
a book
Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air
David J.C. Mackay · 2009 · 384 pages
The enlightening, best-selling book on understanding sustainable energy and how we can make energy plans that add up.
If you've ever wondered how much energy we use, and where it comes from – and where it could come from – but are fed up with all the hot air and 'greenwash', this is the book for you. Renewable resources are 'huge', but our energy consumption is also 'huge'. To compare 'huge' things with each other, we need numbers, not adjectives.
Sustainable Energy – without the hot air addresses the energy crisis objectively, cutting through all the contradictory statements from the media, government, and lobbies of all sides. It gives you the numbers and the facts you need, in bite-sized chunks, so you can understand the issues yourself and organises a plan for change on both a personal level and an international scale – for Europe, the United States, and the world. In case study format, this informative book also answers questions surrounding nuclear energy, the potential of sustainable fossil fuels, and the possibilities of sharing renewable power with foreign countries.
Written by David MacKay, who was an esteemed Professor of Engineering at the University of Cambridge and Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Department of Climate Change, this is an uplifting, jargon-free and informative read for all. In it, David debunks misinformation and clearly explains the calculations of expenditure per person to encourage people to make individual changes that will benefit the world at large.
If you've thrown your hands up in despair thinking no solution is possible, then read this book - it's an honest, realistic, and humorous discussion of all our energy options.
recommended by 4 people
sourced from public statements

Andrej Karpathy
“This book offers a great overview of issues surrounding Energy policy in the UK (and the world). There is a lot of analysis of the various renewable energy sources and their potential of helping us replace fossil fuels over the next few decades. Economics of every choice is only briefly touched on, however. Still, the book offers a nice and fairly exhaustive exploration of our options and lays out most of the issues surrounding the implementation. David MacKay (author) is also first and foremost a revered scientist who studies this because he cares, which in my view makes him easier to trust on facts, figures and opinions.”↗

Bill Gates
“If someone wants an overall view of how energy gets used, where it comes from, and the challenges in switching to new sources, this is the book to read.”↗


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