"Energy Myth and Reality": Oil and coal will be the main energy in the short term. 4 stars

The author is a professional scholar of energy. The book refutes the usual optimism about new energy. Personal feelings contradict the more reasonable. 4 stars.

Here is a excerpt from some of the information in the book:

1: Updating this book in 2014 means that the vast majority of data should be in 2012 and 2013), #78

2: The only way to reduce global carbon emissions through electric vehicles is to get all the electricity needed for electric vehicles from carbon-free sources. #734

3: In the second 10 years of 21st century, electric cars are unlikely to dominate the automotive industry, and it will take decades to determine how much electric cars would replace internal-combustion engines and become more efficient individuals in the United States than in a few short years. #757

4: The fundamental problem with peak oil prediction is that the three simple assumptions are the high-visibility, quantitative, and symmetrical production curve of the recoverable oil, but it turns out that the three assumptions are incorrect. #1255

5: But I find Greenpeace's five points of view on carbon capture and sequestration are accurate. Carbon capture and sequestration do not provide sufficient storage capacity in a timely manner to avoid a significant increase in carbon dioxide emissions; instead, they become the main consumer of energy, consuming the equivalent of half a century of electricity generation; the security of long-term storage of carbon dioxide and the potential for leaks remain the focus; carbon capture and sequestration require huge investments ; There is a huge risk of indebtedness. #1703

6: In summary, taking into account the effects of corn ethanol on the global nitrogen cycle and the analysis of net energy return, we can clearly see that large-scale corn ethanol production does not benefit the entire economy, society and environment. #1808

7: Liquid biofuels cannot be replaced, especially in the transportation sector. #2020

8: The most obvious physical limitation of wind energy use is the inability of large, windy areas to build large turbine electric fields, and the construction and operation of electric fields are either completely inaccessible (in urban areas) or economically problematic (in rugged or remote areas), or (in protected areas, such as natural parks and scenic coastlines) unwelcome. #2144

9: Given the huge power demand in the United States, it seems far from impossible to use wind energy to drive the U.S. economy. #2179

10: We can clearly draw the following conclusion: While wind energy conversion from large turbines can be an important source of power supply, wind power cannot be the largest single energy source, let alone a dominant one, except in some relatively small areas. #2291

11: All energy transformations have one thing in common: it takes decades to complete a transformation, and the more widespread energy use and transformation, the longer it takes to replace it. #2418

12: Moore's Law (the number of transistors in an IC chip doubles every two years) will work because transistors superimposed on silicon are becoming denser, not because of the decline in crystalline silicon prices. #2466

13: The most important experience available to date in the large-scale market penetration planning of electric vehicles is that this seemingly transformative transformation cannot rival the energy-saving effects of any key energy source. #2544

"Energy Myth and Reality": Oil and coal will be the main energy in the short term. 4 stars