Ways out of the climate catastrophe : ingredients for a sustainable energy and climate policy Cover Image

Book

Ways out of the climate catastrophe : ingredients for a sustainable energy and climate policy / Lars Jaeger

Summary:

Floods, species extinction, migration, droughts, super tornadoes - climate change is no longer a threat looming on the horizon but has long since become part of our everyday lives. Limiting the emerging and worsening climate changes is one of the most important challenges of our time. All human induced climate impacts can be traced back to a single factor: Energy. This book provides a comprehensive and readable introduction to the interplay between energy and climate, which also includes the fields of technology, economics, and politics. At the same time, the issue is highly complex and can only be understood in all its details by expert scientists, meaning that the facts are often poorly presented in the political discussion about climate. To put it simply: If we want to stop and even reverse the current climate trends, we need to find answers to the following three questions: ℗ʺ How exactly does our existing way of consuming energy affect the climate? ℗ʺ What options are there for generating energy without negative climate effects, and what do these mean for our lives? ℗ʺ What technological advances will directly help us to achieve this in future? In a non-alarmist yet entertaining manner, the book highlights the key determinants of global energy supply. Readers will come to appreciate the crucial facts about "energy and climate", will be up to date with the latest scientific and technological knowledge, and will understand the global political and economic framework that we need to consider when designing an appropriate future energy and climate policy. At the same time, the author conveys a clear and optimistic message: We already have the technical capabilities (which will be further enhanced in the future) to reverse the devastating climate trends without significantly limiting prosperity. The obstacles lie primarily in economic and political "constraints" and particular conflicts of interest

Record details

ISBN: 9783030851316
ISBN: 3030851311
Physical Description: xv, 256 pages ; 24 cm
Publisher: Cham, Switzerland : Springer, 2021
Copyright: ℗♭2021

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references

Formatted Contents Note:

Intro -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Thanks to -- Contents -- Part I Energy -- 1 From Aristotle to Nuclear Fusion: The Long Road to Understanding What Energy Actually Is -- 1.1 In the Beginning Was the Force -- 1.2 The Impulse and the Ars Viva -- 1.3 The Great Energy Confusion -- 1.4 Steam Engines as a Driver for Basic Research -- 1.5 The Limits of Energy Conversion -- 1.6 Maximum Energy in the Smallest Space -- 1.7 Energy and Life -- 1.8 How We Measure Energy -- 1.9 Energy on a Global Scale -- Annex 1: Energy in Various Guises -- References -- 2 The Foundation of Civilisation -- 2.1 Energy Cycle on Our Own Behalf -- 2.2 Fire, Wind, and Water -- 2.3 The Demand for Energy Keeps Growing -- 2.4 No Oil from the Socket -- 2.5 The Biggest Lever -- 2.6 The Future of Energy, the Energy of the Future -- 2.7 Moving Away from Fossil Fuels -- 3 The Comeback of Sustainable Energy: Why Fossil Energy Sources Are Only a Footnote in Human History -- 3.1 In the Beginning There Was Fire -- 3.2 The Material of the First Industrialisation -- 3.3 Entry into the Fossil Age -- 3.4 Electricity for All -- 3.5 The Black Gold -- 3.6 The End of the Golden Age of Oil -- 3.7 Rise and Fall of Nuclear Energy -- 3.8 Sustainable Energy Sources Are Returning -- 4 Electricity Wars and Smart Grids: The Key Role of Electricity Storage and Transport -- 4.1 The Issue with the Current -- 4.2 The Saliva of Mr. Volta -- 4.3 The Search for the Best Combination -- 4.4 An Old War Technology in a New Guise -- 4.5 The Coal of the Future -- 4.6 The Electricity War Between Edison and Westinghouse -- 4.7 The Return of the Direct Current -- 4.8 Juggling in Smart Grids -- References -- Part II Climate -- 5 A Brief History of the Climate: What Makes Current Global Warming so Special -- 5.1 Hot Plates and Black Stones -- 5.2 The Earth in Balance -- 5.3 The Natural and the Unnatural Greenhouse Effect -- 5.4 The Changing Fever of the Earth -- 5.5 Temporary Malfunctions -- 5.6 A Steamroller that Picks Up Speed -- 6 The Beat of the butterfly's Wings: How Climate Research and Climate Models Work -- 6.1 Falling Leaves in Autumn -- 6.2 Tamed Chaos -- 6.3 Caught Red-Handed -- Reference -- 7 Risk Ethics and Integrity: Why the Competence of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Forces Us to Act -- 7.1 Global Issues, Global Research -- 7.2 Future Scenarios for the Climate and Our Society -- 7.3 The Influence of Politics -- 7.4 What We Know ... -- 7.5 Too Careful or Not Careful Enough? -- 7.6 Unpredictable Risks -- 7.7 Integrity -- References -- 8 Climate Deniers, Climate Hysterics, and Nimbys: In the Self-service Shop of Arguments -- 8.1 1st Group: The Experts-Controversies Lead to Insight -- 8.2 2nd Group: Conservative Believers-The Belief in Higher Powers Than Science -- 8.3 3rd Group: Ideologists-The Fatal Stubbornness of Populists -- 8.4 4th Group: Lobbyists-The Great Fear of Reorientation -- 8.5 5th Group: Nimbys-Let Others Lead the Fight