Public Energy

The transition to clean energy is moving far too slowly. Trapped by a century of fossil fuel investments and politicians that struggle to plan beyond the next election, the “Big Grid” that powers our modern world is outdated and in dire need of an upgrade. Freeing Energy offers a new and faster path towards a clean energy future — one that is more reliable, more equitable, and cheaper.

Green energy and renewables are heralded as the only way to mitigate our ever-worsening ecological crisis. But that’s not the whole story. In Bad Energy , award-winning journalist Joshua Frank argues that the green energy transition is driven not by an effort to save the planet but by profit incentives. We must stop burning fossil fuels if we have any hope of saving the planet, but the significant, haphazard expansion of green energy in recent years—from large solar projects to wind energy to mining for renewables—has destroyed communities and ecosystems.

The grid is an accident of history and of culture, in no way intrinsic to how we produce, deliver and consume electrical power. Yet this is the system the United States ended up with, a jerry-built structure now so rickety and near collapse that a strong wind or a hot day can bring it to a grinding halt. The grid is now under threat from a new source: renewable and variable energy, which puts stress on its logics as much as its components.

Lithium, a crucial input in the batteries powering electric vehicles, has the potential to save the world from climate change. But even green solutions come at a cost. Mining lithium is environmentally destructive. We therefore confront a dilemma: Is it possible to save the world by harming it in the process? Having spent over a decade researching mining and oil sectors in Latin America, Thea Riofrancos is a leading voice on resource extraction. In Extraction, she draws on groundbreaking fieldwork on the global race for lithium.

A “meticulously researched” (The New York Times Book Review) examination of energy transitions over time and an exploration of the current challenges presented by global warming, a surging world population, and renewable energy—from Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author...

The clean energy transition is already underway. Wind and solar now provide 30 percent of global electricity. Yet ambitious policy goals consistently miss their targets, projects face years of delays, and stakeholders remain frustrated by a system that seems designed to slow progress.

What happens when the President of the United States governs one Tweet at a time? When the elected leader of the free world may not have a firm grasp on the names of government agencies, much less an understanding of their intricate inner-workings? In the days following the 2016 inauguration, government personnel searched for answers that didn’t exist, while White House staff scoured halls for employees who would never be appointed.

Nuclear energy stands at the crossroads of fear and necessity, science and public imagination, catastrophe and promise. This book offers a clear, penetrating examination of one of humanity’s most consequential technologies—its origins in cosmic processes, its role in the modern energy landscape, the accidents that shaped its reputation, and the profound ethical questions that surround its use. Rather than taking sides, it illuminates the hidden mechanisms, political pressures, psychological forces, and historical legacies that form the real structure of the nuclear debate.

Most of the universe is missing—and this book finally makes sense of it. For decades, astronomers have known that everything we can see, touch, and measure accounts for only a tiny fraction of reality. The rest—an astonishing ninety‑five percent—is made of dark matter and dark energy, two invisible forces that shape galaxies, bend starlight, accelerate cosmic expansion, and determine the fate of the cosmos. This plain‑English guide cuts through the confusion and explains the biggest mystery in modern science with clarity, storytelling, and real scientific history. The book ...

Are data centers really America’s new public enemy—or are they the hidden infrastructure powering smartphones, cloud computing, emergency communications, artificial intelligence, and modern business? This concise, fact-driven book challenges the headlines by examining what data centers actually cost communities, what benefits they provide, and which safeguards make them work responsibly.

A Sweeping History of the Great State of Wyoming Wyoming is America's least populated state, a vast expanse of mountains and high plains where fierce independence meets harsh reality. This sweeping history traces how a remote frontier territory became synonymous with the American West—and why it now faces an uncertain future. From Paleo-Indian hunters to fur trappers, from cattle barons to energy executives, Wyoming has always been defined by extraction and extremity. It was the land of mountain men and the Oregon Trail, of Red Cloud's War and the transcontinental railroad, of open-range ...

Billions lack safe water. AI drives energy demand. Resources and time are scarce. Climate anxiety rises; old solutions can't keep up What if the answer is a technology set aside decades ago—not for failure, but because gas was cheap and this fuel wasn't weaponized? Thorium.

Wildcatters is the amazing story of greed, corruption, and scandal in the framing of one of the most famous oil families in Texas and the subsequent IRS raid of unprecedental proprtions. This book will confirm your suspicions of the IRS yet provides a glimmer of hope in our criminal justice system.

Although it is widely understood that energy and water are the world’s two most critical resources, their vital interconnections and vulnerabilities are less often recognized. This farsighted audiobook offers a new, holistic way of thinking about energy and water - a big picture approach that reveals the interdependence of the two resources, identifies the seriousness of the challenges, and lays out an optimistic approach with an array of solutions to ensure continuing sustainability.

The definitive account of India’s energy journey and a blueprint for an energy-efficient future. The historic oil crisis of 1973, which permanently altered significant economic policies worldwide, marked a turning point in India’s energy odyssey, putting the country on the path towards energy efficiency. A young energy researcher at the National Productivity Council at the time, Padu Padmanabhan soon found himself at a juncture that would lead him to the many watershed moments of this journey.

Artificial intelligence may seem weightless, but every prompt, prediction, and digital breakthrough depends on enormous buildings consuming land, electricity, water, and public resources. This book reveals what AI data centers truly cost—and gives citizens, officials, and taxpayers the questions they must ask before promises become permanent consequences in their communities. The Price of the AI Cloud examines the expanding world of AI data centers and the economic, environmental, political, and community debates surrounding them.

Climate of Contempt offers a voter-centric, bottom-up explanation of national climate and energy politics, one that pinpoints bitter partisanship as the key impediment to transitioning to a net zero carbon future.

Discover the powerful world of energy! Budding scientists learn about the different types of energy, including chemical energy, kinetic energy, and solar energy.

In BOOM, prize-winning reporter Tony Horwitz takes a spirited road trip through the wild new frontier of energy in North America. His journey begins in subarctic Alberta, where thousands of miners labor in an industrial moonscape to extract the region's oil-rich tar sands. Horwitz then follows the route of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline that may carry tar-sands oil from Canada across Montana, the Dakotas, and Nebraska en route to Gulf Coast refineries.

In this user-friendly and informative audiobook, prolific author and academic Vaclav Smil provides an introduction to this far-reaching term and gives the reader a greater understanding of energy's place in both past and present society. Starting with an explanation of the concept, he goes on to cover such exciting topics as the inner workings of the human body, and the race for more efficient and environmentally friendly fuels.