alternative energy pdf

www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com Alternative Energy www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com Recent Titles in Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America Gun Control and Gun Rights Constance Emerson Crooker The Pro-Life/Choice Debate Mark Y Herring Genetic Engineering Mark Y Herring Same-Sex Marriage Allene Phy-Olsen Three Strikes Laws Jennifer E Walsh Juvenile Justice Laura L Finley The Welfare Debate Greg M Shaw The Gambling Debate Richard A McGowan Censorship Mark Paxton The Torture and Prisoner Abuse Debate Laura L Finley Affirmative Action John W Johnson and Robert P Green, Jr www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com Alternative Energy Brian C Black and Richard Flarend Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com Copyright 2010 by Brian C Black and Richard Flarend All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Black, Brian, 1966Alternative energy / Brian C Black and Richard Flarend p cm — (Historical guides to controversial issues in America) Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-0-313-34484-8 (hard copy : alk paper) — ISBN 978-0-313-34485-5 (ebook) Power resources—United States Renewable energy sources—United States Energy policy—United States I Flarend, Richard II Title TJ163.25.U6B58 2010 333.79'40973—dc22 2009041741 14 13 12 11 10 This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook Visit www.abc-clio.com for details Greenwood Press An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC ABC-CLIO, LLC 130 Cremona Drive, P.O Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911 This book is printed on acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com Contents List of Tables and Figures Acknowledgments Introduction: Conceiving of Alternative Energy vii ix xi Human Society’s Need for Energy The Industrial Revolution and Humans’ High-Energy Existence Against the American Grain: Paths Taken, Paths Declined The 1970s Initiate an Energy Transition Assessing Renewable and Alternative Energy Technologies Redefining Alternatives 29 57 89 119 157 Appendix 1: Summaries of U.S Legislation Provisions Related to Alternative Energy 179 Appendix 2: President Jimmy Carter’s Speech Concerning Energy , April 18, 1977 185 Appendix 3: President Jimmy Carter: The “Crisis of Confidence” Speech, July 15, 1979 191 Appendix 4: Former Vice President Al Gore at New York University , July 17, 2008 195 Bibliography Index 203 213 www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com This page intentionally left blank www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com List of Tables and Figures FIGURES Figure 1.1 Raw Energy Used in America Since 1850 Figure 1.2 Current Breakdown of Renewable Energy Sources and Their Contribution to the Annual Energy Consumed in the United States Figure 1.3 Gross Domestic Product in Inflation-Adjusted Year-2000 Dollars; Energy Consumption Figure 1.4 (a) U.S Population and (b) World Population, with Predictions to 2100 Figure 1.5 Percentage of World Population and Energy Consumption for Selected Nations Figure 1.6 Energy per Capita and GNP per Capita of Selected Nations Figure 1.7 Domestic and Imported Supplies of Oil in the United States Figure 1.8 U.S Primary Energy Consumption by Source and Sector, 2007, in Quads Figure 1.9 Contribution to Global Climate Change from Greenhouse Gases Emitted by Human Activities Figure 5.1 Growth in Ethanol and Biodiesel Production in Recent Years Figure 5.2 Model Net-Zero Solar Homes Figure 5.3 Wind Resource Map for the United States www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com 10 12 15 25 124 129 133 list of tables and figures viii Figure 5.4 Wind-Generated Electricity in the United States Figure 5.5 Geothermal Resource Map for the United States Figure 5.6 World Ocean Map Showing Temperature Gradients Favorable to OTEC Use Figure 5.7 Graph of Energy Intensity from 1950 to Present Figure 5.8 Energy Use in the Home Figure 5.9 A Wattmeter 134 136 140 143 144 147 TABLES Table 1.1 Table 1.2 Table 1.3 Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Energy Required per Pound to Produce Various Raw Materials, and the Amount of Energy Required to Produce the Same Material by Recycling Proven Reserves and Resources of Fossil Fuels Expressed as Years of Use at the Current Rate of Consumption Overall Efficiency of Different Ways to Use Natural Gas Land Use in the United States Hot Water Energy Savings in the Home www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com 13 18 125 146 Acknowledgments We’d like to acknowledge, but certainly not thank, the combination of low friction, gravity, and height which all worked in unison to enable one of us to find time—lots of time—to lie down and start working on this book We thank the editors for their flexibility in adapting to our revised schedule And we’d also like to thank Alice for her work in correcting the many strange typos that occur with a voice-to-text translator and for providing some interesting material for inclusion in the text Now that it is complete, Geneva, Chadric, Ben, and Sam, let’s go find a corn maze! www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com ... by the amount of energy consumed In order to have a growing economy, we have to have a growing supply of energy Figure 1.3 www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com alternative energy Table 1.1 Energy Required... Nations Source: U.S Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Review, 2007 www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com alternative energy 10 An industrialized society will inherently consume more energy than a... Sector, 2007, in Quads Source: U.S Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Review, 2007 www.TechnicalBooksPdf.com alternative energy 16 step in which the raw energy is modified into some other