A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations

Robert Bryce

Informasi Umum

Kode

21.21.2604

Klasifikasi

537 - Electricity, electronics

Jenis

Buku - Elektronik (E-Book)

Subjek

Electricity

No. Rak

11a

Dilihat

90 kali

Informasi Lainnya

Abstraksi

Electricity has transformed humanity like no other form of energy. Since the dawn of the Electric Age less than 140 years ago, electricity has changed how we live, communicate, learn, and eat. In doing so, it has fueled an unprecedented period of human flourishing. Never in human history have so many people lived in such wealth and prosperity. And electricity continues to change and enrich our lives. From our ability to navigate foreign cities with maps on our iPhones to the staggering quantities of information available to us on the Internet, we use electricity without a second thought. Nearly every technology we use requires reliable flows of electricity. And yet, as we become ever more connected, ever more wired, billions of people are being left behind.

Energy politics are tribal. Everyone, it seems, has their favorite. Me, I’m a proponent of what I call N2N, or natural gas to nuclear. Some people say we will need more coal, while others tout geothermal, hydro, wind, and solar. The hard reality is that there are no quick or easy solutions. Energy transitions take decades. 17 Sure, we can desire decisive action on climate change. We can want more rights for women and push for an end to global poverty. But we must be discerning. My hope is that this book, by showing you how the world looks through the lens of electricity, will help you see energy and power systems as they are, not how you may want them to be. We have to separate the glib rhetoric that dominates many of today’s energy discussions from the reality. Only then can we understand the stakes and consequences of our energy policies, as well as the fuels and technologies that will help bring more people out of the dark and into the bright lights of modernity.

Before delving into all of those issues, though, it’s important to take a few minutes to understand what electricity is, why it’s so difficult to supply reliably, and why it has been so transformative.