Energy Resources: Occurrence, Production, Conversion, Use [Hardcover]

Wendell H. Wiser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0387987444 | ISBN-13: 978-0387987446 | Edition: 1

This book deals with the physics and chemistry of all kinds of energy resources - coal, gas, oil, hydropower, and nuclear. After a brief introduction to the concepts of force, work, and energy, the book discusses energy resources and reserves, followed by discussions of electric power and methods for generating electricity. The discussion then turns to the uses of energy in agriculture, transportation, etc., and the pollution that accompanies these uses. The book concludes with material on energy conservation and energy supplies for the future.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (November 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387987444
• ISBN-13: 978-0387987446
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,597,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I get this feeling..., August 20, 2006

By 

David Diez (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Energy Resources: Occurrence, Production, Conversion, Use (Hardcover)

that this author was either funded by or worked for the fossil fuel industry. I'll get to that after I go over what I liked about the book.

There is a lot of information about the spectrum of energy production in the US. The topics include (I'll just list the chapter titles)

1. Energy Concepts, Forms, Laws

2. Petroleum

3. Natural Gas

4. Coal

5. Gaseous and Liquid Fuels from Coal

6. Fuels from Oil Shale, Tar Sands, Biomass, Waste

7. Fossil Fuel Reserves Versus Consumption

8. Electric Power

9. Nuclear Energy

10. Solar Energy

11. Other Sources of Energy for Electric Power Generation

12. Energy Storage

13. Energy Use in Agriculture

14. Energy Use in Transportation

15. Pollution of the Atmosphere from Energy Use

16. Energy Conservation

17. Energy Supply for the Future

What I really enjoyed were the numbers that were given. Those make the time I spent reading this book worth it, but I wouldn't pay for this book. That is, I would be happy to get this book out from the library (again), but I would not spend any money to look at this book.

Now to why I think this book is tainted...

The first red flag was, keeping in mind that this book was full of statistics, that there is no mention of fossil fuel subsidies! (2006 subsidies were about $15 billion... that's a HUGE number to ignore!) Next, the book basically says global warming is a complete fluke, and then goes on to only focus on the Northern Hemisphere (ie, not GLOBAL warming); I would have thought that someone who specialized in energy would not have been ignorant on global warming in 1999. Lastly, some of the analysis seemed very much off and biased... here's an example...

"[2000-pound-class vehicle] are very unsafe on highways where most vehicles are much heavier... It would be difficult, even impossible, for the elected legislators to impose such a weight reduction against the wishes of their constituents. Furthermore, from safety considerations, informed legislators would not impose such safety hazards on their constituents." -page 346

The above quotation essentially summarizes what he says on the topic repeatedly in the book -- that people who are concerned about safety should drive large vehicles and those that don't are just asking to get hurt. There are a few problems with Wiser's analysis. First off, isn't there a government concern about those people in the small cars? Second, in his scenario he ignores the fact that vehicle weight would be lower, meaning it would be safer for smaller vehicles (and not substantially more dangerous for the larger ones in the accident). Third, he NEVER mentions the rollover dangers of large vehicles, which was a major concern at the time of the book's writing.

This repitition of the dangers of small cars and negligence in not mentioning the issues above is ludicrous. Wiser takes a very irresponsible perspective on this topic.

If it was just one topic when Wiser aired on the side of the fossil fuel industry or just 50% of the time, I would not be questioning the spirit of the book. However, it seemed whenever there was an opportunity for Wiser to comment, it was either neutral or in favor of the fossil fuel industry. Even when a comment seemed unwelcome, Wiser was there with (occasionally negligent) commentary. Also, don't be fooled by the conservation chapter -- it was pretty much worthless relative to most websites on energy conservation.

On top of this, the book is outdated. "Cost competitive" of the year 1999 means nothing to today's high energy prices, both oil and electricity, meaning a lot of the cost comparison in this book are useless.

Basically, this book is, at best, outdated, and, at worst, corrupted. Look elsewhere unless you can get your hands on this book for free (and even then, be warned about the apparent bias).

This review was written on August 20th, 2006.