Book description
Get the truth about alternative energy and make it part of your life
Want to utilize cleaner, greener types of energy? This plain-English
guide clearly explains the popular forms of alternative energy that
you can use in your home, your car, and more. Separating myth from
fact, this resource explores the current fossil fuel conundrum, the
benefits of alternatives, and the energy of the future, such as
hydrogen and fuel cell technology.
- The ABCs of alternative energy Â- what it is, how it works,
and what the real costs are
-
Where we are now Â- learn where our current energy comes from
and how much longer it will last
-
Take the first step Â- see how energy efficiency and
conservation can reduce your reliance on fossil fuels
-
Grasp the alternatives Â- from nuclear power to geothermal
energy to wood burning, understand the benefits that alternative
energy can have on the nation
-
Apply alternative fuels to transportation Â- from biofuels to
exotic propulsion to electricity, see how they are best used and
how hybrid, all-electric, and fuel cellÂ-powered vehicles
work
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Get a peek into the future Â- see what the outlook holds for
each form of alternative energy discussed
Open the book and find:
- The pros and cons of alternative energy
-
A review of the current world energy economy
-
The problems with fossil fuels, from smog to global
warming
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Advantages of alternative energy
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Practical results of alternatives you can use in daily life
-
Guidelines for investing in alternative energy
vehicles
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Ten ways you can bring about change right now
-
Insight into the future of energy production Â- and how you can
invest in it
Rik DeGunther attended the University of Illinois
as an undergraduate and Stanford University as a graduate student,
studying both applied physics and engineering economics (some of this
education actually stuck). He holds several United States patents and
has designed a wide range of technical equipment including solar
energy platforms, military-grade radar jammers, weather-measurement
equipment, high-powered radar vacuum tubes, computerized production
hardware, golf practice devices, digital and analog electronic
circuits, unmanned aerial vehicles, guitars and amplifi ers, microwave
fi lters and mixers, automatic cabinet openers, strobe light
communications systems, explosive devices (strictly on accident),
cloud-height sensors, fog sensors, furniture, houses, barns, rocket
ships, dart throwers, fl ame throwers, eavesdropping devices, escape
routes, and you name it. He's one of those nerdy guys who likes to
take things apart to see how they work and then put them back together
and try to fi gure out what the leftover parts are for.
Rik is
CEO of Effi cient Homes, an energy-effi ciency auditing fi rm in
Northern California. He is actively engaged in designing and
developing new solar equipment, including off-grid lighting systems
and off-grid swimming pool heaters. He writes weekly op-ed columns for
the Mountain Democrat, California's oldest and most venerable
newspaper. He has also written a highly acclaimed golf book (on
putting) and spends most of his free time attempting to improve his
relatively impressive but objectively droll golf handicap, usually to
no avail. Sometimes the urge strikes him to play a very loud guitar,
of which he owns a collection with far more intrinsic quality than the
playing they receive. His hearing has been faltering the last few
years, so he rebuilt his amplifi er to go up to 11.
