Whole Network Most Recent TOP10 Capital Investing H2 Nuclear Solar

 

10 Books on Energy &; Environment

Filed in archive Opinion , World by michael on May 02, 2006

10 Books on Energy &; Environment
Independent from any publisher or author, SEAL introduces its overview of 10 books that all have merit to broaden and deepen the energy debate: 3 books on the role of carbon energy (1-3), 3 books on nuclear (4-6), 3 books on other aspects (7-9) and concluding with last year's book on the ethical dimension of Kyoto.

- In 'Sustainable Fossil Fuels' Mark Jaccard doubts our prospects for moving away quickly from carbon fuels to renewable energy sources, and expects an energy system largely dominated by fossil fuels for the 21st century. This however does not need to be incompatible with a sustainable energy system more

- In 'Energy at the Crossroads' Vaclav Smil summarizes a lifetime of energy studies. The result is a highly accessible book, yet rich in argument. In the future energy system, not a single solution will work by itself, and the 'a priori' exclusion of certain options is counterproductive. The path to carbon-free energy is going to take most of the 21st century more

- In 'Why Carbon Fuels Will Dominate The 21st Century's Global Energy Economy', Peter Odell opens with a sentence that realism about our energy system is a commodity in scarce supply and describes a 100-year scenario where we will use 3 times more carbon fuel in the 21st century than in the 20th more

- In 'Megawatts & Megatons' Richard Garwin and Georges Charpak give a comprehensive overview of nuclear technology, covering both its civilian and military use. The opening sentence "If it is to benefit humanity, concern for our planet and the future of our civilization needs to be matched with an understanding of the facts." defines the book's credo more

- While unrelated, 'Nuclear Renaissance' complements 'Megawatts & Megatons' very well through its indepth overview of new nuclear technology, concluding that, on balance, 'it would seem prudent for the developed world to maintain a civil nuclear power industry on at least its current scale.' more

- 'Double or Quits' argues for the nuclear industry
and governments to take action to ensure that nuclear power remains available as a practical option. Such action needs to take place on 5 fronts: public perception, economics, waste (including reprocessing and proliferation), safety and R&D more

- 'The Skeptical Environmentalist' uses a wealth of long-term trend data to demonstrate that the world has never been in better shape, while recognising that there are problems with global warming, the ozone layer, the loss of rain forestslinks, ... As the rare optimistic book on environment, it warns against the very selective use of data to construct environmental claims more

- In 'Factor Four' the authors have written an excellent discussion document and manifesto for action, harnessing market forces for change to increase resource productivity, a simple but appealing idea that can expect a large consensus more

- 'Power to the People' provides a fresco of what currently lives in the energy sector. Talking to the who's who in energy, the author concludes that the forces of liberalisation, increasing environmental conscienceness and new technology are all converging towards a micro-power revolution. Not surprisingly with this message, the book is not too kind on big oil, coal and electricity more

- Finally, 'Reading the Kyoto Protocol - Ethical Aspects of the Convention on Climate Change' leaves the straightjacket of what is politically achievable within the time horizon of a regulatory mandate, and refreshingly thinks out of the box, but it is not a theoretical book. And you don't have to agree with it - as the authors happily don't with each other more

We welcome your rating and comments on these books, and as well as your additions to the list.

Hans De Keulenaer: Source: Seal






Permalink: 10 Books on Energy &; Environment
Tags: energy  books 

Trackback: http://www.creative-weblogging.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.pl/21268



Advertisement


Advertisement


RSSrss   | See all blog subscribe options
Googlegoogle   |   What is RSS?
Yahoo!yahoo
AddthisAddThis Feed Button
BloglinesBloglines
Newsletter

Use the search to look for other interesting posts



 
  • Advertise with us

  • Learn more about our advertising options or email advertising - at - creative-weblogging.com or give Luis a call at +1 (650) 331 8047.


  • Testimonials

  • I have been reading your blog for a few months now, and I really enjoy all the interesting information I am able to get from it. - Shion Deysarkar of Beyond Pollution, Inc.
  • Thank you for you interest in helping people be more aware of the number one problem of our earth - global warming - Twinkle Tismo
  • Hello! This grass absorbant is great, they should have all gas station floor like this so every month it can be disposed of so the environment does not get contaminated. I have to say, I really enjoyed reading your blog. It is hard to find a well written blog like this. - Jessica Kardon
  • Other blogs in the same channel in the Creative Weblogging Network







 
Tagcloud: Alternative Energy Automobiles Base Effort Biofuel Biogas Biomass Capital Investing Carbon Neutral Clean Coal Current News Earth Science Edge Technology Electric Cars Energy Efficiency Fuel Prices Future Geothermal Global Climate H2 Hydro Market New Frontier Nuclear Opinion Peak Oil Political Renewable Energy Solar Storage Tide True Stories US Video Entry Wave Wind World