Alternative Energy

by Brian C. Black, Richard Flarend

Overview

An exceptionally timely volume that weighs the costs and benefits of alternative energy sources and their implications for reducing energy consumption.

As this book makes clear, civilization cannot long continue to ride on an oil slick. Worldwide, many people have come to see dependence on coal, and especially on oil, not only as unsustainable, but as profoundly destabilizing, both environmentally and politically. While ever-increasing demands continue to be placed on "mainstream" energy sources, recurring attempts have been made to generate power in "alternative" ways.

After retracing some of these efforts, this succinct and historically informed volume explores the ongoing debate over alternative energy that gathered strength in the 20th century, showing how that debate mirrors larger attitudes toward energy and consumption. Like other volumes in this series, Alternative Energy is designed to provide material for student reports and debate arguments. It is an outstanding sourcebook for those interested in investigating the problems and prospects of alternative fuels.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313344848
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/26/2010
Series:	Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America Series
Pages:	222
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Brian C. Black is associate professor in the departments of history and environmental studies at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, PA. He is the author of the Greenwood's Nature and the Environment in Nineteenth-Century American Life (2006) and Nature and the Environment in Twentieth-Century American Life (2006).

Richard Flarend is associate professor of physics at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, PA.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Conceiving of Alternative Energy
1 Human Society's Need for Energy
2 The Industrial Revolution and Humans' High-Energy Existence
3 Against the American Grain: Paths Taken, Paths Declined
4 The 1970s Initiate an Energy Transition
5 Assessing Renewable and Alternative Energy Technologies
6 Redefining Alternatives
Appendix 1: Summaries of U.S. Legislation Provisions Related to Alternative Energy
Appendix 2: President Jimmy Carter's Speech Concerning Energy, April 18, 1977
Appendix 3: President Jimmy Carter: The "Crisis of Confidence" Speech, July 15, 1979
Appendix 4: Former Vice President Al Gore at New York University, July 17, 2008
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Alternative Energy joins others in the 'Historical Guides to Controversial issues in America' series, and is designed to provide students with report and debate arguments in a sourcebook covering the problems and promise of alternative fuels. It comes from an associate professor in history and environmental studies and it explores debates over alternative energy that have gathered force in this century.” —Midwest Book Review

“…this book will work extremely well for lower-level students, especially those writing papers or giving speeches on current topics, and those who may not have a technical background. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates, two-year technical program students, and general readers.” —Choice

From the Publisher