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 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 Reinventing Fire written by Amory Lovins and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2011-10-15 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imagine fuel without fear. No climate change. No oil spills, no dead coalminers, no dirty air, no devastated lands, no lost wildlife. No energy poverty. No oil-fed wars, tyrannies, or terrorists. No leaking nuclear wastes or spreading nuclear weapons. Nothing to run out. Nothing to cut off. Nothing to worry about. Just energy abundance, benign and affordable, for all, forever. That richer, fairer, cooler, safer world is possible, practical, even profitable-because saving and replacing fossil fuels now works better and costs no more than buying and burning them. Reinventing Fire shows how business-motivated by profit, supported by civil society, sped by smart policy-can get the US completely off oil and coal by 2050, and later beyond natural gas as well. Authored by a world leader on energy and innovation, the book maps a robust path for integrating real, here-and-now, comprehensive energy solutions in four industries-transportation, buildings, electricity, and manufacturing-melding radically efficient energy use with reliable, secure, renewable energy supplies.Popular in tone and rooted in applied hope, Reinventing Fire shows how smart businesses are creating a potent, global, market-driven, and explosively growing movement to defossilize fuels. It points readers to trillions in savings over the next 40 years, and trillions more in new business opportunities.Whether you care most about national security, or jobs and competitive advantage, or climate and environment, this major contribution by world leaders in energy innovation offers startling innovations will support your values, inspire your support, and transform your sense of possibility.Pragmatic citizens today are more interested in outcomes than motives. Reinventing Fire answers this trans-ideological call. Whether you care most about national security, or jobs and competitive advantage, or climate and environment, its startling innovations will support your values, inspire your support, and transform your sense of possibility.

Download or read book Will China Save the Planet written by Barbara Finamore and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-11-02 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now that Trump has turned the United States into a global climate outcast, will China take the lead in saving our planet from environmental catastrophe? Many signs point to yes. China, the world's largest carbon emitter, is leading a global clean energy revolution, phasing out coal consumption and leading the development of a global system of green finance. But as leading China environmental expert Barbara Finamore explains, it is anything but easy. The fundamental economic and political challenges that China faces in addressing its domestic environmental crisis threaten to derail its low-carbon energy transition. Yet there is reason for hope. China's leaders understand that transforming the world's second largest economy from one dependent on highly polluting heavy industry to one focused on clean energy, services and innovation is essential, not only to the future of the planet, but to China's own prosperity.

Download or read book Superpower written by Russell Gold and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2020-11-10 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet Michael Skelly, the man boldly harnessing wind energy that could power America’s future and break its fossil fuel dependence in this “essential, compelling look into the future of the nation’s power grid” (Bryan Burrough, author of The Big Rich). The United States is in the midst of an energy transition. We have fallen out of love with dirty fossil fuels and want to embrace renewable energy sources like wind and solar. A transition from a North American power grid that is powered mostly by fossil fuels to one that is predominantly clean is feasible, but it would require a massive building spree—wind turbines, solar panels, wires, and billions of dollars would be needed. Enter Michael Skelly, an infrastructure builder who began working on wind energy in 2000 when many considered the industry a joke. Eight years later, Skelly helped build the second largest wind power company in the United States—and sold it for $2 billion. Wind energy was no longer funny—it was well on its way to powering more than 6% of electricity in the United States. Award-winning journalist, Russel Gold tells Skelly’s story, which in many ways is the story of our nation’s evolving relationship with renewable energy. Gold illustrates how Skelly’s company, Clean Line Energy, conceived the idea for a new power grid that would allow sunlight where abundant to light up homes in the cloudy states thousands of miles away, and take wind from the Great Plains to keep air conditioners running in Atlanta. Thrilling, provocative, and important, Superpower is a fascinating look at America’s future.

Download or read book The Power of Renewables written by Chinese Academy of Engineering and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-01-29 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States and China are the world's top two energy consumers and, as of 2010, the two largest economies. Consequently, they have a decisive role to play in the world's clean energy future. Both countries are also motivated by related goals, namely diversified energy portfolios, job creation, energy security, and pollution reduction, making renewable energy development an important strategy with wide-ranging implications. Given the size of their energy markets, any substantial progress the two countries make in advancing use of renewable energy will provide global benefits, in terms of enhanced technological understanding, reduced costs through expanded deployment, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to conventional generation from fossil fuels. Within this context, the U.S. National Academies, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), reviewed renewable energy development and deployment in the two countries, to highlight prospects for collaboration across the research to deployment chain and to suggest strategies which would promote more rapid and economical attainment of renewable energy goals. Main findings and concerning renewable resource assessments, technology development, environmental impacts, market infrastructure, among others, are presented. Specific recommendations have been limited to those judged to be most likely to accelerate the pace of deployment, increase cost-competitiveness, or shape the future market for renewable energy. The recommendations presented here are also pragmatic and achievable.

Download or read book Why Nuclear Power Has Been a Flop written by Jack Devanney and published by Bookbaby. This book was released on 2020-11-11 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a collection of essays focused on the Gordian knot of our time, the closely coupled problems of energy poverty for billions of humans, and global warming for all humans. The central thesis of the book in that nuclear power is not only the only solution, it is a highly desirable solution, cheaper, safer, less intrusive on nature than all the alternatives.

Download or read book Go Easy on Energy written by Lisa Bullard and published by Lerner Digital ™. This book was released on 2017-08-01 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! We use electricity and other types of energy every day. But did you know that some kinds of energy can make Earth dirty? Join Tyler to learn how we can use energy wisely. Do your part to be a planet protector! Discover how to reduce, reuse, recycle, and more with Tyler and Trina in the Planet Protectors series, part of the Cloverleaf BooksTM collection. These nonfiction picture books feature kid-friendly text and illustrations to make learning fun!

Download or read book The Energy Clock written by Molly Fletcher and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2020-01-01 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A creative solution to productivity that will empower every reader to break free of burnout and learn effective time management and productivity techniques for you and your team! In this transformative business and personal growth book, renowned keynote speaker and author, Molly Fletcher, introduces you to the revolutionary concept of the energy clock. Discover how to align your activities with your natural energy rhythms and harness your energy at its peak to maximize productivity and personal effectiveness. Key Features: The Energy Clock Concept: Understand the three energy zones and learn how to align your energy with the things that matter most to you. Optimize Productivity: Learn how to prioritize and schedule your activities in a way that aligns with your peak energy periods, resulting in increased focus, efficiency, and effectiveness. Enhance Well-being: Learn techniques to recharge and replenish your energy during low energy phases, ensuring sustainable high performance and overall well-being. Personalized Approach: Adapt the strategies to your specific circumstances and goals, enabling you to create a personalized energy management plan that supports your success. Practical Tools and Exercises: Find practical tools, exercises, and techniques throughout the book to help you implement the principles of the energy clock in your daily life. Master your energy, optimize your productivity, and live a balanced life by embracing the power of energy management, and experience the profound impact it can have on every aspect of your life. It's time to align with your natural energy rhythms and unlock your limitless potential.

Download or read book Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation written by Ottmar Edenhofer and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-11-21 with total page 1088 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Guide to Purchasing Green Power written by and published by Environmental Protection Agency. This book was released on 2004 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This guide can be downloaded from: www.eere.energy.gov/femp/technologies/renewable%5Fpurchasepower.cfm, www.epa.gov/greenpower/buygreenpower.htm, www.thegreenpowergroup.org/publications.html, www.resource-solutions.org."--Verso. t.p.

Download or read book How Solar Energy Became Cheap written by Gregory F. Nemet and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-05-20 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Janice VanCleave s Energy for Every Kid written by Janice VanCleave and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2005-10-27 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do plants make their own food? Why do the different strings on a guitar have differentsounds? What does the color of a star tell you about how hot the staris? What's the difference between gamma rays, X-rays, andmicrowaves? Now you can discover the answers to these and many otherfascinating questions about energy for yourself with thisfun-filled science resource. Packed with illustrations, JaniceVanCleave's Energy for Every Kid presents entertaining, challengingexperiments and activities to help you understand the differenttypes of energy--including heat, sound, electricity, and light--andhow they bring about change in the world around you. You'll developyour problem-solving skills as you create a "leaping frog" thatturns potential energy into kinetic energy, model sound waves witha Slinky?, use a balloon to demonstrate static electricity, make"sun" tea with solar energy, and much more! Each of the activities is broken down into its purpose, a list ofmaterials, step-by-step instructions, expected results, and aneasy-to-understand explanation. Plus, all projects have beenpretested so you can perform them safely and inexpensively in theclassroom, at a science fair, or at home! Also available in the Science for Every Kid series: ASTRONOMY BIOLOGY CHEMISTRY CONSTELLATIONS DINOSAURS EARTH SCIENCE ECOLOGY GEOGRAPHY GEOMETRY THE HUMAN BODY MATH OCEANS PHYSICS

Download or read book It May Be Simple but It Isn T Easy written by Kara B. Schmidt M.A. R.N. and published by Balboa Press. This book was released on 2016-10-12 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Late one night, the author was startled awake by a loud voice saying, You have been chosen. She discovered the voice was in her mind. She said out loud, To do what? The answer was To write your books. She was astounded. It was only then, when she was rocked to her core by these spiritual happenings that had no rational explanation, that she realized there was definitely another dimension to her life. She was changed forevernot all at once, but little by little over many years. This is the revealing story of those amazing and profound occurrences. Until now, she has never spoken about them because she thought her friends and family would think she was crazy. Its only now, more than twenty-five years later, that she has found the courage to share her spiritual journey. The title, It May Be Simple, But It Isnt Easy, suggests that some of us know we can connect with God and the Holy Spirit, but how many of us actually do so on a regular basis? How many of us remember to forgive everyone and/or send love to all that we meet? This is the true story of the authors spellbinding spiritual journey and how she learned to become a spiritually based, courageous woman.

Download or read book Classified written by Scotty Ware and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2013-04-10 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Its 2004; three years after the attacks on New York and DC, Saddam Hussein is dead and the hunt for Osama bin Laden goes on. But there are more pressing matters for newly appointed General of the Project - Tylen Starwind. Called back to help train younger created Starwind, Tylen also learns something disturbing. Someone has leaked information about the United States best kept secret since WWII ended; the Project. In addition his personal relationship with Brieona Kim is on the ropes as well as a new advisor to the President to absorb, Tylen feels overwhelmed with his new responsibilities. After all, he wasnt created for politics he was created to keep the United States safe; he was created as a Special Tactical Assault and Rescue Warrior (an) Independent Nation Detachment. Keeping this black ops division a secret is important and every subject of the Project is willing to lay down their life to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Unbeknownst to Tylen and the Project, Dach is trying everything in his power to expose the Project that not only killed his Unit years back but the Monster who killed his brother; and as luck would have it, Dach has a cousin who works for the Project. Welcome to a world of spies, genetically enhanced soldiers and secrets. Forget what you thought you knew about the USA. Welcome, to the Project.

Download or read book Living Off the Grid written by David Black and published by Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2008-11-17 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A how-to handbook to free yourself from the constraints of modern...

Download or read book The 48 Laws of Power written by Robert Greene and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2023-10-31 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control – from the author of The Laws of Human Nature. In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling” and “fascinating,” Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum. Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness”), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”). Every law, though, has one thing in common: an interest in total domination. In a bold and arresting two-color package, The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game.