The Energy of Nature [Hardcover]

E. C. Pielou (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2001

Energy is crucial for events of every kind, in this world or any other. Without energy, nothing would ever happen. Nothing would move and there would be no life. The sun wouldn't shine, winds wouldn't blow, rivers wouldn't flow, trees wouldn't grow, birds wouldn't fly, and fish wouldn't swim; indeed no material object, living or dead, could even exist. In spite of all this, energy is seldom considered a part of what we call "nature."

In The Energy of Nature, E. C. Pielou explores energy's role in nature—how and where it originates, what it does, and what becomes of it. Drawing on a wide range of scientific disciplines, from physics, chemistry, and biology to all the earth sciences, as well as on her own lifelong experience as a naturalist, Pielou opens our eyes to the myriad ways energy and its transfer affect the earth and its inhabitants. Along the way we learn how energy is delivered to the earth from the sun; how it causes weather, winds, and tides; how it shapes the earth through mountain building and erosion; how it is captured and used by living things; how it is stored in chemical bonds; how nuclear energy is released; how it heats the unseen depths of the planet and is explosively revealed in the turmoil of earthquakes and volcanoes; how energy manifests itself in magnetism and electromagnetic waves; how we harness it to fuel human societies; and much more.

Filled with fascinating information and and helpful illustrations (hand drawn by the author), The Energy of Nature is fun, readable, and instructive. Science buffs of all ages will be delighted.

“A luminous, inquiring, and thoughtful exploration of Earth’s energetics.”—Jocylyn McDowell, Discovery

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Changing constantly, the protean forms of energy tend to be fugitives from observation compared to the visible, tangible features of Earth's environment. In this descriptive tour of energy on Earth, its sources, transmutations, and dissipations, Pielou adopts a style of graceful perceptiveness familiar to readers of her Fresh Water (1998). Conversion is the leitmotif of the energy story, and following the forms that energy assumes carries Pielou through the arenas in which the change occurs, such as the atmosphere, the land and sea surfaces, the oceans, biota, and Earth's interior. Except for a tiny fraction generated by radioactive decay and gravitational contraction in the core, solar radiation provides all of Earth's energy. Its passage through the atmosphere to the surface initiates the thermal, kinetic, and potential energy (the energy stored in objects liable to falling) drives wind and currents, further stirred up by friction and the Coriolis effect. Pielou incorporates easy arithmetic that conveys the scale of these interactive processes and deepens the understanding an attentive observer will derive from her guidance. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

Energy is crucial for events of every kind, in this world or any other. Without energy, nothing would ever happen. Nothing would move and there would be no life. The sun wouldn't shine, winds wouldn't blow, rivers wouldn't flow, trees wouldn't grow, birds wouldn't fly, and fish wouldn't swim; indeed no material object, living or dead, could even exist. In spite of all this, energy is seldom considered a part of what we call "nature."

In The Energy of Nature, E. C. Pielou explores energy's role in nature—how and where it originates, what it does, and what becomes of it. Drawing on a wide range of scientific disciplines, from physics, chemistry, and biology to all the earth sciences, as well as on her own lifelong experience as a naturalist, Pielou opens our eyes to the myriad ways energy and its transfer affect the earth and its inhabitants. Along the way we learn how energy is delivered to the earth from the sun; how it causes weather, winds, and tides; how it shapes the earth through mountain building and erosion; how it is captured and used by living things; how it is stored in chemical bonds; how nuclear energy is released; how it heats the unseen depths of the planet and is explosively revealed in the turmoil of earthquakes and volcanoes; how energy manifests itself in magnetism and electromagnetic waves; how we harness it to fuel human societies; and much more.

Filled with fascinating information and and helpful illustrations (hand drawn by the author), The Energy of Nature is fun, readable, and instructive. Science buffs of all ages will be delighted.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (May 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226668061
• ISBN-13: 978-0226668062
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,090,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece and the culmination of a life's art., June 10, 2007

By 

bit quirky (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Energy of Nature (Paperback)

If you have little scientific training but you still want to know why the sun shines, why the winds blow, why the sea is green and what's going on in the bowels of the earth then this is the book for you. Along the way you'll get a complimentary introduction to relevant aspects of chemistry and physics if you need it. Just for fun, you'll also find out whether water really swirls down the drain in the opposite direction in the hemisphere that's not your own (it depends). The author, a naturalist who has written several other fine books, has taken on the Full Monty here: nothing less than how the world works. And she pulls it off. Energy is her leitmotif in every study but it leads her on a very comprehensive tour. Her many fine illustrations aid in the telling of the tale. The book is reminiscent of Howard Blum's masterful 1955 `Time's Arrow and Evolution.'

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect for layperson and expert, February 5, 2009

By 

Robert Platt "montraville" (NY NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Energy of Nature (Paperback)

This is a fantastic read, because it presumes to give you a totality of energy sources and movements in the environment, and succeeds! I am merely an interested amateur but I found all my questions answered, and much more. Peilou puts all the different sources of energy in perspective, and gives you a sense of their relative weights. For example, nearly all wave energy is merely derived energy from wind, which in turn is nearly all derived energy from incoming solar energy in the infrared and other spectra. Of course, the rotation of the earth, the heat from the core of the earth, and the gravity tides of the moon and sun contribute, but only in a secondary capacity. From this we must conclude that the most useful source of energy is that closest to the pit head, namely solar and wind, not as much tidal, current, or geothermal, although they can play their part.

We're all worried about the future, but this book puts things in perspective so you can look at things more calmly and rationally. I look forward to reading more from Prof. Pielou!