What books or articles on climate-change would you recommend?
asked by Jan Kunnas
on Wednesday 6th October 2010
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For a sobering look into the physical limits of renewable energy sources, check out David McKay's "Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air". It includes calculations that show, for example, that to meet the UK's energy demand with wind power, an area the size of Wales would be needed.
The aim of the book is not to discourage investment in renewables but to encourage an informed discussion about the real potentials of sustainable energy and to provide a sobering view of the sort of energy mixture we might need to meet current and future energy demands.
Available on Amazon for £18 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sustainable-Energy-Without-Hot-Air/dp/0954452933
Or free online at: http://www.withouthotair.com/
It may on the surface appear quite specific but the implications of the analysis are far reaching with respect to climate change mitigation (and environmental markets) so I whole heartedly recommend the following book:
Upsetting the Offset The Political Economy of Carbon Markets
Bohm & Dabhi 2009 http://mayflybooks.org/?page_id=194
A book (or report) I strongly recommend is "Prosperity without Growth" by Tim Jackson. It is great piece of literature in terms of its relevance for climate change, economic development and prosperity. I would be very keen on having a set of questions related to this book so we can start a good discussion about it. Here is the link:
http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/publications.php?id=914
One the most inspiring books I myself had read lately is this one: Weiss, Charles and Bonvillian, William B. Structuring an Energy Technology Revolution. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009. 318 pp. ISBN 9780262012942. US$24.00/£15.95, cloth.
More than a book, this is a concrete plan for a federal program - on the scale of the Apollo Program – to stimulate technological innovation in energy in the United States.
My review of it can be found here
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