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Buying Options:This concise book addresses all crucial aspects about climate and energy.
Climate discussions include the history of climate change, the science behind climate change and myths about climate change. Energy discussions include the history of energy, technology basics, advantages & challenges of the different low carbon technologies, and myths about fossil fuels, renewable energy and energy transition. The final big picture discussion provides a framework for efficiently addressing climate change. |
Some examples of the type of questions that the book addresses are:
Climate Change: Should we ignore the climate warnings because of the past exaggerations by media and certain scientists? Can we ignore climate impacts since death rates from climate disasters have decreased
drastically? Is climate mitigation the most important issue for humans currently? What is the estimated long-term economic impact of climate change?
Renewable energy & electrification: Is electricity from solar and wind cheaper than that from fossil fuels?
Can energy costs of renewables become cheaper than fossil fuels? Why are most countries lagging when some countries already generate most of their electricity from renewable sources? Why is there so much controversy about green hydrogen? Are battery electric vehicles a very effective solution? What are the key challenges related to electrification?
Fossil fuels: Do fugitive emissions negate the advantage of natural gas over coal power? Do fossil fuels receive several trillion dollars in subsidies each year? What is the impact of fossil fuels on air pollution?
Energy transition: What are the key learnings from the previous energy transitions? How much will the low-carbon energy transition cost? What are the key challenges for the low-carbon energy transition? Why is there so much unrealistic optimism about the energy transition? Is there consensus amongst energy experts about the path forward?
Climate Change: Should we ignore the climate warnings because of the past exaggerations by media and certain scientists? Can we ignore climate impacts since death rates from climate disasters have decreased
drastically? Is climate mitigation the most important issue for humans currently? What is the estimated long-term economic impact of climate change?
Renewable energy & electrification: Is electricity from solar and wind cheaper than that from fossil fuels?
Can energy costs of renewables become cheaper than fossil fuels? Why are most countries lagging when some countries already generate most of their electricity from renewable sources? Why is there so much controversy about green hydrogen? Are battery electric vehicles a very effective solution? What are the key challenges related to electrification?
Fossil fuels: Do fugitive emissions negate the advantage of natural gas over coal power? Do fossil fuels receive several trillion dollars in subsidies each year? What is the impact of fossil fuels on air pollution?
Energy transition: What are the key learnings from the previous energy transitions? How much will the low-carbon energy transition cost? What are the key challenges for the low-carbon energy transition? Why is there so much unrealistic optimism about the energy transition? Is there consensus amongst energy experts about the path forward?
Preface
Over the years, I have discussed climate and energy with people from diverse backgrounds. I have been both fascinated and troubled by these discussions. Fascinated because of the extreme contradiction in opinions and troubled because most opinions were based on poor information. I have seen a similar troubling trend on social media platforms.
I have traced the problem to the publications available on this topic. Broadly, three types of publications are available:
· Publications belonging to the first type have too much information. The overload makes it difficult to tease out crucial information.
· Publications belonging to the second type provide localized information and exclude crucial aspects. Such publications are misleading.
· Publications belonging to the third type are opinion-based and not guided by science.
I have written this book to communicate crucial information about climate change and energy in a concise and balanced manner.
People on the far extremes might dislike a balanced discussion. Some could think that the book is against fossil fuels, while others could think that the book is pessimistic about renewable technologies.
I am hopeful that most will recognize the book for what it is-a balanced discussion that provides a realistic understanding about climate change and the energy transition.
Many authors and commentators who write about this topic have strong financial ties to fossil fuels or green energy. Financial ties include employment or funding for academic research or funding for special interest promotion. I am not financially dependent on fossil fuels or green energy.
I have traced the problem to the publications available on this topic. Broadly, three types of publications are available:
· Publications belonging to the first type have too much information. The overload makes it difficult to tease out crucial information.
· Publications belonging to the second type provide localized information and exclude crucial aspects. Such publications are misleading.
· Publications belonging to the third type are opinion-based and not guided by science.
I have written this book to communicate crucial information about climate change and energy in a concise and balanced manner.
People on the far extremes might dislike a balanced discussion. Some could think that the book is against fossil fuels, while others could think that the book is pessimistic about renewable technologies.
I am hopeful that most will recognize the book for what it is-a balanced discussion that provides a realistic understanding about climate change and the energy transition.
Many authors and commentators who write about this topic have strong financial ties to fossil fuels or green energy. Financial ties include employment or funding for academic research or funding for special interest promotion. I am not financially dependent on fossil fuels or green energy.