Energy In Nature And Society: General Energetics Of Complex Systems By Vaclav Smil
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Energy In Nature And Society: General Energetics Of Complex Systems By Vaclav Smil Description
Discover “Energy In Nature And Society” by Vaclav Smil
Are you curious about the intricate relationship between energy, nature, and society? Look no further than **”Energy In Nature And Society: General Energetics Of Complex Systems”** by Vaclav Smil. This groundbreaking book, published by The MIT Press, delves into the complexities of energy in our modern world, making it a must-read for students, professionals, and anyone interested in sustainability and energy systems. Its exploration connects scientific insights with real-world implications, helping readers understand the critical role energy plays in societal development and environmental health.
Key Features and Benefits
– **Comprehensive Analysis**: At 494 pages, this extensive tome offers a thorough examination of energy’s multifaceted impact on nature and society, providing readers insights that extend beyond traditional economics or environmental studies.
– **Authoritative Perspective**: Written by Vaclav Smil, recognized for his expertise in energy topics, this book is backed by years of research and scholarship. His ability to synthesize complex systems makes this book accessible to a broad audience.
– **First Edition**: The paperback format features a solid binding, making it a durable addition to your library. The first printing guarantees you access to the most current research and perspectives from 2007, during a pivotal time for discussions about energy sustainability.
– **Visual Data Representation**: The book includes graphs and illustrations to represent the dynamics of energy, making complex topics easier to understand and visualize. Readers will appreciate the way the content is broken down, promoting enhanced comprehension.
– **Critical Reviews**: Gather insights from Amazon reviews that praise the depth of content and clarity of Smil’s arguments. This will offer potential buyers a perspective from their peers about the book’s value.
Price Comparison Analysis
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This historical data helps you make an informed buying decision. For example, you’ll notice that there has been some fluctuation in prices over the last six months, with notable sales increases during semester starts, indicating a high demand among students and professionals.
Insights from Customer Reviews
Customer feedback on Amazon emphasizes the book’s depth of knowledge and Smil’s engaging writing style. Many readers commend its ability to elucidate the relationships between energy consumption and environmental impact. It’s particularly well-received by those looking for a holistic view of energy systems.
However, some reviews mention that the density of the content can be overwhelming for casual readers. This book is ideal for those with a serious interest in the field, rather than casual readers seeking light reading.
Engaging Video Reviews and Unboxings
For those who prefer audio-visual learning, various YouTube channels provide unboxing videos and detailed reviews of **”Energy In Nature And Society.”** These videos highlight key chapters, offering viewers a sneak peek into the book’s insights and presentation style. Watching these reviews can enhance your understanding and help you determine if this book aligns with your interests.
Sustainability and Society: A Timely Exploration
As we navigate the complexities of climate change and energy sustainability today, discussing energy’s role in society has never been more critical. Smil’s work serves as a pivotal guide, encouraging readers to think critically about how energy shapes social structures and environmental realities. By investing in this book, you are not only expanding your knowledge but also engaging in an essential conversation about our planet’s future.
Conclusion: **Compare prices now!** Don’t miss the opportunity to own **”Energy In Nature And Society: General Energetics Of Complex Systems”**. Access the critical knowledge that Vaclav Smil offers, and ensure you grab it at the best price available today! Whether you will read it for academics, professional development, or personal interest, this book will undeniably broaden your understanding of energy’s vital role in our lives.
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Energy In Nature And Society: General Energetics Of Complex Systems By Vaclav Smil Reviews (8)
8 reviews for Energy In Nature And Society: General Energetics Of Complex Systems By Vaclav Smil
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mario –
La spedizione è veloce e prezzo del libro è molto conveniente, sono molto soddisfatto anche dell’imballaggio. Il libro è perfetto.
Siobhán K Cronin –
This is a beautifully written/organized book. An inspiration.
Michelle Duenas –
BOUGHT THE BOOK COMPLETELY ON ACCIDENT!!
Cliente de Amazon –
Es una excelente recopilación de datos para observar como ha sido la historia de la humanidad a través del uso de la energÃa.
Greg –
I bought the book “blind”, since MIT Press have not enabled “Look Inside”. If you are in two minds about the book, here is the Table of Contents to help you make up your mind:
1. The Universal Link: Energetics, Energy, and Power
1.1 Evolution of Energetics: From Aristotle to Einstein
1.2 Approaches to Understanding: Concepts, Variables, Units
2. Planetary Energetics: Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere
2.1 Sun: The Star and Its Radiation
2.2 Energy Balance of the Earth: Radiation Fluxes
2.3 Hydrophere and Atmosphere: thermal and Mass Fluxes
2.4 Water and Air in Motion: Kinetic Fluxes
2.5 Geoenergetics: Heat, Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, Earthquakes
3. Photosynthesis: Bioenergetics of Primary Production
3.1 Photosynthetic Pathways
3.2 Global Primary Productivity
3.3 Productivities of Ecosystems and Plants
3.4 Phytomass Stores
3.5 Autotrophic Scaling
4. Heterotrophic Conversions: Consumer Bioenergetics
4.1 Metabolic Capacities
4.2 Ectotherms and Endotherms
4.3 Locomotion
4.4 Biomasses and Productivities
4.5 Heterotrophs in Ecosystems
5. Human Energetics: People as Simple Heterotrophs
5.1 Energy Sources and Basal Metabolism
5.2 Requirements and Uncertainties
5.3 Thermoregulation
5.4 Limits of Human Performance
5.5 Gathering, Hunting, and Fishing
6. Traditional Food Production: Humans as Solar Farmers
6.1 Extensive Practices
6.2 Permanent Cropping
6.3 Muscles, Implements, Machines
6.4 Cropping Intensification
6.5 Traditional Agricultures
7. Preindustrial Complexification: Prime Movers and Fuels in Traditional Societies
7.1 Animal Power: Human and Animal Muscles
7.2 Water and Wind: Wheels and Mills
7.3 Phytomass Fuels and Metallurgy: Wood, Charcoal, Crop Residues
7.4 Construction: Methods and Structures
7.5 Transportation: Roads and Ships
8. Fossil Fuels: Heat, Light, and Prime Movers
8.1 Coals: The Earliest Modern Fuels
8.2 Hydrocarbons: Crude Oils and Natural Gases
8.3 From Extraction to Combustion: Modern Fossil Fuel Industries
8.4 Mechanical Prime Movers: Engines and Turbines
8.5 Fossil-Fueled Electricity: Generation and Transmission
9. Fossil-Fueled Civilization: Patterns and Trends
9.1 Fuels and Fossil-Fueled Electricity: Energy Production and Trade
9.2 Nonfossil Contributions: Biomass and Primary Electricity
9.3 Global Consumption Patterns: Growth and Inequality
9.4 Qualitative Changes: Transitions and Efficiencies
9.5 Energy Conservation: Gains and Rebounds
10. Energy Costs: Valuations and Changes
10.1 Energy Cost of Energy: Net Gains
10.2 Basic Materials: from Concrete to Fertilizers
10.3 Structures and Products: From Buildings to Computers
10.4 Crops and Animal Foods: Subsidized Diets
10.5 Modern Food System: Gains, Costs, Efficiencies
11. Environmental Consequences: Metabolism of Fossil-Fueled Civilization
11.1 Power Densities: Energy and Land
11.2 Energy Conversions and Heat Rejection
11.3 Energy and Water
11.4 Energy and the Atmosphere
11.5 Interference in Grand Biospheric Cycles
12 Energetic Correlates: Complexities of High-Energy Civilization
12.1 Energy and the Economy
12.2 Energy and Value
12.3 Energy and the Quality of Life
12.4 Energy and War
12.5 Energy and the Future
13. Grand Patterns: Energetic and Other Essentials
13.1 Energy in the Biosphere
13.2 Energy and Civilization
13.3 The Challenges Ahead
Appendix: Tables of…
SI Units, multiple prefixes (kilo, giga, etc), common energy conversions, energy content of fuels, energy content of foodstuffs, energy flows:31 orders of magnitude, power of continuous phenomena,, power of ephemeral phenomena, efficiencies of common energy conversions, typical energy cost of common materials, global harvests, energy subsidies, and population densities, 1900-2000, table of natural, personal, and energy related risks, population and primary energy 1500-2005, Global Reserves, Resources, and Fluxes of Energies.
Selected Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Symbols
Name Index
Subject Index
Now, my review. How much energy does the Earth receive from the Sun every day? Why are humans able to live in environments ranging from very cold to very hot – a wider range than any other mammal? Could we run our civilization on biofuels, wind power, solar, or geothermal energy? Does extracting uranium from seawater to generate electricity cost more energy than it supplies? How much improvement can we expect in crop yields from genetic engineering? How efficient are compact fluorescent lamps versus incandescent bulbs or the new white LEDs? What was special about James Watt’s steam engine?
Professor Smil has made a thorough and wide-ranging survey of the knowledge we have accumulated about energy flows on the grand scale. Inside the book you can find the answers to some of these questions. But, more importantly, in this book you can find enough about the processes involved to be able to assess other people’s answers. The book gives you the building blocks to create your own knowledge.
On the negative side, tne book is marred by hundreds of small typos, and grammatical and formatting errors, for example “photovaltaic”, “the France”, “01.6”. Sometimes the mistakes change the sense of what is being said: 1.6MJ per molecule is a whole different kind of energy to 1.6 MJ per mole – 6.02×1023 molecules. Some diagrams have incorrect units – for example, in fig 3.11 a and b, the horizontal scales are log of body mass, and the vertical scales are log of growth rate and body length respectively. Once or twice, the text and diagrams appear to conflict. These are relatively minor irritations, though.
The book could be improved by including sub-headings or marginal notes when there is a change of topic within a section. For example, section 4.3, Locomotion, compares swimming, flying, and running, and then discusses some details of each in turn. So it has four sub-sections. However, there is no marker in the text to indicate the change of sub-topic. The whole section is just an undifferentiated mass of text, equations, and diagrams.
Never mind. I am satisfied with the book as it is, and I am sure I will be referring to it many times in the coming years.
Okie –
A scholarly work relatively free of advocacy, except for advocating sticking to the facts. You will find more pages meticulously diagnosing the history of the energetics of agriculture, transportation and steel making than you will pages forecasting what future energy trends will be, or should be. The author reviews the history of some of these forecast attempts. Here is a sample from page 358: “Reasons for the large number of wrong forecasts can be found in the herdlike behavior of forecasters smitten by prevailing moods”. “The U.S. Atomic Energy commission’s 1974 forecast had 260 GW installed in the United States by 1985, and 1.2 TW in 2000. The actual 2000 number was 81.5 GW, and there were no clear prospects for fusion.” “The same adjectives used to extol nuclear generation – inexhaustible, cheap, nonpolluting – reappeared in glowing descriptions of renewable energetics published during the 1970s as the advocates of small-scale, decentralized energy production promised a new, morally superior millennium devoid of nuclear and fossil fuel sins.” And on page 362: “…by the year 2000…new renewables contributed just 3.2 EJ, only one-tenth of Lovins’s forecast.”
The author wants to avoid falling into Lovins’s and the AEC’s trap. Nevertheless, scientifically sound constraints on future activity are offered without hesitation, for example: the potential for hydroelectric development, the limits of photosynthesis and geothermal fluxes. But on page 384, the author perhaps becomes polemical: “The ultimate makeup of a new global energy system that may dominate in the second half of the twenty-first century will not resemble currently fashionable scenarios.” Notice the choice of words: “will not” rather than “may not”. Later on page 382: “I strongly believe that the key to managing future global energy needs is to break with the current expectation of unrestrained energy use in affluent societies.” Whose expectation? I live in an affluent society and my energy use is not unrestrained and I don’t expect it to be. I presume the sentence applies to other guys, who need to be broken.
Well, let’s not nitpick over that sentence. There is no scientific principle more productive than the principle of conservation of energy (my advocacy). There is no analysis of “how stuff works” with greater predictive power than that provided by a monitoring of the energy conversions. This book is a masterpiece by a honest scientist with enormous skill in organizing knowledge of energy.
See MIT Press for a detailed preview inside the book.
Amazon Customer –
I find this book very enlightening. I wish that This book had been my introduction to physics and chemistry in my freshman year. I’m now 70 years old, having degrees in Biology, Medical Technology, masters in Reading Education. I picked up this book to help me understand environmental issues as I have embraced biodiversity and regeneration of my 9.5 acre yard. There are no better words than actually gardening for regenerating what remains of the native ecosystem.
Thank you so much for connecting the dots for me.
Yvonne Kolarik
Stephen N. Anderson –
Vaclav Smil does data collection and research combined with years of viewing globes confrontation with man from an economists viewpoint that is like no other. Conclusions are harsh, but realistic. Reading his books in sequence is the best way to understand the links and relevance of every piece.