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A Cubic Mile of Oil: Realities and Options for Averting the Looming Global Energy Crisis 1st Edition
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A Cubic Mile of Oil describes the various energy sources and how we use them, projects their future contributions, and delineates what it would take to develop them to annually produce a CMO from each of them. The requirement for additional energy in the future is so daunting that we will need to use all resources. We also examine how improved efficiency and conservation measures can reduce future demand substantially, and help distinguish approaches that make a significant impact as opposed to merely making us feel good.
Use of CMO eliminates a multitude of units like tons of coal, gallons of oil, and cubic feet of gas; obviates the need for mind-numbing multipliers such as billions, trillions, and quadrillions; and replaces them with an easy-to-understand volumetric unit. It evokes a visceral response and allows experts, policy makers and the general public alike to form a mental picture of the magnitude of the challenge we face. In the absence of an appreciation of the scale of the problem, we risk squandering efforts and resources in pursuing options that will not meet tomorrow's global energy needs. We must make critical choices, and a common understandable language is essential for a sustained meaningful dialog.
- ISBN-100195325540
- ISBN-13978-0195325546
- Edition1st
- PublisherOxford University Press
- Publication dateJuly 15, 2010
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions9.3 x 1.1 x 6.1 inches
- Print length328 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
What we need is a way to compare and understand, putting it all on a common basis. This is done for us in A Cubic Mile of Oil, by SRI International's Hewitt Crane, Edwin Kinderman and Ripudaman Malhotra. --Geoffrey E. Dolbear in Fuel
The book is a must-read for scientists, engineers, managers, and decision-makers...anyone who seeks an understanding of the world energy sector. It is a worthy addition to the energy technology bookshelf. --James Speight in Energy Sources Part A,
...Overall, this book makes an important contribution and is a very compelling read. Summing up: Highly recommended.--R. M. Ferguson in Choice, Feb. 2011
Finding a book that leaves the reader with a sense that there are reasonable options for our energy future is both rare and valuable - Nancy B. Johnson, Chem. & Engg. News
Policymakers around the world should add A Cubic Mile of Oil to the top of their readings lists, grasp the energy challenges to come, and make informed decisions. -R. J. Francescon, EUCI
"An orginal, illuminating and entertaining way to experience the energy debate. Cubic Mile is more than an introduction to a new unit of measurement. It is an encyclopedic embrace of energy issues, with dispassionate but compelling analysis of the energy conundrum."--Neil Reynolds, The Globe and Mail
Book Description
About the Author
Edwin Kinderman has spent over 50 years actively conducting and/or managing research, development and evaluation activities dealing with the development and implementation of energy technology and the individual markets these technologies address. His latest effort has been an attempt to correlate these experiences into the overall evaluations discussed in this book.
Ripudaman Malhotra is an organic chemist who has worked extensively in the area of energy. Though most of his 30-year tenure has focused on the processing and analysis of fossil fuels, in recent years he has devoted increasing attention to the development of biofuels and other alternative energy sources.
Product details
- Publisher : Oxford University Press; 1st edition (July 15, 2010)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 328 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0195325540
- ISBN-13 : 978-0195325546
- Item Weight : 1.32 pounds
- Dimensions : 9.3 x 1.1 x 6.1 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,250,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,422 in Environmental Studies
- #2,600 in Environmental Policy
- #2,756 in Public Policy (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Dr. Ripudaman Malhotra is Associate Director of Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory in SRI International's Physical Sciences Division. Dr. Malhotra is an organic chemist, and during his tenure at SRI he has worked extensively on the processing and analysis of fossil fuels, and advanced materials. His work on coal liquefaction and pyrolysis resulted in identification of novel pathways for hydrogen transfer by which strong bonds in coals are broken. He is currently investigating pyrolysis and gasification of coals at elevated pressures under conditions using a radiant furnace that allows complete capture of all the products for detailed mass and element balance. Lately, Dr. Malhotra has been studying the applications of biotechnology in the areas of energy, chemicals, and environment. He has co-authored a book on Nitrations, edited one on Combinatorial Materials Development, as well as co-edited one on Advanced Materials. He recently co-authored a book with Hew Crane and Ed Kinderman on the global energy crisis, A Cubic Mile of Oil: Realities and Options for Averting The Looming Energy Crisis to be published by the Oxford University Press. He is also Editor for the Fossil Fuels Section of the multi-volume Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology to be published by Springer. Dr. Malhotra received his Bachelor's (1971) and Master's (1973) degrees in chemistry from Delhi University, India, and a PhD from the University of Southern California (1979). Dr. Malhotra is the recipient of the SRI 2005 Fellows Award, the highest honor SRI bestows upon its employees for technical excellence and professional contributions.
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Some questions that we in the U.S. must face include what will happen when (maybe if) gasoline costs $10 or $12 dollars a gallon (my prediction not the authors) or when the production of electricity does not equal the demand? I think that the bump in petrol prices in 2008 impacted the U.S. economy. My opinion is that gasoline increasing to close to $4 a gallon was the straw that broke the back of the limping camel that was the U.S. economy and tipped the U.S. into the housing/debt crisis.
A "Cubic Mile of Oil" does not give any easy answers to our dilemma, but it does point out that a lot of people are engaged in magical thinking. Specifically the idea that solar and wind power can quickly solve our energy problems. If I build another house, I certainly plan to install solar panels but unless the cost drops and the efficiency improves, I doubt that I will live to regroup my investment. I will also install a geothermal heat pump. More efficient cars (see the X-prize which was awarded last year); changes in diet to include less red meat; increased use of coal (clean or dirty) to produce electricity; mass transportation; and reduction of suburban sprawl are all part of a partial solution. But unless someone invents a magic box or there are drastic improvements in the production of photovoltaic cells leading to a reduction in costs, and a corresponding improvement in storage (batteries?) then the U.S. and the world are not going to be able to meet the near term energy needs with just green solutions.
I have not finished reading this short book but I can unequivocally state that I think it should be required reading for every college student in the U.S. I think anyone who thinks about the world and its future should read this book. Cheap energy has built the world we live in and the supply is running out. It may be 2020 or 2030 before we hit the limits but our current policies and practices cannot continue indefinitely.
I also appreciate how they focus on technologies that can scale to a cubic mile of oil, as well as the challenges that would be faced to scale them. Further more, the authors do not ignore the critical use of conservation to bridge the gap from where we are now to the sustainable future, all trying to be realistic of the economic burden that developing nations will face, population increase, and East Asia's growth as they transform into the predominant energy and economic power on this planet. The tone is not blissfully hopeful or overly dark, but a realistic snap-shot of our current state and what is possible.
The book came out just in time to see the 2008 collapse, but is a bit dated ... I don't think they completely saw the impact of fracking in the oil industry. Hopefully a newer edition could be in the works...hint,hint...
One of the main features of this book is how it treats the scale of the problem with new units (cubic mile of oil equivalent and gallon of oil equivalent) that are easier for students to grapple with. That being said, it is easy to get overwhelmed with the numbers and conversions at the beginning... stay with it, glossing through that part if you need to... you don't have to completely understand the specifics of the numbers to still appreciate some of the important points the authors are trying to make in the text.
