Weather and climate are not the same. It is normal for the number of extreme weather events to increase and decrease. But human activity is causing the climate to change, and it has been happening for centuries.
Fossil fuels enabled us to attain an unprecedented standard of living that is unsustainable without the energy from fossil fuels. But burning fossil fuels also generates carbon dioxide. Half of this accumulates in the atmosphere where it affects the temperature of the earth.
If we continue on this path, increasing the standard of living will increase fossil fuel consumption. Importantly, human health will be adversely affected within a century or less depending on the rate of growth of use of fossil fuels.
This book uses science and data to examine the effects of energy on the environment and current strategies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Although carbon dioxide mitigation may be beneficial, they have not halted or reversed the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Targeting certain technologies in certain economic sectors may meet this challenge head-on. This book arms the reader with the knowledge, data, and tools to evaluate what others propose and do about climate change.
Jadual kandungan
Introduction
Chapter 1: Tools of the Trade
Chapter 2: The Search for Facts and Data
Chapter 3: Evolution of Daily Life
Chapter 4: Transition from a ‘Life of Death’ to a ‘Life of Life’
Chapter 5: Rising Living Standards
Chapter 6: Energy Sources and Combustion
Chapter 7: Steam Boilers and Electricity
Chapter 8: Energy Consumers
Chapter 9: Greenhouse Gases
Chapter 10: The Effects of Greenhouse Gas
Chapter 11: Climate Change and Climategate
Chapter 12: Approaches to Reduce Carbon Emissions
Chapter 13: Electricity Generation Sector
Chapter 14: Transportation Sector
Chapter 15: Industrial Sector
Chapter 16: Residential and Commercial Sectors
Chapter 17: Emission Reduction Strategy
Chapter 18: Potential Emission Reductions
Chapter 19: Current Trends
Chapter 20: Climate Change Politics
Chapter 21: Success Hiding in Plain Sight
Chapter 22: The Consequences of Solutions
Epilogue
Table of Contents and Subsections
Endnotes