Sustainable Energy - without the hot air
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Authors
MacKay, David
Publication Date
2008-12-02ISBN
9780954452933 / 978-
1-906860-01-1
Publisher
UIT Cambridge
Language
English
Type
Book or Book Chapter
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
MacKay, D. (2008). Sustainable Energy - without the hot air. http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/217849
Description
This is the electronic version of the book which is also available in hardback and paperback.
Abstract
We have an addiction to fossil fuels, and it’s not sustainable. The developed
world gets 80% of its energy from fossil fuels; Britain, 90%. And
this is unsustainable for three reasons. First, easily-accessible fossil fuels
will at some point run out, so we’ll eventually have to get our energy
from someplace else. Second, burning fossil fuels is having a measurable
and very-probably dangerous effect on the climate. Avoiding dangerous
climate change motivates an immediate change from our current use of
fossil fuels. Third, even if we don’t care about climate change, a drastic
reduction in Britain’s fossil fuel consumption would seem a wise move if
we care about security of supply: continued rapid use of the North Sea Photo by Terry Cavner.
oil and gas reserves will otherwise soon force fossil-addicted Britain to depend
on imports from untrustworthy foreigners. (I hope you can hear my
tongue in my cheek.)
How can we get off our fossil fuel addiction?
There’s no shortage of advice on how to “make a difference,” but the
public is confused, uncertain whether these schemes are fixes or figleaves.
People are rightly suspicious when companies tell us that buying their
“green” product means we’ve “done our bit.” They are equally uneasy
about national energy strategy. Are “decentralization” and “combined
heat and power,” green enough, for example? The government would have
us think so. But would these technologies really discharge Britain’s duties
regarding climate change? Are windfarms “merely a gesture to prove our
leaders’ environmental credentials”? Is nuclear power essential?
We need a plan that adds up. The good news is that such plans can be
made. The bad news is that implementing them will not be easy.
Keywords
sustainable energy, renewables, carbon dioxide, fossil fuels, climate change, global warming
Identifiers
External link: http://www.withouthotair.com/
This record's URL: http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/217849