Thirst for Power

Thirst for Power
Author: Michael E. Webber
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2016-04-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0300221061

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.

Power Trip

Power Trip
Author: Michael E. Webber
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2019-05-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1541644387

A global tour of energy--the builder of human civilization and also its greatest threat. Energy is humanity's single most important resource. In fact, as energy expert Michael E. Webber argues in Power Trip, the story of how societies rise can be told largely as the story of how they manage energy sources through time. In 2019, as we face down growing demand for and accumulating environmental impacts from energy, we are at a crossroads and the stakes are high. But history shows us that energy's great value is that it allows societies to reinvent themselves. Power Trip explores how energy has transformed societies of the past and offers wisdom for today's looming energy crisis. There is no magic bullet; energy advances always come with costs. Scientific innovation needs public support. Energy initiatives need to be tailored to individual societies. We must look for long-term solutions. Our current energy crisis is real, but it is solvable. We have the power.

Revolutionary Power

Revolutionary Power
Author: Shalanda Baker
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2021-01-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1642830674

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.

Power Density

Power Density
Author: Vaclav Smil
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2015-06-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262326930

The first systematic, quantitative appraisal of power density, offering detailed reviews of power densities of renewable energy flows, fossil fuels, and all common energy uses. “There's no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil.” —Bill Gates In this book, Vaclav Smil argues that power density is a key determinant of the nature and dynamics of energy systems. Any understanding of complex energy systems must rely on quantitative measures of many fundamental variables. Power density—the rate of energy flux per unit of area—is an important but largely overlooked measure. Smil provides the first systematic, quantitative appraisal of power density, offering detailed reviews of the power densities of renewable energy flows, fossil fuels, thermal electricity generation, and all common energy uses. Smil shows that careful quantification, critical appraisals, and revealing comparisons of power densities make possible a deeper understanding of the ways we harness, convert, and use energies. Conscientious assessment of power densities, he argues, proves particularly revealing when contrasting the fossil fuel–based energy system with renewable energy conversions. Smil explains that modern civilization has evolved as a direct expression of the high power densities of fossil fuel extraction. He argues that our inevitable (and desirable) move to new energy arrangements involving conversions of lower-density renewable energy sources will require our society—currently dominated by megacities and concentrated industrial production—to undergo a profound spatial restructuring of its energy system.

Handbook of Research on Power and Energy System Optimization

Handbook of Research on Power and Energy System Optimization
Author: Kumar, Pawan
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 777
Release: 2018-03-16
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1522539360

In recent years, the development of advanced structures for providing sustainable energy has been a topic at the forefront of public and political conversation. Many are looking for advancements on pre-existing sources and new and viable energy options to maintain a modern lifestyle. The Handbook of Research on Power and Energy System Optimization is a critical scholarly resource that examines the usage of energy in relation to the perceived standard of living within a country and explores the importance of energy structure augmentation. Featuring coverage on a wide range of topics including energy management, micro-grid, and distribution generation, this publication is targeted towards researchers, academicians, and students seeking relevant research on the augmentation of current energy structures to support existing standards of living.

Routes of Power

Routes of Power
Author: Christopher F. Jones
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2014-04-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0674728890

The fossil fuel revolution is usually a tale of advances in energy production. Christopher Jones tells a tale of advances in energy access—canals, pipelines, wires delivering cheap, abundant power to cities at a distance from production sites. Between 1820 and 1930 these new transportation networks set the U.S. on a path to fossil fuel dependence.

The Power of Energy Healing

The Power of Energy Healing
Author: Victor Archuleta
Publisher: Power of
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2021-05-18
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1589239954

A beginner's introduction to energy healing, providing easy to understand approaches and protocols for applying a variety of healing energy modalities.

The Power Surge

The Power Surge
Author: Michael Levi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2014-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0199390029

Looks at the clash between gas/oil proponents and supports of alternative energies and offers a plan for the future that combines the best of both worlds.

Brittle Power

Brittle Power
Author: Amory B. Lovins
Publisher:
Total Pages: 520
Release: 1982
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Power from the People

Power from the People
Author: Greg Pahl
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2012-08-13
Genre: House & Home
ISBN: 1603584102

Over 90 percent of US power generation comes from large, centralized, highly polluting, nonrenewable sources of energy. It is delivered through long, brittle transmission lines, and then is squandered through inefficiency and waste. But it doesn't have to be that way. Communities can indeed produce their own local, renewable energy. Power from the People explores how homeowners, co-ops, nonprofit institutions, governments, and businesses are putting power in the hands of local communities through distributed energy programs and energy-efficiency measures. Using examples from around the nation - and occasionally from around the world - Greg Pahl explains how to plan, organize, finance, and launch community-scale energy projects that harvest energy from sun, wind, water, and earth. He also explains why community power is a necessary step on the path to energy security and community resilience - particularly as we face peak oil, cope with climate change, and address the need to transition to a more sustainable future. This book - the second in the Chelsea Green Publishing Company and Post Carbon Institute's Community Resilience Series - also profiles numerous communitywide initiatives that can be replicated elsewhere.