Fueling Our Future: An Introduction to Sustainable EnergyCambridge University Press, 2007 M04 19 - 180 pages One of the most important issues facing humanity today is the prospect of global climate change, brought about primarily by our prolific energy use and heavy dependence on fossil fuels. Fueling Our Future: An Introduction to Sustainable Energy provides a concise overview of current energy demand and supply patterns. It presents a balanced view of how our reliance on fossil fuels can be changed over time so that we have a much more sustainable energy system in the near future. Written in a non-technical and accessible style, the book will appeal to a wide range of readers without scientific backgrounds. |
Contents
The energy conversion chain | 10 |
Energy and the environment | 18 |
32 Global environmental concerns | 21 |
33 Adaptation and mitigation | 34 |
The global energy demand and supply balance | 37 |
World energy demand | 39 |
World energy supply | 46 |
52 Fossil fuel resources | 51 |
76 Ocean energy | 105 |
77 Geothermal energy | 110 |
Nuclear power | 115 |
82 Lightwater reactors | 116 |
83 Heavywater reactors | 120 |
84 Other reactor types | 122 |
85 Advanced reactor designs | 124 |
86 Nuclear power and sustainability | 128 |
53 The global demandsupply balance | 58 |
New and sustainable energy sources | 63 |
Nonconventional fossil fuels | 65 |
62 Clean coal processes | 70 |
63 Carbon mitigation | 75 |
Renewable energy sources | 81 |
72 Solar energy | 83 |
73 Wind energy | 94 |
74 Biomass energy | 100 |
75 Hydroelectric power | 103 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
atmosphere Based on figures battery battery electric vehicle biomass capacity factor carbon Climate Change CO₂ CO2 emissions coal coal-fired complete energy conventional countries crude oil economic efficiency electric vehicle electrical power end-use energy carrier energy conversion chain energy demand energy density energy storage energy supply engine environmental estimated fossil fuels fuel cell gases gasoline geothermal greenhouse gas Gtoe heat hybrid vehicles hydro hydroelectric hydrogen increase installed International Energy Agency IPCC liquid fuels methane motor natural gas nuclear power oil sands operating overall petroleum plug-in hybrid power stations powerplants pressure primary coolant primary energy primary energy source production quantities reduced regions renewable energy result sector shown in Figure significant solar energy solar PV steam stored sustainable energy synthetic crude techniques temperature thermal tidal tion tonnes transportation uranium utilization waste wind energy
Popular passages
Page 3 - greenhouse gases," is increasing quite rapidly, and that this is likely due to mankind's activities on earth, or "anthropogenic" causes. The utilization of any fossil fuel results in the production of large quantities of CO2, and most scientific evidence points to this as the main cause of increasing concentration levels in the atmosphere, and of small, but important increases in global average temperatures.
Page 5 - However, in recent years few major new production fields have been found, and the exploration effort and cost required to maintain these ratios has been significantly increased. Ultimately, of course, supplies of oil and natural gas will be depleted to such an extent, or the cost of production will become so high, that alternative energy sources will need to be developed. In some regions of the world new production from non-traditional petroleum supplies, such as heavy oil deposits and oil-sands,...