Energy for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide to Conventional And Alternative Sources

Contents......Page 7
List of Tables and Figures......Page 13
Preface......Page 17
Easter Island......Page 21
The Mathematics of Extinction......Page 22
Progress Is Our Most Important Product......Page 24
The Unremitting Rise in Population......Page 25
The Case of Double Exponential Growth......Page 29
A Lesson in Fish......Page 30
Notes......Page 35
It Takes Energy to Make Energy......Page 36
Energy for Electricity Generation......Page 38
Enhancing Efficiency in Electricity Generation......Page 41
Early History of Electricity......Page 42
Generating Electricity Commercially......Page 44
System Operation......Page 45
Methods of Rate Regulation......Page 47
Operating Models in an Era of Deregulation/Liberalization......Page 51
Utility Pools......Page 57
When Demand Exceeds Supply......Page 59
The Real Lesson of California......Page 65
Notes......Page 66
Yesterday ’s Fuel......Page 67
Today ’s Fuel......Page 68
Biomass as a Motor Vehicle Fuel......Page 71
Biomass for Electricity Generation......Page 78
Biogas......Page 81
Tomorrow ’s Fuel......Page 84
Notes......Page 87
The First Energy Crisis......Page 88
The Origin and History of Coal......Page 89
Coal and the Industrial Revolution......Page 93
Coal and Railroads......Page 96
Coal and Steel......Page 97
The Rise and Fall of King Coal......Page 99
Coal Mining......Page 102
Coal in the Twenty-first Century......Page 106
The Role of Coal Among the Major Consumers......Page 112
Clean-Coal Technologies......Page 117
Eliminating Coal Not So Easy......Page 121
Notes......Page 122
History of Lighting......Page 123
History of Oil......Page 124
Oil and Diplomacy......Page 178
Oil and Environmentalists......Page 179
The Role of Oil Companies After the Oil Crisis......Page 180
Notes......Page 185
The Earth as an Oil Manufacturer......Page 187
Formation of Oil......Page 190
Oil Exploration......Page 192
Getting the Oil to a Refinery......Page 208
Oil Reserves......Page 216
Synthetic Crude......Page 230
Challenge of Oil:The Automobile......Page 234
Internalizing an Externality......Page 240
Background......Page 245
Early History of Coal Gas......Page 247
History of Natural Gas......Page 249
From Source to Consumer......Page 262
Natural Gas as a Fuel......Page 266
The European Version of Deregulation......Page 269
LPG:Prelude to LNG......Page 271
Liquefied Natural Gas......Page 275
Gas to Liquids (GTL)Technology......Page 290
Notes......Page 292
Background......Page 294
What Does a 1,000-Megawatt Plant Mean?......Page 295
Physics of a Nuclear Reactor......Page 297
Nuclear Incidents and Accidents......Page 298
Commercial Reactors......Page 303
Fusion Power......Page 308
Future of Nuclear Power......Page 309
Hydropower......Page 310
Notes......Page 323
The Meaning of Sustainability......Page 324
Geothermal Energy......Page 325
Wind Energy......Page 327
Solar Energy......Page 335
Ocean Energy......Page 343
Sustainable Energy and Economic Development......Page 345
A Sustainable Energy Action Plan......Page 348
Notes......Page 349
The Hydrogen Economy......Page 351
Climate......Page 359
Carbon Dioxide Conundrum......Page 365
Projecting the Future......Page 366
The Environment......Page 368
Efficiency and Conservation......Page 382
Notes......Page 387
Oil......Page 389
Pollution......Page 399
Notes......Page 402
Index......Page 403
About the Author......Page 423