[PDF] Energy In Nature And Society eBook

Author : Vaclav Smil
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 495 pages
File Size : 11,4 MB
Release : 2007-12-21
Category : Science
ISBN : 0262693569

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A comprehensive, systematic, analytically unified, and interdisciplinary treatment of energy in nature and society, from solar radiation and photosynthesis to our fossil fuelled civilization and its environmental consequences. Energy in Nature and Society is a systematic and exhaustive analysis of all the major energy sources, storages, flows, and conversions that have shaped the evolution of the biosphere and civilization. Vaclav Smil uses fundamental unifying metrics (most notably for power density and energy intensity) to provide an integrated framework for analyzing all segments of energetics (the study of energy flows and their transformations). The book explores not only planetary energetics (such as solar radiation and geomorphic processes) and bioenergetics (photosynthesis, for example) but also human energetics (such as metabolism and thermoregulation), tracing them from hunter-gatherer and agricultural societies through modern-day industrial civilization. Included are chapters on heterotrophic conversions, traditional agriculture, preindustrial complexification, fossil fuels, fossil-fueled civilization, the energetics of food, and the implications of energetics for the environment. The book concludes with an examination of general patterns, trends, and socioeconomic considerations of energy use today, looking at correlations between energy and value, energy and the economy, energy and quality of life, and energy futures. Throughout the book, Smil chooses to emphasize the complexities and peculiarities of the real world, and the counterintuitive outcomes of many of its processes, over abstract models. Energy in Nature and Society provides a unique, comprehensive, single-volume analysis and reference source on all important energy matters, from natural to industrial energy flows, from fuels to food, from the Earth's formation to possible energy futures, and can serve as a text for courses in energy studies, global ecology, earth systems science, biology, and chemistry.

Author : Howard T. Odum
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Page : 433 pages
File Size : 36,74 MB
Release : 2007-06-08
Category : Science
ISBN : 0231502931

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Howard T. Odum possessed one of the most innovative minds of the twentieth century. He pioneered the fields of ecological engineering, ecological economics, and environmental accounting, working throughout his life to better understand the interrelationships of energy, environment, and society and their importance to the well-being of humanity and the planet. This volume is a major modernization of Odum's classic work on the significance of power and its role in society, bringing his approach and insight to a whole new generation of students and scholars. For this edition Odum refines his original theories and introduces two new measures: emergy and transformity. These concepts can be used to evaluate and compare systems and their transformation and use of resources by accounting for all the energies and materials that flow in and out and expressing them in equivalent ability to do work. Natural energies such as solar radiation and the cycling of water, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are diagrammed in terms of energy and emergy flow. Through this method Odum reveals the similarities between human economic and social systems and the ecosystems of the natural world. In the process, we discover that our survival and prosperity are regulated as much by the laws of energetics as are systems of the physical and chemical world.

Author : Benjamin K. Sovacool
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 375 pages
File Size : 43,59 MB
Release : 2007-05-04
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 1402055641

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This book takes on a central quandary in the study of energy and environmental policy: What myths continue to exist in American culture concerning energy, the environment, and society? It enrolls twenty-four of the nation’s top experts working on energy policy to debunk and contextualize thirteen energy myths relating to electric power, renewable energy, energy efficiency, transportation, and climate change. The book will appeal to an international audience.

Author : David Elliott
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 29,29 MB
Release : 2002-01-04
Category : Science
ISBN : 1134760450

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Energy, Society and Environment examines the potential and limits of technical solutions to environmental problems and suggests the social, economic and political changes necessary to avoid serious environmental damage in the future.

Author : Vaclav Smil
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 564 pages
File Size : 42,52 MB
Release : 2018-11-13
Category : Science
ISBN : 0262536161

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A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.

Author : Gavin Bridge
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 13,5 MB
Release : 2018-05-30
Category : Nature
ISBN : 1351019007

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Energy and Society is the first major text to provide an extensive critical treatment of energy issues informed by recent research on energy in the social sciences. Written in an engaging and accessible style it draws new thinking on uneven development, consumption, vulnerability and transition together to illustrate the social significance of energy systems in the global North and South. The book features case studies, examples, discussion questions, activities, recommended reading and more, to facilitate its use in teaching. Energy and Society deploys contemporary geographical concepts and approaches but is not narrowly disciplinary. Its critical perspective highlights connections between energy and significant socio-economic and political processes, such as globalisation, urban isation, international development and social justice, and connects important issues that are often treated in isolation, such as resource availability, energy security, energy access and low-carbon transition. Co-authored by leading researchers and based on current research and thinking in the social sciences, Energy and Society presents a distinctive geographical approach to contemporary energy issues. It is an essential resource for upperlevel undergraduates and Master’s students in geography, environmental studies, urban studies, energy studies and related fields.

Author : Craig R. Humphrey
Publisher : Cengage Learning
Page : 374 pages
File Size : 49,96 MB
Release : 2002
Category : Family & Relationships
ISBN :

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This is a comprehensive yet accessible text that exposes students to the interaction between society and the environment. Each chapter opens with a stimulating case example or scenario that helps students grasp this interaction, while a "Focus on the U.S." feature helps students relate global environmental issues to everyday life in the United States. Students learn how to use social theories to better understand environmental issues, both at home and internationally.

Author : Ali Salehabadi
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 104 pages
File Size : 31,82 MB
Release : 2020-05-21
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9811549060

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This book provides a comprehensive and contemporary overview of advances in energy and energy storage technologies. Although the coverage is varied and diverse, the book also addresses unifying patterns and trends in order to enrich readers’ understanding of energy and energy storage systems, particularly hydrogen energy storage, including e.g. their morphology, porosity and material structure. Readers will also gain insights into the hydrogen storage performance landscape, based on data released by the US Department of Energy (DOE), providing a basis for understanding real-world applications. The book also discusses the superior hydrogen storage performance of solid-state materials and explores the physical and chemical properties that can potentially affect their performance.

Author : Alternative Energy Institute
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 378 pages
File Size : 37,44 MB
Release : 2005
Category : Renewable energy sources
ISBN : 0595339298

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With nearly all of the world's energy consumption dependent on non-renewable resources, Powering Our Future challenges consumers to support changes that will create sustainable energy in the future. The four biggest energy sources--oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium--currently power our earth. What would happen to our society if we experienced severe shortages of one or more of these resources? Such a glimpse into the future may become reality sooner than we think. Oil production is soon expected to begin a rapid descent, with natural gas in close pursuit. Powering Our Future is an educational tool that opens the door to a future fueled by sustainable, renewable energy. Consumers will learn: - How our world has become dependent on four nonrenewable resources. - How each resource impacts us politically, economically, and environmentally. - How renewable resources such as hydrogen, fuel cells, wind power, solar energy, hydropower, and more are waiting in the wings. - How the transition to renewable resources will take place, offering economically stable and environmentally safe choices. Powering Our Future is a solution-oriented guide that will empower you to make more informed choices as a voter, a contributor to a global economy, and a citizen of the earth.

Author : Vaclav Smil
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 452 pages
File Size : 34,6 MB
Release : 2005-02-11
Category : Science
ISBN : 026230368X

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An objective, comprehensive, and accessible examination of today's most crucial problem: preserving the environment in the face of society's insatiable demand for energy. In Energy at the Crossroads, Vaclav Smil considers the twenty-first century's crucial question: how to reconcile the modern world's unceasing demand for energy with the absolute necessity to preserve the integrity of the biosphere. With this book he offers a comprehensive, accessible guide to today's complex energy issues—how to think clearly and logically about what is possible and what is desirable in our energy future. After a century of unprecedented production growth, technical innovation, and expanded consumption, the world faces a number of critical energy challenges arising from unequal resource distribution, changing demand patterns, and environmental limitations. The fundamental message of Energy at the Crossroads is that our dependence on fossil fuels must be reduced not because of any imminent resource shortages but because the widespread burning of oil, coal, and natural gas damages the biosphere and presents increasing economic and security problems as the world relies on more expensive supplies and Middle Eastern crude oil. Smil begins with an overview of the twentieth century's long-term trends and achievements in energy production. He then discusses energy prices, the real cost of energy, and "energy linkages"—the effect energy issues have on the economy, on quality of life, on the environment, and in wartime. He discusses the pitfalls of forecasting, giving many examples of failed predictions and showing that unexpected events can disprove complex models. And he examines the pros and cons not only of fossil fuels but also of alternative fuels such as hydroenergy, biomass energy, wind power, and solar power. Finally, he considers the future, focusing on what really matters, what works, what is realistic, and which outcomes are most desirable.