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Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air
UIT by David J.C. MacKay Search David J.C. MacKay
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Customer Reviews:
Sustainable energy
This book answers all the questions you have ever asked about renewable energy and the energy costs of everything you use inside and outside the home. It's a fantastic resource for anyone who is trying to reduce their own carbon footprint and persuade others to do so. The on-line version also provides downloadable copies of all the figures and photos used in the book. Brilliant!
Essential Reading
This book is essential reading to get an understanding of the scale of the challenge humans face over the next few hundred years.
It looks like a text book but it is a great read from start to finish, and then a useful reference. Brilliant work.
An Honest and informative book! 
David J.C. MacKay tries to give honest and clear information about sustainable energy possibilities. He shows, that it will be difficult to go on with our way of life based on sustainable energy.
Martin F.G. van der Jagt
Senior Energy Consultant at:
Zowel Energy Technologies, Eindhoven ; www.zowel.nl
AquaAero WaterSystems, Delft; www.aaws.nl
In many ways, this an exemplary book
In many ways, this an exemplary book:
1. The book is made up of easily digestible chunks;
2. Each chunk contains numbers. Anyone who disagrees with the conclusions of the book is therefore invited to identify the numbers that they disagree with;
3. In each case, the author explains where the various numbers come from;
4. The author makes the numbers seem plausible, but also provides copious references for people to investigate by themselves;
5. Mathematical formulae are provided too - but separated into appendices at the end of the book, to avoid detracting from the main flow of the argument;
6. The author punctures a lot of what might be called "hot air" - which he also calls "twaddle": wishful thinking about how sustainable energy might be achieved;
7. There are many "mythconceptions" sections where various widespread notions are gently but firmly dismantled;
8. The text is accompanied by a set of very clear diagrams;
9. The author sets out a range of possible solutions, rather than identifying a single way forwards;
10. The author makes it clear that none of the solutions are going to be easy, and each will require substantial ("country-sized") changes.
The author says he seeks to avoid being labelled as "pro-wind" or "pro-nuclear", declaring instead that he wishes to be known as "pro-arithmetic". Whatever solutions are contemplated, he says, must meet the test of adding up. He disagrees with those who say that "if everyone does a little, it will add up to a lot". Instead, he says, if everyone does a little, it will add up to a little. That's because of the scale of the total amount of energy used by an entire country. Actions need to be effective!
The entire book is available free online. The online summaries (eg page 238-239) reiterate the following point:
>>We have a clear conclusion: the non-solar renewables may be "huge," but they are not huge enough. To complete a plan that adds up, we must rely on one or more forms of solar power. Or use nuclear power. Or both.<<
So far, I haven't found any significant criticism of the points made in this book. It's highly recommended.
Read this book!
Concise, accessible, unbiased information and analysis of all aspects of the sustainable energy debate - written in a detached and common-sense style. A delight to read and invaluable in assessing the rubbish spouted in the press and by zealots on both sides of the argument.
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http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sustainable-Energy-Without-Hot-Air/dp/0954452933 3. A Blueprint for a Safer Planet by Nicholas Stern Written by Nicholas Stern of the Stern Review into the Economics of Climate Change, this is an update of his ...
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Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air - download here
ISBN/ASIN: 0954452933. ISBN-13: 9780954452933. Number of pages: 383. Description: Addressing the sustainable energy crisis in an objective manner, this enlightening book analyzes the relevant numbers and organizes a plan for change on ...
http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/details.php?ebook=2649
sustainable energy - without the hot air
paperback: 384 pages; publisher: uit cambridge ltd. (february 20, 2009); language: english; isbn-10: 0954452933; isbn-13: 978-0954452933; product dimensions: 8.7 x 7.7 x 0.9 inches; shipping weight: 1.8 pounds (view shipping rates and ...
http://www.ecotechguide.com/alternative-and-renewable-energy/sustainable-energy-without-the-hot-air
