Financial Times' Book of the Year: "Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air"

A book that the Financial Times describes as an "influential account of the science behind renewable energy" has made the paper's prestigious "2009 Books of the Year."

And the great thing about "Sustainable Energy -- Without the Hot Air" is that it can be freely downloaded by clicking here. The book is authored by David J.C. MacKay, a University of Cambridge (England) physicist. A synopsis of the book is available by clicking here.

If you are like me, you may want to read a review (or several) about the book before plowing through it. One review, published by the London Guardian last spring ( "Power to the People," April 29, 2009 ), noted that the book:

[I]s being hailed by some as a 'game changer;' a text that could revolutionise popular thinking about our future energy needs and how we could supply them...[The book] has gathered fans and accolades from all corners of the energy and climate change debate -- politicians, business leaders, environmentalists."

Meanwhile, The Economist ("Meltdown," April 8, 2009), said:

"Irritated by the waffle that often surrounds discussions of energy and climate change, Mr. MacKay...has chosen to illustrate the challenge of breaking our fossil-fuel addiction armed only with the laws of physics, reams of publicly available information and the back of an envelope...The book is a tour de force, showing, for example, how the potential contribution of biofuels can be approximated from just three numbers: the intensity of sunlight, the efficiency with which plants turn that sunlight into stored energy and the available land area in Britain...

With global climate-change and energy policy consisting mostly of feel-good rhetoric rather than action, Mr. MacKay's reminder that the natural world does not care for political expediency...should be engraved on environment-ministry doors the world over. For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the real problems involved, [this book] is the place to start."

It is worth noting that the book is written largely about energy issues in the United Kingdom. However, do not let discourage you from checking out this useful work.