Introduction to Energy and Sustainability

Offers a comprehensive review of the currently existing energy production and consumption technologies Offering unique perspectives from one social and one natural scientist and combining them with the view of an industry expert, this book covers definitions and ways of quantifying energy and sustainability, and examines today?s energy production and consumption technologies?paying particular attention to the environmental, historic, and regulatory aspects of each introduced energy technology. It also deals with alternative and future energy technologies, as well as examples of sustainable approaches to everyday issues of transportation, urban planning, and home construction. Introduction to Energy and Sustainability starts with a section on introductory concepts and covers such things as the history of our relationship with energy; defining and quantifying both energy and sustainability; flows and conversions of energy and matter; and the laws of thermodynamics energy production today. It examines how energy is produced and consumed in our modern world?and looks at what types of energy exist and how we use it. The book also discusses the future of energy and how we will provide and utilize our current and forthcoming sources of power as our world changes. -Balances the treatment of hard science and engineering concepts of energy and sustainability with a thorough discussion of their socioeconomic and geopolitical implications -Offers a unique perspective of one social and one natural scientist, combined with the view of an industry expert -Filled with chapters that feature practice questions and solutions -Relevant to students in energy fields and environmentalists Introduction to Energy and Sustainability is an ideal text for post-graduate level students of energy fields. It will also greatly benefit environmentalists, engineers, power engineers, and chemists in industry.