An edition of Energy for future presidents (2010)

Energy for future presidents

The science behind the headlines

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January 14, 2023 | History
An edition of Energy for future presidents (2010)

Energy for future presidents

The science behind the headlines

  • 0 Ratings
  • 1 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

Richard A. Muller made headlines around the world when he announced the rigorous confirmation of global temperature change by his Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project. Energy for Future Presidents presents the details of this seminal study, along with the controversy oh finding that human actions account for essentially all of the warming. The book also argues for why Americans need to embrace the natural gas future and continue to invest in nuclear power. The near meltdown of Fukushima, the upheavals in the Middle East, the BP oil spill, and the looming reality of global warming have reminded the president and all U.S. citizens that nothing has more impact on our lives than the supply and demand for energy. Its procurement dominates our economy and foreign policy more than any other factor. But the "energy question" is more confusing, contentious, and complicated than ever before. We need to know if nuclear power will ever really be safe. We need to know if solar and wind power will ever really be viable. And we desperately need to know if the natural gas deposits in Pennsylvania are a windfall of historic proportions or a false alarm that will create more problems than solutions. Richard A. Muller provides the answers in this must-read manual for our energy priorities now and in the coming years. - Publisher.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
368

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Edition Availability
Cover of: Energy for future presidents
Energy for future presidents: The science behind the headlines
2010, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Paperback in English

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Book Details


Table of Contents

I. Energy catastrophes.
1. Fukushima
Meltdown
Radioactive release
Radioactivity and death
The Denver dose
Bottom line : what should we do?
2. The Gulf Oil Spill
The Deepwater Horizon accident
Damage
Iatrogenic disease
3. Global warming and climate change
A brief introduction to global warming
Tipping points
Local variability
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Polar warming
The hockey stick
Sea level rise
Assuming it is a threat : can we stop global warming?
Geoengineering
The global-warming controversy
II. The energy landscape.
Recycled energy
Energy security
4. The natural-gas windfall
Fracking and horizontal drilling
Shale gas reserves
Ocean methane
5. Liquid energy security
Hubbert's Peak
6. Shale oil
7. Energy productivity
Invest for a 17.8% annual return, tax-free, with no risk
Invest for a 209% annual return, tax-free with no risk
Government Energy Productivity Policy
Other great investments
Cool roofs
More efficient autos
Energy-efficient refrigerators
The McKinsey Chart
Feel-good measures that don't necessarily work
Buses
Recycling paper
Power blackouts
The smart grid
A case study : smart meters in California
III. Alternative energy.
8. Solar surge
The physics of sunlight
Solar thermal
Photovoltaic cells
Silicon
CdTe (Cadmium Telluride)
CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide)
Multijunction cells
Solar-cell summary
9. Wind
10. Energy storage
Batteries
The physics and chemistry of batteries
The future of batteries
Bottled wind : compressed-air energy storage (CAES)
Flywheels
Supercapacitors
Hydrogen and fuel cells
Natural gas
11. The coming explosion of nuclear power
Blowing up
Cost
Small modular nuclear reactors
Running out of uranium?
Fukushima deaths
Nuclear waste storage
The coming nuclear explosion
12. Fusion
Tokamak
NIF, the National Ignition Facility
Beam fusion
Muon fusion
Cold fusion
13. Biofuels
Ethanol from corn
Biodegradable is bad?
Pseudo-biofuels
Ethanol from cellulose
Ethanol from algae
14. Synfuel and high-tech fossil fuels
Synfuel
Coal bed methane
Coal bed gasification
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR)
Oil sands
15. Alternative alternatives : hydrogen, geothermal, tidal, and wave power
Hydrogen
Geothermal
Tidal power
Wave power
16. Electric automobiles
The electric auto fad
Tesla Roadster
Chevy Volt
Nissan Leaf
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
Lead-acid batteries
Recharge time
Effective miles per gallon
Ordinary hybrids
Battery challenges
17. Natural-gas automobiles
18. Fuel cells
19. Clean coal
IV. What is energy?
The properties of energy
Energy in foods, fuels, and objects
Is energy a thing?
The meaning of energy
Energy as taught to High School students and College freshmen
Energy as taught to Sophomores
Energy as taught to Juniors
Energy as taught to Seniors and Graduates
The beauty of energy
V. Advice for future presidents.
Energy technology policy
Energy productivity
Natural gas
Shale oil
Synfuel
Hybrids and plug-in hybrids
Nuclear
Key considerations
Global warming and China
More on energy productivity
Electric power grid and Venture Capitalism
Subsidies
Energy catastrophes
Beware
Beware of fats
Beware of risk-benefit calculations
Beware of the precautionary principle
Beware of optimism bias and skepticism bias
Beware of aphorisms
Your legacy

Edition Notes

Published in
New York, USA

Classifications

Library of Congress
TJ163.2.M854 2013

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Pagination
xvii, 350 p.
Number of pages
368
Dimensions
8.25 x 5.50 x .9 inches
Weight
9.6 ounces

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL25650646M
ISBN 10
0393345106
ISBN 13
9780393345100

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Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
January 14, 2023 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
October 10, 2020 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
August 3, 2020 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
March 5, 2015 Edited by Bryan Tyson Edited without comment.
January 26, 2015 Created by Patrick Robbins Added new book.