The Bottomless Well The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy

by Huber, Peter W; Mills, Mark P.

• ISBN13: 9780465031177
• ISBN10: 046503117X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-25
• Publisher: BASIC BOOKS

Summary

The things we think we know about energy are mostly myths. A better understanding will radically change our views and policies on a number of very controversial issues.

Author Biography

Peter Huber is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute's Center for Legal Policy, where he specializes in issues related to technology, science, and law. His previous books include Hard Green, Liability, and Galileo's Revenge. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland. Mark P. Mills, a founding partner of Digital Power Capital, is a physicist who once served as a staff consultant on technology to the White House Science Office. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	xv
Preface to the Paperback Edition	xvii
Preface	xix
Acknowledgments	xxxi
1 The Twilight of Fuel and the Ascent of Power	1	(23)
The Bottomless Well	2	(3)
The Energized Environment	5	(2)
Pyramids of Quads	7	(2)
Pontiacs, Power Plants, and Pentiums	9	(5)
Capital Spending	14	(2)
The Real Cost of Power	16	(2)
The Twilight of Fuel	18	(3)
The First Law	21	(3)
2 Voracious Technologies	24	(20)
The "Fire-Engine"	25	(2)
Jumbos and Jets	27	(4)
Electrification	31	(2)
The Power of Logic	33	(7)
The Logic of Power	40	(4)
3 The Virtue of Waste	44	(14)
Pyramids of Virtuous Waste	48	(4)
Order	52	(2)
The Second Law	54	(4)
4 Saving the Perilously Efficient Grid	58	(17)
The Perilous Grid	59	(3)
Assault on the Wires	62	(3)
California's Slouch into Night	65	(2)
Restoring Order	67	(4)
More Plants and Shorter Wires	71	(4)
5 Fueling the Silicon Car	75	(16)
Weight, Power, and Inertia	76	(3)
The Silicon Power Train	79	(4)
Convergence	83	(2)
Power Plants on Wheels	85	(2)
Uranium in the Gas Tank	87	(2)
Blind Visionaries	89	(2)
6 Bulbs, Radios, and Negawatts	91	(17)
Edison and DeForest	93	(4)
Bulbs on a Chip	97	(3)
Lighting the Whole Rainbow	100	(2)
Convergence	102	(3)
Efficiency	105	(3)
7 The Paradox of Efficiency	108	(16)
The Efficient Future	109	(2)
The Efficient Past	111	(1)
Fast	112	(4)
Light	116	(2)
Faster and Lighter	118	(3)
Inefficient by Design	121	(2)
Efficient Waste	123	(1)
8 Power, Productivity, Jobs, and GDP	124	(14)
Power and Productivity	126	(3)
Dexterous Robots	129	(2)
Digital Factories	131	(3)
Power and Jobs	134	(4)
9 Insatiable Demand	138	(18)
Saving Time	138	(4)
Creating Order	142	(2)
Suppressing Chaos	144	(3)
Waging War	147	(3)
Powering Logic	150	(3)
Enriching Life	153	(3)
10 Saving the Planet with Coal and Uranium	156	(16)
Carbon Chaos	157	(3)
America the Beautiful Carbon Sink	160	(4)
Carbohydrates versus Hydrocarbons	164	(2)
The Solar Road to Environmental Ruin	166	(1)
Green Nukes	167	(5)
11 Infinite Supply	172	(17)
Rising Reserves	174	(3)
Power in Pursuit of Energy	177	(1)
Logic in Pursuit of Power	178	(4)
Maxwell's Demon	182	(2)
Room at the Bottom	184	(2)
Perpetual Motion	186	(3)
12 The Power of Life	189	(10)
Sugar and the Helix	190	(4)
In the Heat of the Night	194	(5)
Notes	199	(10)
Index	209