- Email: [email protected]
The rough guide to the energy crisis
Energy 65 (2014) 692e693
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy
Book review
Title: Author(s): Edition: Number of Pages: ISBN:
The Rough Guide to the Energy Crisis David Buchan 1st ed. 312 2010, 10: 1848364121, 13: 978-1848364127
“Buchan is telling his story in such a way as to keep the interest of the reader until the last page. Yet, as a very experienced journalist on energy matters, providing more discussion on effective actions which can be taken would be most welcome. Climate change is not a problem which cannot be solved.” e Evangelos Manolas, Associate Professor, Democritus University of Thrace
David Buchan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies. He started his writing career in 1970 with The Economist and in 1975 joined the Financial Times where he remained until 2006. He has served in many posts in the UK and other countries. Energy is listed first in the topics he has specialized in [1]. The Rough Guide to the Energy Crisis explores “.the relationship of energy to the economy, environment, poverty, democracy, war and other geopolitical issues. But it is essentially the story of how developed countries can, and must, lead the way to a low carbon future” (p. viii). The necessity of making this “.transition is primarily due to climate change, the planetary crisis created mainly by industrialized countries and now exacerbated by developing nations” (p. vi). The book contains twenty seven chapters which are distributed into five parts. In addition to the print edition which appeared in 2010 a kindle edition of the book was made available in June 2012. Part 1 (four chapters) lays out the scale of the energy challenge and identifies some of the problems which must be overcome in order for the world to achieve a low-carbon economy. This section of the book also discusses 1) how world governments have tried to deal with the impact created by the chronic price swings of oil and 2) how the world has failed to deal successfully with the damage humans have inflicted on the planet’s climate. Part 2 (eleven chapters) looks at different energy sources, both traditional and renewable. Part 3 (three chapters) discusses the role of different actors in the energy game, and particularly producers, traders and investors as well as the huge amounts of money involved. Part 4 (three chapters) is about how energy is linked to the issue of security and how energy can be linked to going to war. Part 5 (six chapters) is about using energy in a sustainable manner, about producing it through more use of renewable sources and about what is needed politically to help us achieve such a goal (p. ix, x). This is an easy to read book. Despite the length of the book, 312 pages, the author is telling his story in such a way as to keep the interest of the reader until the last page. Every chapter in the book is divided into sections which make reading easier. Chapters also include theme boxes containing enlightening and useful
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2013.12.019
information. Nothing is taken for granted. For example, in the chapter on gas the author includes a box explaining terms like gas sands, coal bed methane, shale gas and methane or gas hydrates. In the chapter discussing coal and in order to explain carbon capture and storage the author offers a box in which he defines terms like pre-combustion capture, post-combustion capture and oxycombustion process. Although providing definitions as described above is useful, the book should still contain a glossary of important terms at the end which sadly is lacking. There are other types of thought-provoking boxes, too. In the chapter discussing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Fourth Assessment Report the author is offering a box containing a text titled IPCC Critics and climate skeptics. In addition to excerpts the book includes several tables with statistical information, well-selected photographs and occasionally cartoons which are accompanied by imaginative and insightful captions. For example, in the chapter on renewables a photograph picturing deforestation in Nepal is linked to the reasons for deforestation in the country and information about the uses of firewood. Such captions add value to the photographs used showing that the use of a photo by itself may not be enough. The features noted are useful to the general reader but also to more specialized audiences. For instance, the wealth of ideas with regard to writing captions for photographs can be very useful to professionals such as teachers or journalists specializing on energy matters. In a future edition the author could also include captions for the statistical tables provided in the book just as he does for the other visual aids used in the book. Among the useful features of the book one may also mention the balanced presentation of resources at the end. Except the excellent selection of books the interested reader can read to further his knowledge on energy and climate change issues, the author guides the reader to important websites and DVDs accompanied by accurate descriptions of their contents. In a future edition of the book this list of resources could also be updated. For example, in the list of books the author could add recent work such as Dieter Helm’s The Carbon Crunch: How We’re Getting Climate Change Wrong e and How to Fix It (2012). For readers who would prefer a fast reading
Book review / Energy 65 (2014) 692e693
Kerry Emmanuel’s What We Know About Climate Change (2012) would be a suitable choice. For teaching purposes one would need questions which would be placed at the end of chapters. An alternative would be to include such questions in lesson plans based on the book’s material. This could be done in a separate CD to be distributed by the publisher or sold in bookshops together with the book. It could also become available in the internet in the book’s webpage. For improving this book it would also be most important to include more discussion on effective actions which can be taken. For example, with regard to what individuals can do, the author could include and discuss a short, prioritized, accurate, accessible, and actionable list of the most effective actions individuals and / or households can take to limit climate change. An example of how this could be done was provided a few years ago by Gardner and Stern [2]. In a future edition of the book the author could also include more discussion on the issue of carbon taxation and on ways of convincing populations to pay such taxes. This is a political problem and much thought should be given on the need for politicians to have credible plans that address the problem in ways that make most of their electorate’s money [3]. As a very experienced journalist on energy matters Buchan’s opinion on effective actions to deal with the problem of climate change would be most welcome. Such discussion will impart a
693
sense of urgency of these challenges and will increase the engagement of the reader with the material. It will also contribute to building more responsibility among citizens which is essential for combating the problem of climate change. Climate change is not a problem which cannot be solved. References [1] Buchan D. Personal webpage, Oxford Institute of Energy Studies. Retrieved 05. 11.13 from, http://www.oxfordenergy.org/author/david-buchan/. [2] Gardner GT, Stern PC. The short list: the most effective actions U.S. households can take to curb climate change. Environment: science and policy for sustainable development, September/October 2008 (updated 15.12. 2009). Retrieved 29.01.11 from, http://www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/ September-October%202008/gardner-stern-full.html; 2009. [3] Helm D. The carbon crunch: how we’re getting climate change wrong e and how to fix it. New Haven and London: Yale University Press; 2012.
Evangelos Manolas* Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou Street, 68200 Orestiada, Greece * Tel.: þ30 2552 0 41157; fax: þ30 2552 0 41192. E-mail address: [email protected]. 7 December 2013 Available online 31 December 2013
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy
Book review
Title: Author(s): Edition: Number of Pages: ISBN:
The Rough Guide to the Energy Crisis David Buchan 1st ed. 312 2010, 10: 1848364121, 13: 978-1848364127
“Buchan is telling his story in such a way as to keep the interest of the reader until the last page. Yet, as a very experienced journalist on energy matters, providing more discussion on effective actions which can be taken would be most welcome. Climate change is not a problem which cannot be solved.” e Evangelos Manolas, Associate Professor, Democritus University of Thrace
David Buchan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies. He started his writing career in 1970 with The Economist and in 1975 joined the Financial Times where he remained until 2006. He has served in many posts in the UK and other countries. Energy is listed first in the topics he has specialized in [1]. The Rough Guide to the Energy Crisis explores “.the relationship of energy to the economy, environment, poverty, democracy, war and other geopolitical issues. But it is essentially the story of how developed countries can, and must, lead the way to a low carbon future” (p. viii). The necessity of making this “.transition is primarily due to climate change, the planetary crisis created mainly by industrialized countries and now exacerbated by developing nations” (p. vi). The book contains twenty seven chapters which are distributed into five parts. In addition to the print edition which appeared in 2010 a kindle edition of the book was made available in June 2012. Part 1 (four chapters) lays out the scale of the energy challenge and identifies some of the problems which must be overcome in order for the world to achieve a low-carbon economy. This section of the book also discusses 1) how world governments have tried to deal with the impact created by the chronic price swings of oil and 2) how the world has failed to deal successfully with the damage humans have inflicted on the planet’s climate. Part 2 (eleven chapters) looks at different energy sources, both traditional and renewable. Part 3 (three chapters) discusses the role of different actors in the energy game, and particularly producers, traders and investors as well as the huge amounts of money involved. Part 4 (three chapters) is about how energy is linked to the issue of security and how energy can be linked to going to war. Part 5 (six chapters) is about using energy in a sustainable manner, about producing it through more use of renewable sources and about what is needed politically to help us achieve such a goal (p. ix, x). This is an easy to read book. Despite the length of the book, 312 pages, the author is telling his story in such a way as to keep the interest of the reader until the last page. Every chapter in the book is divided into sections which make reading easier. Chapters also include theme boxes containing enlightening and useful
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2013.12.019
information. Nothing is taken for granted. For example, in the chapter on gas the author includes a box explaining terms like gas sands, coal bed methane, shale gas and methane or gas hydrates. In the chapter discussing coal and in order to explain carbon capture and storage the author offers a box in which he defines terms like pre-combustion capture, post-combustion capture and oxycombustion process. Although providing definitions as described above is useful, the book should still contain a glossary of important terms at the end which sadly is lacking. There are other types of thought-provoking boxes, too. In the chapter discussing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Fourth Assessment Report the author is offering a box containing a text titled IPCC Critics and climate skeptics. In addition to excerpts the book includes several tables with statistical information, well-selected photographs and occasionally cartoons which are accompanied by imaginative and insightful captions. For example, in the chapter on renewables a photograph picturing deforestation in Nepal is linked to the reasons for deforestation in the country and information about the uses of firewood. Such captions add value to the photographs used showing that the use of a photo by itself may not be enough. The features noted are useful to the general reader but also to more specialized audiences. For instance, the wealth of ideas with regard to writing captions for photographs can be very useful to professionals such as teachers or journalists specializing on energy matters. In a future edition the author could also include captions for the statistical tables provided in the book just as he does for the other visual aids used in the book. Among the useful features of the book one may also mention the balanced presentation of resources at the end. Except the excellent selection of books the interested reader can read to further his knowledge on energy and climate change issues, the author guides the reader to important websites and DVDs accompanied by accurate descriptions of their contents. In a future edition of the book this list of resources could also be updated. For example, in the list of books the author could add recent work such as Dieter Helm’s The Carbon Crunch: How We’re Getting Climate Change Wrong e and How to Fix It (2012). For readers who would prefer a fast reading
Book review / Energy 65 (2014) 692e693
Kerry Emmanuel’s What We Know About Climate Change (2012) would be a suitable choice. For teaching purposes one would need questions which would be placed at the end of chapters. An alternative would be to include such questions in lesson plans based on the book’s material. This could be done in a separate CD to be distributed by the publisher or sold in bookshops together with the book. It could also become available in the internet in the book’s webpage. For improving this book it would also be most important to include more discussion on effective actions which can be taken. For example, with regard to what individuals can do, the author could include and discuss a short, prioritized, accurate, accessible, and actionable list of the most effective actions individuals and / or households can take to limit climate change. An example of how this could be done was provided a few years ago by Gardner and Stern [2]. In a future edition of the book the author could also include more discussion on the issue of carbon taxation and on ways of convincing populations to pay such taxes. This is a political problem and much thought should be given on the need for politicians to have credible plans that address the problem in ways that make most of their electorate’s money [3]. As a very experienced journalist on energy matters Buchan’s opinion on effective actions to deal with the problem of climate change would be most welcome. Such discussion will impart a
693
sense of urgency of these challenges and will increase the engagement of the reader with the material. It will also contribute to building more responsibility among citizens which is essential for combating the problem of climate change. Climate change is not a problem which cannot be solved. References [1] Buchan D. Personal webpage, Oxford Institute of Energy Studies. Retrieved 05. 11.13 from, http://www.oxfordenergy.org/author/david-buchan/. [2] Gardner GT, Stern PC. The short list: the most effective actions U.S. households can take to curb climate change. Environment: science and policy for sustainable development, September/October 2008 (updated 15.12. 2009). Retrieved 29.01.11 from, http://www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/ September-October%202008/gardner-stern-full.html; 2009. [3] Helm D. The carbon crunch: how we’re getting climate change wrong e and how to fix it. New Haven and London: Yale University Press; 2012.
Evangelos Manolas* Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou Street, 68200 Orestiada, Greece * Tel.: þ30 2552 0 41157; fax: þ30 2552 0 41192. E-mail address: [email protected]. 7 December 2013 Available online 31 December 2013