Energy switch : proven solutions for a renewable future

Title:

Title:

Energy switch : proven solutions for a renewable future

Personal Author:

Morris, Craig.

Publication Information:

Gabriola Island, B.C. : New Society Publishers, 2006.

ISBN:

0865715599 (pbk.) :

OCLC#:

ocm71267756

Language:

English

Subjects:

Renewable energy sources.

Power resources -- Environmental aspects.

Contents:

Best practices from Germany -- The big picture -- Oil -- Biomass -- Coal or climate? -- Nuclear power -- Natural gas -- Photovoltaics -- Wind -- Geothermal -- Fuel cells -- Ocean energy -- Demand management -- Efficiency -- Living to learn.

Format:

Book

Length:

xiii, 209 p. :

Copies:

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Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Non-Fiction	333.794 MOR	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Declining oil supplies and the environmental impact of coal dictate a switch to renewable energy sources for a sustainable future. Written for a popular audience, Energy Switch details this momentous transition and proposes that the remaining non-renewable resources be used to develop a long-term supply of renewable energy.

A renewable energy leader two decades ago, the US now lags behind Germany and Japan. Energy Switch pays special attention to Europe's success, especially that of Germany, exploring what can be learned from their experience. It asks whether a mix of renewables is feasible as a major source of energy, at what cost, with what drawbacks, and in what time period. The book examines:

The shortcomings and benefits of sources that might constitute a largely renewable energy platform: oil, nuclear, coal, biomass, natural gas, wind, PV, geothermal, hydrogen, wave and tidal power
* Ecological tax reform and tax rebates, quotas and net metering, and the role of privatization The success of efficiency measures, the vision of demand management -- tailoring power consumption to intermittent supply -- and the phenomenon of virtual power plants The secret of success being in attitudes and policies, rather than in technology How the US could once again become a renewable energy leader

Craig Morris is a journalist and translator specializing in renewable energy. The author of a book in German that presents the rationale behind Germany's turn to renewable energy, he writes on energy policies and lives in Freiburg, Germany's solar capital.

Author Notes

Craig Morris is a journalist and translator specializing in renewable energy, IT, and financing. The author of a book he wrote in German that presents the rationale behind Germany's turn to renewable energy, he writes an ongoing series of articles on energy policies and lives in Freiburg, Germany's solar capital.

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Instructions to Readers	p. xiii
Chapter 1 Best Practices from Germany	p. 1
Chapter 2 The Big Picture	p. 15
Tax the Bads, Not the Goods	p. 17
Was the German Eco-Tax a Success?	p. 18
Growth	p. 19
Development Versus Growth	p. 25
Overshoot, Collapse, and Energy Balance	p. 26
The Energy Mix and the Transition from Fossil Energy to Renewables	p. 27
Chapter 3 Oil	p. 31
The End of Oil?	p. 31
An End to "Easy Oil"	p. 36
The Market is Not Free	p. 37
Esso Declares 2003 an "Oil Dorado"	p. 39
Chapter 4 Biomass	p. 45
A Source of Energy or Food?	p. 45
The Potential of "New Biomass"	p. 46
Energy Sink or Energy Source?	p. 57
Chapter 5 Coal or Climate?	p. 59
The History of Coal Power	p. 59
Clean Coal?	p. 61
Coal Power Today	p. 63
Coal as a Bridge to a Renewable Future	p. 67
The Climate	p. 73
What's Hotter: The Climate or the Debate About It?	p. 74
Chapter 6 Nuclear Power	p. 77
Reports of the Death of Nuclear Power Are Highly Exaggerated	p. 77
Fighting for Its Life	p. 78
How Much Carbon Dioxide Will Nuclear Power Save Us?	p. 82
Hearing Is Not Believing	p. 84
The Future of Nuclear Power: Not What You Are Thinking	p. 85
Can Renewables Ever Provide 100 Percent of Our Supply?	p. 87
Power on Demand	p. 90
The Secret Life of Nuclear Power	p. 91
Out of the Frying Pan: Green Guru James Lovelock Calls for an Expansion of Nuclear Power	p. 91
Yucky Yucca	p. 94
Shifting Priorities	p. 95
Mobile Chernobyl	p. 96
Chapter 7 Natural Gas	p. 99
The Greens Support a Form of Fossil Energy?	p. 100
Nonetheless: Finite Resources	p. 101
Methane Hydrates	p. 103
Natural Gas as a Bridge	p. 104
Chapter 8 Photovoltaics	p. 105
Why Cloudy Germany is Making the Global PV Market Boom	p. 105
Is PV Too Expensive?	p. 107
The Potential of PV is Great	p. 109
Gray Skies?	p. 112
The Cost of Photovoltaics	p. 112
Lower Prices from Mass Production?	p. 114
Off-Grid Applications	p. 115
Central Power Plants as Emergency Power Generators	p. 116
Energy Payback	p. 117
Chapter 9 Wind	p. 119
NIMBY	p. 121
Shadow Power Plants	p. 123
Bird Blenders?	p. 124
How Many Are Too Many?	p. 124
From the US to Europe	p. 126
Learning from Mistakes	p. 126
A European Success Story	p. 127
Chapter 10 Geothermal	p. 133
How Does It Work?	p. 134
Hot Dry Rock	p. 135
Where's the Hitch?	p. 138
Chapter 11 Fuel Cells	p. 141
Hydrogen: Much Ado About Nothing?	p. 141
Black Hydrogen	p. 144
A Fuel Cell by Any Other Name	p. 145
Low-Temperature Fuel Cells	p. 145
High-Temperature Fuel Cells	p. 147
Are Only PEMs Clean?	p. 147
Chapter 12 Ocean Energy	p. 149
Tidal Power	p. 149
Wave Power	p. 152
Chapter 13 Demand Management	p. 155
Virtual Power Plants	p. 155
Empowerment	p. 160
Chapter 14 Efficiency	p. 163
Negawatts: Saved Energy is Our Greatest Source	p. 163
The Jevons Paradox	p. 166
Conservation Investments	p. 169
Adult Education	p. 172
Saving Energy as a Priority	p. 172
Life Inside a Residential Power Plant	p. 173
From Passive to Active	p. 175
Conservation in Renovation	p. 177
Chapter 15 Living to Learn	p. 181
Notes	p. 185
Index	p. 199
About the Author	p. 209

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Table of Contents