Alternative Energy For Dummies

by Rik DeGunther

Overview

The myths and facts about alternative fuels–and how they impact our lives

As the price of energy continues to soar, so too has the demand for alternative energy. But there's no clear "winner" in the race to replace fossil fuels. Alternative Energy For Dummies explores the current fossil fuel conundrum and society's growing need for more and more energy. Cutting through the competing claims, this book offers a multifaceted examination of alternative energy, including solar, wind, nuclear, biomass, geothermal, biofuel, and other sources. Each alternative scenario is compared to current fossil-fuel intensive practices in the scientific, environmental, social, political, and economic realms. Readers also gain insight into the future of energy production.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470537060
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	04/13/2009
Series:	For Dummies Books
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Rik DeGunther attended the University of Illinois as an undergraduate and Stanford University as a graduate student, studying both applied physics and engineering economics (some of this education actually stuck). He holds several United States patents and has designed a wide range of technical equipment including solar energy platforms, military-grade radar jammers, weather-measurement equipment, high-powered radar vacuum tubes, computerized production hardware, golf practice devices, digital and analog electronic circuits, unmanned aerial vehicles, guitars and amplifi ers, microwave fi lters and mixers, automatic cabinet openers, strobe light communications systems, explosive devices (strictly on accident), cloud-height sensors, fog sensors, furniture, houses, barns, rocket ships, dart throwers, fl ame throwers, eavesdropping devices, escape routes, and you name it. He’s one of those nerdy guys who likes to take things apart to see how they work and then put them back together and try to fi gure out what the leftover parts are for.
Rik is CEO of Effi cient Homes, an energy-effi ciency auditing fi rm in Northern California. He is actively engaged in designing and developing new solar equipment, including off-grid lighting systems and off-grid swimming pool heaters. He writes weekly op-ed columns for the Mountain Democrat, California’s oldest and most venerable newspaper. He has also written a highly acclaimed golf book (on putting) and spends most of his free time attempting to improve his relatively impressive but objectively droll golf handicap, usually to no avail. Sometimes the urge strikes him to play a very loud guitar, of which he owns a collection with far more intrinsic quality than the playing they receive. His hearing has been faltering the last few years, so he rebuilt his amplifi er to go up to 11.

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Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I: The Basic Facts of Energy Life 9

Chapter 1: What a Mess! 11

Chapter 2: What Energy Is and How It’s Used (Politically and Practically) 25

Chapter 3: Putting Together Each Piece of the Energy Puzzle 37

Part II: Digging Deeper into the Current State of Affairs 57

Chapter 4: Developing a Snapshot of Fossil Fuel Use and Availability 59

Chapter 5: Burning Up with Conventional Energy Sources 73

Chapter 6: The First Alternative-Energy Sources: Efficiency and Conservation 95

Chapter 7: Understanding the Demand For Alternatives 113

Part III: Alternatives — Buildings 127

Chapter 8: Going Nuclear  129

Chapter 9: Harnessing the Sun with Solar Power 151

Chapter 10: Treading Water with Hydropower 177

Chapter 11: Blowing Away with Wind Power 191

Chapter 12: Digging into Geothermal 207

Chapter 13: Exploring Biomass 221

Chapter 14: Burning Wood 235

Chapter 15: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies 249

Part IV: Alternatives — Transportation 261

Chapter 16: Alternative Transport Technologies 263

Chapter 17: Alternative-Fuel Vehicles 271

Chapter 18: Plugging In: Electric Vehicles 283

Chapter 19: Hybrid-Electric Vehicles 297

Chapter 20: Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicles 307

Chapter 21: Exotic Propulsion Systems 315

Part V: The Part of Tens 325

Chapter 22: Ten or So Myths about Energy 327

Chapter 23: Ten-Plus Ways to Invest in an Alternative-Energy Future 335

Index 343