Table of Contents

Part I - Numbers, not adjectives Motivations The balance sheet Cars Wind Planes Solar Heating and cooling Hydroelectricity Light Offshore wind Gadgets Wave Food and farming Tide Stuff Geothermal Public services Can we live on renewables? Part II - Making a difference Every BIG helps Better transport Smarter heating Efficient electricity use Sustainable fossil fuels? Nuclear? Living on other countries’ renewables? Fluctuations and storage Five energy plans for Britain Putting costs in perspective What to do now Energy plans for Europe, America, and the World The last thing we should talk about Saying yes Acknowledgments Part III - Technical chapters Cars II Wind II Planes II Solar II Heating II Waves II Tide II Stuff II Part IV - Useful data Quick reference Populations and areas UK energy history List of web links Bibliography Index About the author

Promotional Information

The best-selling book on understanding sustainable energy and how we can make energy plans that add up.

About the Author

David MacKay was a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) and Regius Professor of Engineering at Cambridge University. He is internationally known for his research in machine learning, information theory, and communication systems, including the invention of Dasher, a software interface that enables efficient communication in any language with any muscle. David was previously a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Climate Change and Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, and in the 2016 New Year's Honours List was awarded a knighthood for services to Scientific Advice in Government and Science Outreach. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 48.

Reviews

For anyone with influence on energy policy, whether in government, business or a campaign group, this book should be compulsory reading.
*Tony Juniper (Former Executive Director, Friends of the Earth)*

At last a book that comprehensively reveals the true facts about sustainable energy in a form that is both highly readable and entertaining.
*Robert Sansom (EDF Energy)*

MacKay brings a welcome dose of common sense into the discussion of energy sources and use. Fresh air replacing hot air.
*Prof Mike Ashby Royal Society Research Professor at Cambridge University*

This year's must-read book about tackling our future energy needs.
*The Guardian*

... may be the best technical book about the environment that I've ever read. This is to energy and climate what Freakonomics is to economics.
*Boing Boing*

The book is a tour de force ... As a work of popular science it is exemplary ... For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the real problems involved [it] is the place to start.
*The Economist*

The first factual meme on renewable energy? A book about climate change that gets rave reviews from folk at oil companies, environmental groups and the Number One Blog of All Time has to be worth a peek.
*The Financial Times*