Pollutants From Energy Sources

This book discusses different aspects of energy consumption and environmental pollution, describing in detail the various pollutants resulting from the utilization of natural resources and their control techniques. It discusses diagnostic techniques in a simple and easy-to-understand manner. It will be useful for engineers, agriculturists, environmentalists, ecologists and policy makers involved in area of pollutants from energy, environmental safety, and health sectors.

The United States and China are the world's top two energy consumers and, as of 2010, the two largest economies. Consequently, they have a decisive role to play in the world's clean energy future. Both countries are also motivated by related goals, namely diversified energy portfolios, job creation, energy security, and pollution reduction, making renewable energy development an important strategy with wide-ranging implications. Given the size of their energy markets, any substantial progress the two countries make in advancing use of renewable energy will provide global benefits, in terms of enhanced technological understanding, reduced costs through expanded deployment, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to conventional generation from fossil fuels. Within this context, the U.S. National Academies, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), reviewed renewable energy development and deployment in the two countries, to highlight prospects for collaboration across the research to deployment chain and to suggest strategies which would promote more rapid and economical attainment of renewable energy goals. Main findings and concerning renewable resource assessments, technology development, environmental impacts, market infrastructure, among others, are presented. Specific recommendations have been limited to those judged to be most likely to accelerate the pace of deployment, increase cost-competitiveness, or shape the future market for renewable energy. The recommendations presented here are also pragmatic and achievable.

Energy provides a fresh, multidisciplinary approach to energy analysis. Leading experts from diverse fields examine the evolving structure of our energy system from several perspectives. They explore the changing patterns of supply and demand, offer insights into the forces that are driving the changes, and discuss energy planning strategies that take advantage of such insights. The book addresses several major issues, including the growing vulnerabilities in the U.S. energy system, the influence of technological change, and the role of electricity in meeting social objectives. The strongest of the book's themes is the growing influence of environmental concerns on the global energy system.

This report describes the health and environmental consequences of different energy systems ...

This book is a comprehensive account of all significant energy sources, evaluated according to their capacity, reliability, cost, safety and effects on the environment. Non-renewable sources (for example, coal, oil, gas and nuclear fuel) together with renewable sources like wood, hydro, biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, ocean thermal, and tidal; are considered. Also, nuclear radiations and the disposal of nuclear waste and the future of nuclear power are assessed, as well as pollution and acid rain, the greenhouse effects and climate change. Its social, political and moral problems are discussed, with a special mention of the opposition to nuclear power. Contents:The Energy CrisisNon-Renewable Energy SourcesRenewable Energy SourcesNuclear PowerThe Safety of Energy SourcesPollution of the EnvironmentClimate ChangePolitics, Psychology and EducationThe Needs of the Developing CountriesMoral Problems and Responses Readership: Graduate students, academics, practitioners and general public interested in the field of energy research, pollution, meteorology and waste management. Keywords:Energy;Nuclear;Nuclear Waste;Environment;Wind Power;Solar Power;Climate Change;Pollution;Global WarmingKey Features:Numerical estimates of the relevant factors are given whenever possible, enabling realistic comparisons to be madeThe evidence for the threshold nuclear radiation dose is carefully analysedA detailed discussion of continuous and catastrophic climate change and what actions can be taken to avert the worst dangersA comparison of the statements of several Churches on the moral problems raised by energy-associated problemEvaluation of the effects on the developing nationsReviews: “… the book contains many interesting facts, thoughts, and counterarguments to nuclear naysayers.” CHOICE

Provides an overview of issues related to energy supply, distribution, and use, including history, terminology, biographical information on important individuals, and a complete annotated bibliography.

Provides an introduction to fossil fuels, their impact on the environment worldwide, and why controlling them is crucial to Earth's future climate.

Since the beginning of the Obama Administration, conservative politicians have railed against the President's "War on Coal." As evidence of this supposed siege, they point to a series of rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency that aim to slash air pollution from the nation's power sector . Because coal produces far more pollution than any other major energy source, these rules are expected to further reduce its already shrinking share of the electricity market in favor of cleaner options like natural gas and solar power. But the EPA's policies are hardly the "unprecedented regulatory assault " that opponents make them out to be. Instead, they are merely the latest chapter in a multi-decade struggle to overcome a tragic flaw in our nation's most important environmental law. In 1970, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which had the remarkably ambitious goal of eliminating essentially all air pollution that posed a threat to public health or welfare. But there was a problem: for some of the most common pollutants, Congress empowered the EPA to set emission limits only for newly constructed industrial facilities, most notably power plants. Existing plants, by contrast, would be largely exempt from direct federal regulation-a regulatory practice known as "grandfathering." What lawmakers didn't anticipate was that imposing costly requirements on new plants while giving existing ones a pass would simply encourage those old plants to stay in business much longer than originally planned. Since 1970, the core problems of U.S. environmental policy have flowed inexorably from the smokestacks of these coal-fired clunkers, which continue to pollute at far higher rates than their younger peers. In Struggling for Air, Richard L. Revesz and Jack Lienke chronicle the political compromises that gave rise to grandfathering, its deadly consequences, and the repeated attempts-by presidential administrations of both parties-to make things right.