Register your product to gain access to bonus material or receive a coupon.
The practical, environmentally and economically smart strategy for solving the global energy crisis — starting now
If we continue our highly inefficient, dangerous energy usage, we’re headed for both economic and environmental catastrophe. However, the hard truth is that alternative fuels can’t fully replace fossil fuels for decades. What’s more, new research indicates that energy inefficiencies are retarding economic growth even more than most experts ever realized.
Crossing the Energy Divide is about solving all these problems at once. The authors, two leading experts in energy and environmental economics, show how massive improvements in energy efficiency can bridge the global economy until clean renewables can fully replace fossil fuels.
Robert and Edward Ayres demonstrate how we can radically reform the way we manage our existing energy systems to double the amount of “energy service” we get from every drop of fossil fuel we use.
These techniques require no scientific breakthroughs: Many companies and institutions are applying them right now, but tens of thousands more could. This book offers a strategic guide for using them to solve the energy crisis once and for all—reducing carbon emissions, achieving true energy security, and reigniting economic growth for decades to come.
More energy, without more emissions
Recapturing lost energy from today’s fossil fuels
There is such a thing as a free lunch
Mitigating climate disaster and improving prosperity at the same time
The future of electricity
Reforming tomorrow’s electrical system: smarter, more productive, and more reliable
The implications for cities, transportation, business, and government
Making the decisions that prepare you for a high-cost energy future
Crossing the Energy Divide: Recapturing Lost Energy
Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 2 and Index)
About the Authors xi
Introduction The Chasm to Be Crossed 1
Chapter 1 An American Awakening 9
Chapter 2 Recapturing Lost Energy 31
Chapter 3 Engineering an Economic Bridge 45
Chapter 4 The Invisible-Energy Revolution 59
Chapter 5 The Future of Electric Power 79
Chapter 6 Liquid Fuels: The Hard Reality 101
Chapter 7 Vehicles: The End of the Affair 113
Chapter 8 Preparing Cities for the Perfect Storm 125
Chapter 9 The Water-Energy Connection 145
Chapter 10 Policy Priorities 157
Chapter 11 Implications for Business Management 181
Chapter 12 How Much, How Fast? 191
Comments and References 203
Index 227