The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook: Community Solutions to a Global CrisisChelsea Green Publishing, 7 มี.ค. 2007 - 336 หน้า In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Al Gore's summer blockbuster An Inconvenient Truth, and crude oil prices soaring to all-time highs, more people than ever know the truth about our oil addiction. Global warming is here. M. King Hubbert's oil peak is fast approaching (or may already have arrived). The secret's out: fossil fuel reserves are dwindling and popular interest has created the need for accessible, realistic solutions. The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook, a clear-eyed view of the critical situation we face, offers ways out. Greg Pahl examines energy technologies currently available and homes in on renewable energy strategies that can be adopted by individuals and communities. Such cooperative initiatives have been common in Europe for years and are beginning to gain a foothold in the US. Each chapter focuses on a different renewable energy category--solar, wind, water, biomass, liquid biofuels, and geothermal--then reviews their advantages and disadvantages and desccribes numerous examples of successful, proven local initiatives. The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook is an eloquent appeal for community and regional action to initiate an array of solutions to energy needs until now controlled by large, distant utilities and consortiums. It is time to take back control of the energy and environmental challenges ahead; this book will help people do just that. It is a handbook for anyone ready to take the first steps towards a more sustainable future. |
เนื้อหา
OUR ENERGY CHOICES | 1 |
Our Energy Options 9 Renewables 18 Other Strategies | 27 |
SOLAR ENERGY | 33 |
Solar Energy Strategies 34 Cooperative or Community Systems | 48 |
WIND POWER | 63 |
The Winds of Change 64 A Long Way 65 Location Location | 71 |
Germany 77 Sweden 79 United Kingdom 82 United States | 84 |
Canada | 99 |
Combined Heat and Power 179 A BiogasPowered Train | 182 |
Biofuels History 185 Biofuels 101 188 Ethanol 189 Biodiesel | 200 |
Straight Veg | 218 |
GEOTHERMAL | 225 |
HighTemperature Geothermal 225 LowTemperature Geothermal | 242 |
Final Thoughts | 258 |
The Big Picture 262 CommunitySupported Energy 267 Groups | 294 |
Endnotes | 309 |
WATER POWER | 105 |
Winooski One 107 Hydropower 101 108 Recent Hydro | 118 |
Biomass 101 143 Biomass Heat 148 Biopower | 160 |
Glossary | 327 |