Sustainable Energy & Without the Hot Air | Date: 24 April 2011, 01:21
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Addressing the sustainable energy crisis in an objective manner, this enlightening book analyzes the relevant numbers and organizes a plan for change on both a personal level and an international scale—for Europe, the Untied States, and the world. In case study format, this informative reference answers questions surrounding nuclear energy, the potential of sustainable fossil fuels, and the possibilities of sharing renewable power with foreign countries. While underlining the difficulty of minimizing consumption, the tone remains positive as it debunks misinformation and clearly explains the calculations of expenditure per person to encourage people to make individual changes that will benefit the world at large.
Summary: Sustainable Energy
Rating: 5
Prof. MacKay did an excellent job – easily the most informative current book on energy.
BUT Amazon sent me a pirated draft copy full of errors, misplaced paragraphs etc.
I protested to Amazon – no response except for a belated response from Jeff Pohlman – who I assume is the pirating publisher.
The original publisher in England "UIT Cambridge" generously rose to the occasion and sent me a replacement copy.
My next order will go to Barnes & Noble
Gerry McDonald
Summary: Long Overdue Discussion
Rating: 5
This discussion of sustainable energy without dependence on burning fossil fuels is unique and valuable in that it is general, covering all non-fossil sources of energy, but doing so quantitatively. Prof. MakKay works to allow the numbers to speak for themselves and to distance himself from narrow advocacy. The book is available for download online, gratis, but I find the convenience and high production values of the paperback edition well worth the price on Amazon.com. Prof. MacKay helpfully divides the book into two parts: the first a broad, quantitative analysis of renewable energy sources for various needs (e.g., transportation, heating and cooling, electric power), the second a more detailed analysis that develops the scientific basis for the results presented in the first. The second part requires a background in the physical sciences but is nonetheless accessible.
Just two quibbles: I’m more at home dealing with power expressed in watts, kilowatts, mega- and gigawatts than kilowatt-hours per day, but probably that’s just me. Secondly, I find myself wishing that MacKay, or someone like him would focus on the United States, as opposed to his nearly exclusive focus on the energy situation in the UK. Nonetheless, this book is valuable reading for anyone serious about energy independence and climate change.
Summary: Please. Read This Book!
Rating: 5
And then we can pass a law saying that all elected representatives must read this book. And pass a test based on it.
The author is logical, sensible, clear and unbiased (and has a great sense of humor, to boot). It is no surprise that these qualities make it a great contribution to the field of alternative energy writing.
Note that this book can be found online at http://www.withouthotair.com/
If you want to be an informed citizen, read this book. If you want to understand what we can do to help, read this book. Even if you disagree with everything he says, read the book.
Summary: do your own math!
Rating: 4
MacKay’s attempt to provide an insight to the real numbers involved in the overall energy challenge and to make people think is highly laudable. Unfortunately, he is not always very exact with his assumptions (and garbage in -> garbage out…) Just one example: he assumes an average wind speed for the UK of 6 m/s, but a brief look at the European wind atlas [...] instead of guessing would have told him that e.g. for the whole of Scotland the value (on hills and ridges where wind turbines are placed usually) is at least twice as high, therefore he underestimated the available energy (which goes with the cube of the wind speed) by a factor of 8 there (in fact, for a value of 6 m/s you’d have to look for some sheltered place even in the rest of the UK!) There are other arguable assumptions, but since all his calculations are very easy to follow it’s no big deal to replace faulty input with some more realistic data in order to get a more accurate picture. In any case, many of his general conclusions are still valid. Overall a highly recommended book for people who are not too lazy to think for themselves!
Summary: A stimulating and numerate guide to alternative energy options
Rating: 5
Prof MacKay’s starting point is that there is a great deal of vague flummery talked about energy production and consumption. It is easy to make vague claims of "huge" potential green sources or to obsess over what turn out to be very minor energy savings. His goal in this book is to have a hard-nosed discussion of real numbers, so that there can be a more sensible discussion of options. He avoids making explicit recommendations, but his one continual plea is that we create a plan that "adds up" rather than merely reflecting wishful thinking. The world currently consumes enormous quantities of fossil fuel, so any viable alternative plan also has to deal with very large numbers, either as savings or as alternate sources.
MacKay writes in a very readable and entertaining style. But he is also very careful to explain his numbers and to build his scenarios from the ground up. I found his analyses convincing and stimulating. Sometimes more detailed or more mathematical analysis is pushed off to supplementary appendices, but those are also well worth reading.
I learned many things. One key factor I hadn’t appreciated was the enormous land areas required for renewable sources, such as wind, solar, biofuel, or geothermal to make a substantial difference. For example, MacKay calculates that it would probably require 10% of the UK’s surface to be dedicated to wind farms in order to make a significant contribution to the UK’s current energy needs. Even larger areas are required to generate meaningful quantities of biofuel. If an area the size of Africa were dedicated to growing biofuel, that might only replace a third of current world oil needs. But MacKay also points out there may be places where building vast energy farms makes sense. For example, a 20,000 square km solar power farm in the Sahara could be one way to meet the UK’s energy needs.
MacKay explains how technologies such as electric cars or heat pumps reduce energy needs, independent of how the electricity is generated. He shows us that because electric motors are extremely efficient, burning oil in a central power plant and using the electricity to run an electric car actually requires much less energy than traditional cars. Similarly, he shows how using a central electric power station to power home heat pumps is a significantly more efficient way to heat houses than burning gas or oil at the house. (I had definitely not understood this before!) MacKay would prefer we use green technology to create the electric power, but it is interesting that even using fossil fuel power stations, electric cars and heat pumps still reduce overall fossil fuel consumption.
In his concluding chapters, MacKay outlines several possible plans that "add up". All of them have significant negatives, either through reliance on nuclear power, or enormous environmental impact, or enormous expense. He doesn’t pick a winner from among these options, but he emphasizes that we need to chose a plan rather than simply saying "no" to every possible option.
Regardless of whether you agree with Prof Mackay’s goal of shifting to alternative energy supplies, this book is definitely worth reading. MacKay succeeds admirably in explaining the raw numbers, so we can see what realistic energy choices are available.
Having read this book (and having it available as a reference) I now feel much better equipped to read the plethora of ideas, plans, suggestions, trivia, wishful thinking and oc
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