{"product_id":"before-the-lights-go-out-conquering-the-energy-crisis-before-it-conquers-us-0470876255","title":"Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0470876255\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Koerth-Baker, Maggie\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e New\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat you need to know now about America's energy future\"Hi, I'm the United States and I'm an oil-oholic.\" We have an energy problem. And everybody knows it, even if we can't all agree on what, specifically, the problem is. Rising costs, changing climate, peaking oil, foreign oil, public safetyif the fears are this complicated, then the solutions are bound to be even more confusing. Maggie Koerth-Bakerscience editor at the award-winning blog BoingBoing.netfinally makes some sense out of the madness. Over the next 20 years, we'll be forced to cut 20 quadrillion BTU worth of fossil fuels from our energy budget, by wasting less and investing in alternatives. To make it work, we'll need to radically change the energy systems that have shaped our lives for 100 years. And the result will be neither business-as-usual, nor a hippie utopia. Koerth-Baker explains what we can do, what we can't do, and why \"The Solution\" is really a lot of solutions working together. This isn't about planting a tree, buying a Prius, and proving that you're a good person. Economics and social incentives got us a country full of gas-guzzling cars, long commutes, inefficient houses, and coal-fired power plants out in the middle of nowhere, and economics and incentives will be the things that build our new world. Ultimately, change is inevitable. Argues we're not going to solve the energy problem by convincing everyone to live like it's 1900 because that's not a good thing. Instead of reverting to the past, we have to build a future where we get energy from new places, use it in new ways, and do more with less. Clean coal? Natural gas? Nuclear? Electric cars? We'll need them all. When you look at the numbers, you'll find that we'll still be using fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables for decades to come. Looks at new battery technology, smart grids, passive buildings, decentralized generation, clean coal, and carbon sequestration. These are buzzwords now, but they'll be a part of your world soon. For many people, they already are. Written by the cutting edge Science Editor for Boing Boing, one of the ten most popular blogs in America\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eOver the next twenty years, the United States must cut 20 quadrillion BTU's from it's annual consumption of fossil fuels, more than 25 percent of the energy currently being used | We have the technology to pull it off. But where should we start? What exactly needs to be done? How much will it cost? And won't such a drastic reduction of energy use destroy the American way of life? | Science blogger and journalist Maggie Koerth-Baker presents a comprehensive analysis of the ways in which America produces, distributes, and consumes energy | Author explains how our current systems developed, points out their strengths and weaknesses, and offers candid assessments of the time, the difficulty, and the expense involved in making radical changes to the energy systems that have shaped our lives for a hundred years | Drawing on more than two years of research and interviews with experts on everything from our electrical grid and electric cars to fracking and passive buildings, Koerth-Baker explains what we can do, what we can't do, and why \"the solution\" is really a lot of solutions working together\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Mia Karts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51936102023456,"sku":"NEW0470876255","price":16.14,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/miakarts.com\/products\/before-the-lights-go-out-conquering-the-energy-crisis-before-it-conquers-us-0470876255","provider":"Miakarts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}