50 Energy Books

Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties by Vaclav Smil Main Points: " It is the mark of an instructed mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject permits and not to seek an exactness where only an approximation of the truth is possible."- Aristotle Basic unit of energy is a joule. B est p rocessed coal is something called anthracite . 1 kilogram of anthracite is 30 Megajoules. 1 kilogram of oil is 42 Megajoule. 1 kilogram of wood is 15 Megajoules. Whole world needs 400 Exojoules . So this is a conversation on scale.  Understanding Energy Trends : Fossil Fuels The twentieth century was marked by consumption of coal due to production of metallurgical coke and generation of electricity.  Fossil fuel consumption grew and matched biomass fuel consumption in 1900  Global population quadrupled from 1900 to 2000 (1.6 to 6.1 billion) while average annual per capita energy more than quadrupled f

The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle for America's Future by Michael Levi Main Points: Michael Levi pursued his undergraduate degree in physics, masters in mathematical physics/cosmology, and PhD in war physics, but has an interest in energy. This book is the 'first major study' of how the boom is affecting American policy.  Historical foundation of the current energy age : the book looks how the debate on energy unfolded the last time we experienced major change (late-1960's, early 1970's). First oil crisis, first Earth Day, continuing rise of nuclear power, as well as finding a footing on the economy, environment, and national security. Intense debate that pitted advocates on growing supply of fossil fuels vs. people who advocated a soft energy path (efficiency and alternative energy sources). This culminated in the 1980 election- resulting in a hands-off approach of government to industry. Ted Kennedy (left wing) criticized oppone

Smart Power: Climate Change, the Smart Grid, and the Future of Electric Utilities by Peter Fox-Penner Main Points: Drivers of Change:  In 2010, climate change policy was big and the new thing was the smart grid. The Obama stimulus package (ARRA) was handing out money for smart grid technology. The State Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) mandated utility scale wind and new lines. The recession had hit us and renewables were getting cheaper. Current State:  Today, most of the drivers promoting acceleration have taken off- distributed generation has grown significantly, while utilities are adding more on all of the rooftops. The smart grid ran into a backlash from state regulators - they viewed it as a technology sandbox for Silicon Valley companies to make money on. They did not want to increase rates during a recession. Demand response has a install base at around 50 Gigawatts and has been growing at about 20%/ yr with solar and wind taking the lead in terms of growth

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan Main Points: What is sustainability?  Not an attractive word, a pallid social science word. Confucius once said, " Before you begin to make progress, you need a process of 'rectification of the names.'" What does it mean for something to be unsustainable? Means that something cannot go on, the way it has been going on indefinitely- because collapse and radical change is inevitable. With respect to our food system, our industrial food system is unsustainable. When it came to mainstream conventional industrial food- hamburger, soda, french fries- it's source was a farm field in the midwest where they were growing corn and soybean. Today 80% of our calories are coming from 4-5 plants and focus of this book is on corn. Corn is an industrial raw material. The Corn Industrial Complex- conquered our land, our food system, our animals, and our bodies. We grow 12 billion bushels of co