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Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air
 
 
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Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air [Paperback]

David JC MacKay (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)

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Book Description

February 20, 2009

Addressing the sustainable energy crisis in an objective manner, this enlightening book analyzes the relevant numbers and organizes a plan for change on both a personal level and an international scale—for Europe, the United States, and the world. In case study format, this informative reference answers questions surrounding nuclear energy, the potential of sustainable fossil fuels, and the possibilities of sharing renewable power with foreign countries. While underlining the difficulty of minimizing consumption, the tone remains positive as it debunks misinformation and clearly explains the calculations of expenditure per person to encourage people to make individual changes that will benefit the world at large.


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Customers buy this book with The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century's Sustainability Crises $16.47

Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air + The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century's Sustainability Crises


Editorial Reviews

Review

"If someone wants an overall view of how energy gets used, where it comes from, and the challenges in switching to new sources, this is the book to read."  —Bill Gates, chairman, Microsoft



"I would choose Sustainable Energy as a text over its competitors because MacKay has moved the energy discussion in the direction where energy alternatives can be considered quantitatively."  —American Journal of Physics



"This is a must-have book for anyone who is seriously interested in energy policy."  —Scott Kirwin, therazor.org


"The main text of his book is readable (and witty) and its technical appendices bristle with equations. If the planet and its people are the patient, MacKay's book is the the lab results, temperature chart and electrocardiogram." —The New York Review of Books (April 26, 2012)


"This is a brilliant book that is both a racy read and hugely informative . . . It shows . . . how cars might become far more efficient but why planes cannot."  —David Newbery, director, Electricity Policy Research Group, University of Cambridge



"Here are the numbers in a form easy to digest about energy use and availability. Fantastic achievement."  —Professor Volker Heine, Fellow of the Royal Society



"May be the best technical book about the environment that I've ever read.  This is to energy and climate what Freakonomics is to economics."  —boingboing.net



"A tour de force . . . As a work of popular science it is exemplary . . . For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the real problems involved [it] is the place to start."  —economist.com

About the Author

David MacKay is a professor in the department of physics at Cambridge University, a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Climate Change, and a regular lecturer on sustainable energy.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: UIT Cambridge Ltd.; 1 edition (February 20, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0954452933
  • ISBN-13: 978-0954452933
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David MacKay is a professor in the department of physics at Cambridge University, a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Climate Change, and a regular lecturer on sustainable energy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is an essential resource for understanding energy policy as it relates to conservation and to renewable resources.

I've just been listening to yet another "news" report pointing out that compact fluorescent light bulbs don't save much energy because an incandescent light bulb will also heat your house.

Coincidentally I had just read the part of this book dealing with this myth, so I was able to confidently mutter under my breath "true, but only in the winter (when you need the heating) and only if you are heating inefficiently using electricity."

This book puts real numbers to a lot of hand-waving arguments which are used to justify grandiose claims made for different renewable energy sources or to imply that we could save the world if we all just unplugged our mobile phone chargers. Some of the arguments stand up when the numbers are put in, but many don't. When you see what the numbers are, it becomes evident how unrealistic and ineffectual many of the proposals are.

Is it worth unplugging a power block when not in use? Can planes be made more efficient? How much space would solar farms or a wind farms need to occupy to meet our energy needs? How much agricultural land would be required for bio-diesel? All these questions (and many more) are answered.

What makes this book really stand out is that it converts energy amounts to comprehensible units (kilowatt-hours per person per day), supplies copious references for the numbers used, and provides the calculations on which the arguments are based. (Detailed calculations are presented in appendices for the math-averse and should be accessible to anybody with a basic knowledge of physics).

Note. Although this book is primarily aimed at a UK audience (energy consumption figures are based upon UK patterns, and land use proposals are related to UK locations), the discussions are of global applicability.
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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Do the numbers! March 4, 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is essential for anyone thinking about energy policy. It excels because MacKay does not espouse one specific solution, but rather teaches the reader how to create solutions and evaluate them. He emphasizes that the numbers must add up -- total energy production must equal total energy consumption.

In a way the book is very simple. He leads the reader by the hand in estimating the energy requirements of society - transportation, heat, food, gadgets, and so on. He similarly helps you make credible estimates of achievable production from sources such as sunlight, tides, hydro, nuclear, wind, coal, and oil.

Like a good physicist, MacKay is able stand back and estimate these numbers top-down from first principles, with just enough depth to generate numbers that are credible to you and good enough for policy making.

The charts, graphs, tables, and pictures are extensive and clear.

If you have a particularly loved energy source [wind?] or a particularly hated one [coal?] you can "do the numbers" and build your own energy policy. The only requirement is that the numbers add up!
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Essential purchase August 9, 2009
By D. BULL
Format:Paperback
I work for an environmental watchdog in New Zealand. I flicked through the first few pages of "Sustainable Energy - without the hot air" as it sat on a colleague's desk, took it back to my own desk and read it for two hours straight, got online and bought my own copy. It's that good.
For a start, this is how environmental science should be communicated; crystal clear text and honest graphs, with simplified theory and ballpark calculations that anyone can follow, backed up by empirical data as a check on results, real examples, frequent references, and explanations of limitations.
But the thinking behind it is every bit as good. MacKay is entirely pragmatic about energy supply and demand, never preachy, and he is game enough to admit when his results surprise even himself. If he is cautiously optimistic in his conclusions, it is because he has laid out a number of justifiable options.
Buy it. Better still, buy it and read it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great intro to sustainable energy options
For a clear introduction to sustainable energy sources, this book is a great resource. It takes a straightforward approach to discussing both major uses of energy in our present... Read more
Published 20 days ago by lpm
Best book I read on energy
Let me first say how much I enjoyed this book. It is easily the best book on the subject I have come across. Read more
Published 4 months ago by David Österberg
Just what is needed
This book is just what I needed for a careful yet readable survey of the essential science needed to underpin understanding the issues in sustainable energy policy. Read more
Published 6 months ago by John S.
Excellet book
This book stands heads and shoulders above all others I have read about realistic limits and options about moving to a sustainable future. Read more
Published 7 months ago by David J. Hrivnak
High school Physics teachers - buy this book!
I had been looking around for some time for a book that would not only break out the issues involved in sustainable energy technologies but also provide some of the numbers. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Paul Bianchi
This Book Is Free On His Web Site
Great Book. But it is available for free. Why would I pay $28 for a Kindle version when I can download the pdf?
Published 12 months ago by Whiksey
Sustainable Book Review
Davis K. C. MacKay did an excellent job of explaining sustainable energy in ways that I could understand. Read more
Published 18 months ago by SKerns
Very Informative
A great read from a great author!

MacKay did a very good job in providing the reader with enormous information on sustainable energy. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Allen Anderson
Well written Book
Mackay did a good job laying out the book and making it easy for read even for someone who doesn't know anything about sustainable energy or policy. Read more
Published 18 months ago by zach witteveen
Missed my stop twice because of it.
...because I was so engrossed.

First, I want to congratulate MacKay for being all about the numbers. He has his opinions, sure. Read more
Published 20 months ago by WiltDurkey
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