Rough Guide to the Energy Crisis (Rough Guide Reference Series)

✍ Scribed by Rough Guides

• Publisher: Rough Guides
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 314
• Series: Rough Guide Reference Series
• Edition: Original edition
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The Rough Guide to the Energy Crisis is a comprehensive guide to the workings of today's energy world, explaining the seductive nature of fossil fuels and the reasons why international climate change negotiations are proving so difficult. If you're interested in escaping the trap of fossil fuels and moving to a low carbon world, this is the guide for you. Realistically looking at the pitfalls, pressures and prospects for renewable energy, "The Rough Guide to the Energy Crisis" also shows that there is hope in new energy conservation techniques, made possible by smart grids and smart metering. You'll also discover energy security issues and future tensions that could occur, like the possibility of the lights going out, jeopardising public support for a world of cleaner energy.

✦ Table of Contents

Content iii......Page 5
Introduction: The energy crunch vi......Page 8
Part 1. Leaving the comfort zone: Energy and transition 1......Page 13
The great escape: Where we are now and where we go next 3......Page 15
The transition and the tools to make it happen 16......Page 28
Energy: who controls it? Too important to be left to the market 23......Page 35
Climate change: The greatest market failure of all 34......Page 46
Part 2. The energy game board: Different fuels and the parts they play 45......Page 57
Oil: The black stuff that keeps the world moving 47......Page 59
Gas: The greenest fossil 62......Page 74
Coal: Deep down and dirty 73......Page 85
Nuclear power: Better the devil you know? 85......Page 97
Extending the electrons: New things in electricity 100......Page 112
Renewables: On the rise, but an uphill struggle 110......Page 122
Wind power: The answer, my friend... 118......Page 130
Solar energy: Here comes the sun 122......Page 134
Water: Making waves 126......Page 138
Biomass and biofuels: The power of vegetation 134......Page 146
Hydrogen: The fuel fervour that faded 144......Page 156
Part 3. The players: The people and companies in control 149......Page 161
From the Seven Sisters to the NOCs: Where the big energy companies came from 151......Page 163
Utilities: More than just the name on the bills 163......Page 175
Energy and money: Which one makes the world go round? 168......Page 180
Part 4. Energy and emergency: How close are we to the edge? 181......Page 193
Security of supply: The serious business of keeping a nation switched on 183......Page 195
Energy, war and US policy: The American mix 193......Page 205
Future frictions and Arctic angst 210......Page 222
Part 5. Energy prospects: What will the future look like? 215......Page 227
Saving energy: Getting better all the time 217......Page 229
Transport trauma: Reinventing the wheel 226......Page 238
Low-carbon energies: Picking winners 238......Page 250
Environmental politics: Resistance and pressure for change 247......Page 259
The new energy morality: Doing the right thing 270......Page 282
The new energy world: A slow dawn 275......Page 287
Resources: Further reading and useful websites 281......Page 293
Index 289......Page 301
Picture credits 299......Page 311

✦ Subjects

Топливно-энергетический комплекс;Альтернативная энергетика;