer. Myth: Fossil fuels are unsustainable, so we should strive to use “renewable” solar and wind. Truth: The sun and wind are intermittent, unreliable fuels that always need backup from a reliable source of energy—usually fossil fuels. There are huge amounts of fossil fuels left, and we have plenty of time to find something cheaper. Myth: Fossil fuels are hurting the developing world. Truth: Fossil fuels are the key to improving the quality of life for billions of people in the developing world. If we withhold them, access to clean water plummets, critical medical machines like incubators become impossible to operate, and life expectancy drops significantly. Calls to “get off fossil fuels” are calls to degrade the lives of innocent people who merely want the same opportunities we enjoy in the West. Taking everything into account, including the facts about climate change, Epstein argues that “fossil fuels are easy to misunderstand and demonize, but they are absolutely good to use. And they absolutely need to be championed. . . . Mankind’s use of fossil fuels is supremely virtuous—because human life is the standard of value and because using fossil fuels transforms our environment to make it wonderful for human life.”

Download or read book Electricity Humanity s Low carbon Future Safeguarding Our Ecological Niche written by Hans B (Teddy) Puttgen and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2021-06-24 with total page 485 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change is no longer deniable. Neither is the fact that greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities need to be mitigated. The question is how to rapidly transit to an increasingly low-carbon world while essentially sustaining the quality of life of the fortunate and providing better lives for the less fortunate.The challenge is to decarbonize both energy consumption and production with electricity at the core of energy systems.Perhaps Energia, a fictitious country whose 50 million inhabitants endorse climate change objectives and that embodies the energy mutations proposed by the authors, has the answers. Along with Energia, four families living in Africa, America, Asia and Europe who represent us, the consumer, set the stage for the book's discussions.On the user front, the presentation primarily focuses on energy consumption at home and for transport. On the energy production front, the focus shifts to the integration of renewables with fossil and nuclear energy. The book's coverage includes crucial systemic issues related to energy storage, electric power systems and multi-energy systems. In a dedicated chapter, the authors put forward their energy and environmental public policy observations and proposals, including a carbon fee scheme.Electricity is written for readers interested and concerned by the environmental and energy challenges we face, and who seek to participate, as well-informed citizens, in discussions on future energy-related options. The book provides a balanced, factual and unemotional presentation of readily available energy systems and technologies which, when widely deployed, can contribute, both short and long term, toward a low-carbon and electricity-centered world.

Download or read book Petrocultures written by Sheena Wilson and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2017-06-26 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary life is founded on oil – a cheap, accessible, and rich source of energy that has shaped cities and manufacturing economies at the same time that it has increased mobility, global trade, and environmental devastation. Despite oil’s essential role, full recognition of its social and cultural significance has only become a prominent feature of everyday debate and discussion in the early twenty-first century. Presenting a multifaceted analysis of the cultural, social, and political claims and assumptions that guide how we think and talk about oil, Petrocultures maps the complex and often contradictory ways in which oil has influenced the public’s imagination around the world. This collection of essays shows that oil’s vast network of social and historical narratives and the processes that enable its extraction are what characterize its importance, and that its circulation through this immense web of relations forms worldwide experiences and expectations. Contributors’ essays investigate the discourses surrounding oil in contemporary culture while advancing and configuring new ways to discuss the cultural ecosystem that it has created. A window into the social role of oil, Petrocultures also contemplates what it would mean if human life were no longer deeply shaped by the consumption of fossil fuels.

Download or read book The Laws of Human Nature written by Robert Greene and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-10-23 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power comes the definitive new book on decoding the behavior of the people around you Robert Greene is a master guide for millions of readers, distilling ancient wisdom and philosophy into essential texts for seekers of power, understanding and mastery. Now he turns to the most important subject of all - understanding people's drives and motivations, even when they are unconscious of them themselves. We are social animals. Our very lives depend on our relationships with people. Knowing why people do what they do is the most important tool we can possess, without which our other talents can only take us so far. Drawing from the ideas and examples of Pericles, Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther King Jr, and many others, Greene teaches us how to detach ourselves from our own emotions and master self-control, how to develop the empathy that leads to insight, how to look behind people's masks, and how to resist conformity to develop your singular sense of purpose. Whether at work, in relationships, or in shaping the world around you, The Laws of Human Nature offers brilliant tactics for success, self-improvement, and self-defense.

Download or read book The Problem of Increasing Human Energy written by Nikola Tesla and published by A Distant Mirror. This book was released on 2019-02-27 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NIKOLA TESLA was a gifted electrical and mechanical engineer, and was one of the most influential inventors of the last century. Eventually holding over 700 patents, Tesla worked in a number of fields, including electricity, robotics, radar, and the wireless transmission of energy. His discoveries laid the groundwork for many of the twentieth century’s greatest technological advances. This book contains Tesla’s thoughts on humanity’s relationship with the universe, and also his explanation and scientific extrapolation on the technological advancements embodied in his work. This text, first published in Century Illustrated Magazine in June 1900, is yet another example of the genius of Nikola Tesla. CONTENTS Introduction • The onward movement of humanity• The energy of the movement• The three ways of increasing human energy 1 • The first problem: how to increase human mass• The burning of atmospheric nitrogen 2 • The second problem: how to reduce the force retarding the human mass• The art of telautomatics 3 • The third problem: how to increase the force accelerating the human mass• The harnessing of the Sun’s energy 4 • The source of human energy• The three ways of drawing energy from the Sun 5 • Great possibilities offered by iron for increasing human performance• Enormous waste in iron manufacture 6 • Economical production of iron by a new process 7• The coming of age of aluminium• The doom of the copper industry• The great civilizing potency of the new metal 8 • Efforts toward obtaining more energy from coal• Electric transmission• The gas engine• The cold-coal battery 9 • Energy from the medium• The windmill and the solar engine• Motive power from terrestrial heat• Electricity from natural sources 10 • A departure from known methods• The possibility of a ‘self-acting’ engine or machine• The ideal way of obtaining motive power 11 • First efforts to produce the self-acting engine• The mechanical oscillator• The work of Dewar and Linde• Liquid air 12 • Discovery of unexpected properties of the atmosphere• Strange experiments• Transmission of electrical energy through one wire without return• Transmission through the Earth without any wire 13 • Wireless telegraphy• The secret of tuning• Errors in the Hertzian investigations• A receiver of wonderful sensitivity 14• Development of a new principle• The electrical oscillator• Production of immense electrical movements• The Earth responds to man• Interplanetary communication now probable 15 • Transmission of electrical energy to any distance without wires now possible• The best means of increasing the force accelerating the human mass

Download or read book Revolutionary Power written by Shalanda Baker and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2021-01-14 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, completely upending the energy grid of the small island. The nearly year-long power outage that followed vividly shows how the new climate reality intersects with race and access to energy. The island is home to brown and black US citizens who lack the political power of those living in the continental US. As the world continues to warm and storms like Maria become more commonplace, it is critical that we rethink our current energy system to enable reliable, locally produced, and locally controlled energy without replicating the current structures of power and control. In Revolutionary Power, Shalanda Baker arms those made most vulnerable by our current energy system with the tools they need to remake the system in the service of their humanity. She argues that people of color, poor people, and indigenous people must engage in the creation of the new energy system in order to upend the unequal power dynamics of the current system. Revolutionary Power is a playbook for the energy transformation complete with a step-by-step analysis of the key energy policy areas that are ripe for intervention. Baker tells the stories of those who have been left behind in our current system and those who are working to be architects of a more just system. She draws from her experience as an energy-justice advocate, a lawyer, and a queer woman of color to inspire activists working to build our new energy system. Climate change will force us to rethink the way we generate and distribute energy and regulate the system. But how much are we willing to change the system? This unique moment in history provides an unprecedented opening for a deeper transformation of the energy system, and thus, an opportunity to transform society. Revolutionary Power shows us how.

Download or read book Comprehensive Energy Systems written by Ibrahim Dincer and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2018-02-07 with total page 5543 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comprehensive Energy Systems, Seven Volume Set provides a unified source of information covering the entire spectrum of energy, one of the most significant issues humanity has to face. This comprehensive book describes traditional and novel energy systems, from single generation to multi-generation, also covering theory and applications. In addition, it also presents high-level coverage on energy policies, strategies, environmental impacts and sustainable development. No other published work covers such breadth of topics in similar depth. High-level sections include Energy Fundamentals, Energy Materials, Energy Production, Energy Conversion, and Energy Management. Offers the most comprehensive resource available on the topic of energy systems Presents an authoritative resource authored and edited by leading experts in the field Consolidates information currently scattered in publications from different research fields (engineering as well as physics, chemistry, environmental sciences and economics), thus ensuring a common standard and language

Download or read book Thirst for Power written by Michael E. Webber and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2016-04-26 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although it is widely understood that energy and water are the world’s two most critical resources, their vital interconnections and vulnerabilities are less often recognized. This farsighted book offers a new, holistic way of thinking about energy and water—a big picture approach that reveals the interdependence of the two resources, identifies the seriousness of the challenges, and lays out an optimistic approach with an array of solutions to ensure the continuing sustainability of both. Michael Webber, a leader and teacher in the field of energy technology and policy, explains how energy and water supplies are linked and how problems in either can be crippling for the other. He shows that current population growth, economic growth, climate change, and short-sighted policies are likely to make things worse. Yet, Webber asserts, more integrated planning with long-term sustainability in mind can avert such a daunting future. Combining anecdotes and personal stories with insights into the latest science of energy and water, he identifies a hopeful path toward wise long-range water-energy decisions and a more reliable and abundant future for humanity.

Download or read book Children of the Sun written by Alfred W. Crosby and published by W. W. Norton. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Power written by Richard Heinberg and published by New Society Publishers. This book was released on 2021-09-14 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Impeccably researched and masterfully written, this book explains how and why humanity is driving itself off the cliff. — Dahr Jamail, author, The End of Ice Weaving together findings from a wide range of disciplines, Power traces how four key elements developed to give humans extraordinary power: tool making ability, language, social complexity, and the ability to harness energy sources ― most significantly, fossil fuels. It asks whether we have, at this point, overpowered natural and social systems, and if we have, what we can do about it. Has Homo sapiens — one species among millions — become powerful enough to threaten a mass extinction and disrupt the Earth's climate? Why have we developed so many ways of oppressing one another? Can we change our relationship with power to avert ecological catastrophe, reduce social inequality, and stave off collapse? These questions — and their answers — will determine our fate.

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 The Problem of Increasing Human Energy with special references to the harnessing of the Sun s energy written by Nikola Tesla and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-06-03 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla (1857-1943), was a revolutionary scientist who forever changed the scientific fields of electricity and magnetism. This book is part philosophy and part scientific exploration of humanity's interaction with the universe.