Sustainable Energy - without the hot air
Free

Sustainable Energy - without the hot air

By David J. C. MacKay
Free
Book Description

I’m concerned about cutting UK emissions of twaddle – twaddle about sustainable energy. Everyone says getting off fossil fuels is important, and we’re all encouraged to “make a difference,” but many of the things that allegedly make a difference don’t add up.


Twaddle emissions are high at the moment because people get emo- tional (for example about wind farms or nuclear power) and no-one talks about numbers. Or if they do mention numbers, they select them to sound big, to make an impression, and to score points in arguments, rather than to aid thoughtful discussion.


This is a straight-talking book about the numbers. The aim is to guide the reader around the claptrap to actions that really make a difference and to policies that add up.



Print available from the book's website.


Free translations are available in French, Italian, German, and Polish.

Table of Contents
  • Preface
  • 1   Motivations
  • 2   The balance sheet
  • 3   Cars
  • 4   Wind
  • 5   Planes
  • 6   Solar
  • 7   Heating and cooling
  • 8   Hydroelectricity
  • 9   Light
  • 10   Offshore wind
  • 11   Gadgets
  • 12   Wave
  • 13   Food and farming
  • 14   Tide
  • 15   Stuff
  • 16   Geothermal
  • 17   Public services
  • 18   Can we live on renewables?
  • 19   Every BIG helps
  • 20   Better transport
  • 21   Smarter heating
  • 22   Efficient electricity use
  • 23   Sustainable fossil fuels?
  • 24   Nuclear?
  • 25   Living on other countries’ renewables?
  • 26   Fluctuations and storage
  • 27   Five energy plans for Britain
  • 28   Putting costs in perspective
  • 29   What to do now
  • 30   Energy plans for Europe, America, and the World
  • 31   The last thing we should talk about
  • 32   Saying yes
  • Acknowledgments
  • A   Cars II
  • B   Wind II
  • C   Planes II
  • D   Solar II
  • E   Heating II
  • F   Waves II
  • G   Tide II
  • H   Stuff II
  • I   Quick reference
  • J   Populations and areas
  • K   UK energy history
  • Power translation chart
  • Carbon translation chart
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