Energy and Us: Sources, Uses, Technologies, Economics, Policies and the Environment

Energy and Us opens with an overview of energy and is followed with a detailed analysis of the production, consumption, uses, reserves, costs, advantages, and disadvantages of petroleum, natural gas, coal, and uranium, which are nonrenewable fuels. A similar evaluation covers biomass, geothermal, tidal, solar, water, and wind, which are renewable sources of energy. The readers then learn about electricity, its uses, and how it is generated. The Energy Information Administration in the Department of Energy divides our energy usage into residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation sectors, and Glenn Gibson examines these before discussing the pollution associated with energy, global warming, and the environment in general. Finally, he presents an historic review of energy policy. While not overly technical, this book does require some knowledge of elementary chemistry to fully appreciate the data, and so the history and science of energy is provided in an appendix for those who would like a refresher course. A summary of the units of measure and the conversion between them is also included, along with a list of acronyms and their meanings. Although the author offers possible solutions to problems, these solutions are primarily based on data obtained from the Energy Information Administration and Bureau of Transportation Statistics in the Department of Transportation. "It is hoped that readers will assimilate the information," says Gibson, "and decide for themselves what we should do." He believes it is predominantly our resistance to change, not conservation or the lack of technology that will determine our energy future and our consequent standard of living. It is unquestionable that many of our existing energy sources are limited, and this illuminating and fact-filled book is sure to increase awareness of how we use energy to maintain our current living standards, and why we need to change the way we actually acquire that energy as soon as possible.