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 Energy Revolution written by Mara Prentiss and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2015-02-10 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy can be neither created nor destroyed—but it can be wasted. The United States wastes two-thirds of its energy, including 80 percent of the energy used in transportation. So the nation has a tremendous opportunity to develop a sensible energy policy based on benefits and costs. But to do that we need facts—not hyperbole, not wishful thinking. Mara Prentiss presents and interprets political and technical information from government reports and press releases, as well as fundamental scientific laws, to advance a bold claim: wind and solar power could generate 100 percent of the United States’ average total energy demand for the foreseeable future, even without waste reduction. To meet the actual rather than the average demand, significant technological and political hurdles must be overcome. Still, a U.S. energy economy based entirely on wind, solar, hydroelectricity, and biofuels is within reach. The transition to renewables will benefit from new technologies that decrease energy consumption without lifestyle sacrifices, including energy optimization from interconnected smart devices and waste reduction from use of LED lights, regenerative brakes, and electric cars. Many countries cannot obtain sufficient renewable energy within their borders, Prentiss notes, but U.S. conversion to a 100 percent renewable energy economy would, by itself, significantly reduce the global impact of fossil fuel consumption. Enhanced by full-color visualizations of key concepts and data, Energy Revolution answers one of the century’s most crucial questions: How can we get smarter about producing and distributing, using and conserving, energy?

Download or read book Recharging China in War and Revolution 1882 1955 written by Ying Jia Tan and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2021-05-15 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Recharging China in War and Revolution, 1882–1955, Ying Jia Tan explores the fascinating politics of Chinese power consumption as electrical industries developed during seven decades of revolution and warfare. Tan traces this history from the textile-factory power shortages of the late Qing, through the struggle over China's electrical industries during its civil war, to the 1937 Japanese invasion that robbed China of 97 percent of its generative capacity. Along the way, he demonstrates that power industries became an integral part of the nation's military-industrial complex, showing how competing regimes asserted economic sovereignty through the nationalization of electricity. Based on a wide range of published records, engineering reports, and archival collections in China, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States, Recharging China in War and Revolution, 1882–1955 argues that, even in times of peace, the Chinese economy operated as though still at war, constructing power systems that met immediate demands but sacrificed efficiency and longevity. Thanks to generous funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, through The Sustainable History Monograph Pilot, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.

Download or read book The Microgrid Revolution written by Mahesh P. Bhave and published by Praeger. This book was released on 2016-10-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What kinds (according to U.S. News & World Report) of clean electricity initiatives—ones that make sense on public policy and business strategy levels—could overcome the hurdles in shifting away from the entrenched electricity and petroleum-based transport industries in the United States? This book explores the tremendous opportunities of the new electricity revolution that looks to threaten the century-old business models of our existing power production infrastructure. The electricity industry, having been in place for more than 100 years, has established tremendous power and influence. But as solar- and wind-based energy businesses gain small footholds and expand their impact, the incumbent electricity businesses face fundamental challenges that threaten their century-old business models. Will technological advances and the motivation to control climate change finally effect a revolution in the electricity markets? This unique book proposes public policy- and business strategy-level initiatives that could overcome the structural impediments that prevail in the current electricity industries and predicts the important changes to come in the immediate and distant future. In The Microgrid Revolution: Business Strategies for Next-Generation Electricity, author Mahesh P. Bhave explains the current state of electricity production, identifies its widespread problems, and proposes a specific approach and particular solution to the puzzle of supplying clean energy for the 21st-century world. The introductory chapters lay the groundwork for the author's provocative thesis, and the concluding chapters elaborate on it with broad implications. By examining the subject material from the perspectives of public policy and regulatory concerns, corporate strategy, industry structure changes, innovation, and climate change as well as from a technological angle, readers from diverse industries and professional backgrounds will be able to understand how the coming electricity revolution is something we all have the power to influence.

Download or read book The Third Industrial Revolution written by Jeremy Rifkin and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2011-10-04 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Industrial Revolution, powered by oil and other fossil fuels, is spiraling into a dangerous endgame. The price of gas and food are climbing, unemployment remains high, the housing market has tanked, consumer and government debt is soaring, and the recovery is slowing. Facing the prospect of a second collapse of the global economy, humanity is desperate for a sustainable economic game plan to take us into the future. Here, Jeremy Rifkin explores how Internet technology and renewable energy are merging to create a powerful "Third Industrial Revolution." He asks us to imagine hundreds of millions of people producing their own green energy in their homes, offices, and factories, and sharing it with each other in an "energy internet," just like we now create and share information online. Rifkin describes how the five-pillars of the Third Industrial Revolution will create thousands of businesses, millions of jobs, and usher in a fundamental reordering of human relationships, from hierarchical to lateral power, that will impact the way we conduct commerce, govern society, educate our children, and engage in civic life. Rifkin's vision is already gaining traction in the international community. The European Union Parliament has issued a formal declaration calling for its implementation, and other nations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, are quickly preparing their own initiatives for transitioning into the new economic paradigm. The Third Industrial Revolution is an insider's account of the next great economic era, including a look into the personalities and players — heads of state, global CEOs, social entrepreneurs, and NGOs — who are pioneering its implementation around the world.

Download or read book Energy Revolution written by Howard Geller and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-06-22 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The transformation from a carbon-based world economy to one based on high efficiency and renewables is a necessary step if human society is to achieve sustainability. But while scientists and researchers have made significant advances in energy efficiency and renewable technologies in recent years, consumers have yet to see dramatic changes in the marketplace—due in large part to government policies and programs that favor the use of fossil fuels. Energy Revolution examines the policy options for mitigating or removing the entrenched advantages held by fossil fuels and speeding the transition to a more sustainable energy future, one based on improved efficiency and a shift to renewable sources such as solar, wind, and bioenergy. The book: examines today's energy patterns and trends and their consequences describes the barriers to a more sustainable energy future and how those barriers can be overcome provides ten case studies of integrated strategies that have been effective in different parts of the world examines international policies and institutions and recommends ways they could be improved reviews global trends that suggest that the transition to renewables and increased efficiency is underway and is achievable Energy policy represents a linchpin for achieving a broader transition to a more sustainable economy. Energy Revolution offers a unique focus on policies and programs, and on the lessons provided by recent experience. It represents a key statement of the available options for reforming energy policy that have proven to be successful, and is an essential work for policymakers, researchers, and anyone concerned with energy and sustainability issues.

Download or read book Heat Power and Light written by Roger Fouquet and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this book, Roger Fouquet investigates the impacts of technological innovations and economic development over the last thousand years on our ability to provide heat, power, transport and light. Using a unique data set, collected over a decade, the analysis identifies the forces driving revolutions in energy services. The framework, analysis and insights in this book offer an original perspective on future energy markets, transitions to low-carbon economies and strategies for addressing climate change."--BOOK JACKET.

Download or read book The Electric Revolution written by Roger A. S. Hennessey and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Electric City written by Harold L. Platt and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1991-04-09 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes consumers' shifting habits of fuel consumption, tracing how use of wood led to burning coal and coal gas, to the arrival, to the arrival of the arc lamp, and then the coming of electricity. Shows that the city government and utility brokers faced two problems: how to generate a cheap supply of electricity, and how to sell electrical energy to people who were already enjoying gas services. The solutions were found by Samuel Insull, president of Commonwealth Edison Company, who put electrical technology on a sound economic footing.

Download or read book Revolution in Electricity the Story of the Wonder Crystals written by Martin Mann and published by . This book was released on 1962 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Three Revolutions written by Daniel Sperling and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2018-03 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Front Cover -- About Island Press -- Subscribe -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Will the Transportation Revolutions Improve Our Lives-- or Make Them Worse? -- 2. Electric Vehicles: Approaching the Tipping Point -- 3. Shared Mobility: The Potential of Ridehailing and Pooling -- 4. Vehicle Automation: Our Best Shot at a Transportation Do-Over? -- 5. Upgrading Transit for the Twenty-First Century -- 6. Bridging the Gap between Mobility Haves and Have-Nots -- 7. Remaking the Auto Industry -- 8. The Dark Horse: Will China Win the Electric, Automated, Shared Mobility Race? -- Epilogue -- Notes -- About the Contributors -- Index -- IP Board of Directors

Download or read book Solar Revolution written by Travis Bradford and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2008-09-26 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An innovative analysis that shows how the shift to solar energy—in particular, the use of photovoltaic cells—is both economically advantageous and inevitable, and will rival the information and communication technologies revolution in its transformative effects. In Solar Revolution, fund manager and former corporate buyout specialist Travis Bradford argues—on the basis of standard business and economic forecasting models—that over the next two decades solar energy will increasingly become the best and cheapest choice for most electricity and energy applications. Solar Revolution outlines the path by which the transition to solar technology and sustainable energy practices will occur. Developments in the photovoltaic (PV) industry over the last ten years have made direct electricity generation from PV cells a cost-effective and feasible energy solution, despite the common view that PV technology appeals only to a premium niche market. Bradford shows that PV electricity today has become the choice of hundreds of thousands of mainstream homeowners and businesses in many markets worldwide, including Japan, Germany, and the American Southwest. Solar energy will eventually be the cheapest source of energy in nearly all markets and locations because PV can bypass the aging and fragile electricity grid and deliver its power directly to the end user, fundamentally changing the underlying economics of energy. As the scale of PV production increases and costs continue to decline at historic rates, demand for PV electricity will outpace supply of systems for years to come. Ultimately, the shift from fossil fuels to solar energy will take place not because solar energy is better for the environment or energy security, or because of future government subsidies or as yet undeveloped technology. The solar revolution is already occurring through decisions made by self-interested energy users. The shift to solar energy is inevitable and will be as transformative as the last century's revolutions in information and communication technologies.

Download or read book Smart Grid R Evolution written by Jennie C. Stephens and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-02-26 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores smart grid from a social perspective, for advanced students, academic researchers, and energy professionals.

Download or read book Power to the People written by Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2015-05-12 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guided tour of a revolution in the making that promises to change our lives Global warming, rolling black outs, massive tanker spills, oil dependence: our profligate ways have doomed us to suffer such tragedies, right? Perhaps, but Vijay Vaitheeswaran, the energy and environment correspondent for The Economist, sees great opportunity in the energy realm today, and Power to the People is his fiercely independent and irresistibly entertaining look at the economic, political, and technological forces that are reshaping the world's management of energy resources. In it, he documents an energy revolution already underway--a revolution as radical as the communications revolution of the past decades. From the corporate boardroom of a Texas oil titan who denies the reality of global warming to a think tank nestled in the Rocky Mountains where a visionary named Amory Lovins is developing the kind of hydrogen fuel-cell technology that could make the internal combustion engine obsolete, Vaitheeswaran gamely pursues the people who hold the keys to our future. Man's quest for energy is insatiable. It is also essential. By avoiding the traditional binaries that pit free markets against the wisdom of conservation and the need for clean energy, Power to the People is a book that debunks myths without debunking hope.

Download or read book Rooftop Revolution written by Danny Kennedy and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2012-09-03 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here is the truth that the powerful Dirty Energy public relations machine doesn't want you to know: the ascent of solar energy is upon us. Solar-generated electricity has risen exponentially in the last few years and employment in the solar industry has doubled since 2009. Meanwhile, electricity from coal has declined to pre-World War II levels as the fossil fuel industry continues to shed jobs. Danny Kennedy systematically refutes the lies spread by solar's opponents—that it is expensive, inefficient, and unreliable; that it is kept alive only by subsidies; that it can't be scaled; and many other untruths. He shows that we need a rooftop revolution to break the entrenched power of the coal, oil, nuclear, and gas industries Solar energy can create more jobs, return our nation to prosperity, and ensure the sustainability and safety of our planet. Now is the time to move away from the dangerous energy sources of the past and unleash the amazing potential of the sun.

Download or read book The Hydrogen Revolution written by Marco Alverà and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2021-11-16 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a Financial Times Best Book of 2021 An energy expert shows why hydrogen can fight climate change and become the fuel of the future We’re constantly told that our planet is in crisis; that to save it, we must stop traveling, stop eating meat, even stop having children. But in The Hydrogen Revolution, Marco Alverà argues that we don’t need to upend our lives. We just need a new kind of fuel: hydrogen. From transportation and infrastructure to heating and electricity, hydrogen could eliminate fossil fuels, boost economic growth, and encourage global action on climate change. It could also solve the most bedeviling aspects of today’s renewable energy—from transporting and storing wind and solar energy and their vulnerability to weather changes to the inefficiency and limited utility of heavy, short-lasting batteries. The Hydrogen Revolution isn’t just a manifesto for a powerful new technology. It’s a hopeful reminder that despite the gloomy headlines about the fate of our planet, there’s still an opportunity to turn things around.

Download or read book PERFECT POWER How the Microgrid Revolution Will Unleash Cleaner Greener More Abundant Energy written by Robert Galvin and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2008-07-31 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What's the solution to the world's growing energy problem? PERFECT POWER Electric usage is rising. Fuel costs are rocketing. Blackouts are happening more frequently. Why? Because our electrical power system--built on a vast network of resources including nuclear energy, natural gas, water, and coal--has become woefully outdated, increasingly expensive, and dangerously fragile. We need to change the current system, and we need to do it now. Written by business visionary and former Motorola chairman Robert Galvin, Perfect Power shows us how to create a “perfect” system that can deliver power where needed, at an astonishing reliability standard of 99.9999999 percent. By super-charging the “Six Sigma” concepts that Galvin developed as the founder and CEO at Motorola, we can Meet the energy reliability and quality needs of the Digital Age Generate new goods and services that create jobs, empower consumers, and lower energy cost Eliminate wasteful spending on our electrical infrastructure that can be used for peak power needs Facilitate local, regional, and, ultimately, national energy independence Fundamentally reduce the impact of energy on the environment Invest in the microgrid revolution Energy providers and policy makers will reinvent today's centralized power systems and integrate them with new, efficient “microgrids." Investors and entrepreneurs will spot tomorrow's hottest technologies. Consumers will demand change from “the powers that be.” And environmentalists will take advantage of cleaner, greener energy sources available. We have the power to fulfill our energy needs, fix our old systems, forge ahead with new ideas, and fuel our dreams. It's Perfect Power.