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Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air [Paperback]

David JC MacKay (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
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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


"A delight to read and will appeal especially to practical people who want to understand what is important in energy and what is not."  —Dr Derek Pooley CBE, former chief scientist, UK Department of Energy, and member, European Union Advisory Group on Energy



"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

Product Description

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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Product Details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: UIT Cambridge Ltd.; First Edition edition (February 20, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0954452933
  • ISBN-13: 978-0954452933
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 7.7 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #32,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
    #27 in  Books > Outdoors & Nature > Conservation > Energy
    #12 in  Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Oil & Energy
    #21 in  Books > Science > Technology > Renewable Energy

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David J. C. MacKay
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Customer Reviews

35 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read if discussing sustainable or renewable energy, March 5, 2009
This review is from: Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air (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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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Do the numbers!, March 4, 2009
By Robert Hargraves (Hanover NH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air (Paperback)
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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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential purchase, August 9, 2009
By D. BULL (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air (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

5.0 out of 5 stars Missed my stop twice because of the silly thing!
Which means I forgot to get off at my stop, twice, because I was so engrossed.

First, I want to congratulate MacKay for being all about the numbers. Read more
Published 7 hours ago by WiltDurkey

5.0 out of 5 stars exallent service!!!!!!
the book i ordered arrived in wonderful condition very quickly after i ordered it! thank you very much! wonderful doing business with you.
Published 8 days ago by Chrystal R. Goltra

5.0 out of 5 stars Cuts through all the misleading hype
Richard Feynman once asked me if energy is a conserved quantity how come we have so many different names for the same thing? Read more
Published 10 days ago by Brad Cornell

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe the best non-fiction book I have ever read
It's such a good book. Almost every other book about renewable energy provides you with speculations. This book is about facts and numbers, but it's not boring or tiring. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Yahan

4.0 out of 5 stars Approachable and Systematic Primer on Sustainable Energy
This book was amazingly well written, and frankly, it scared the hell out of me. In clear concise language the author describes many alternative energy sources without the flimsy... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Thomas A. Sobieck

1.0 out of 5 stars Warning! This is an Excellent Yet Freely Available Book
Regarding the content of the book, it is a well thought out expose of the possibilities and limits of sustainable energy and I highly recommend it. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Arkansas Traveler

5.0 out of 5 stars Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air
David has made this book very readable for both academically minded people and industry practitioners. Read more
Published 5 months ago by L. Skoufa

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally
It has been a long awaited asset to have a book that is both scientifically sound and informative about the imminent energy disaster. Read more
Published 6 months ago by R. S. Le Poole

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent - a must read.


Climate Change (if it exists) will mean that we will need to eliminate the burning of fossil fuels within the next half century (unless we drown/fry/freeze first)... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Hugh Claffey

5.0 out of 5 stars Mandatory reading
I think nobody should talk on renewable energies without having read this book. It should be mandatory for everyone who wants to decide or even speak about energy.
Published 7 months ago by Alberto Aldave Morón

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