| | |  | Sustainable Housing | Home » » Renewable Energy Made Easy: Free Energy from Solar, Wind, Hydropower, and Other Alternative Energy Sources | | | | | | | Description: | | Studies have shown that the average North American family will spend more than a quarter of a million dollars on energy in a lifetime. What many other countries, including Germany, Spain, France, Denmark, China, Brazil, and even Iceland, have realized is that there is a better way to power our homes, businesses, and cars by using renewable energy sources. Recently, the United States has begun to understand the importance of reducing its reliance on coal, natural gas, nuclear power, and hydropower plants, which comprise the majority of the nation's electricity, due to increasing oil prices. Some sections of the country, including California, are turning to renewable energy sources. In fact, 12 percent of California s electricity is produced by renewable resources. The potential for the use of renewables is very large and understanding their use and their impact is key. Renewable Energy Made Easy will provide you with everything you need to know about these alternative energy sources. You will learn about solar power, wind power, water power, biofuels, geothermal energy, ethanol, wave farms, photovoltaic power plants, and hydrogen fuels. You will also become well-versed on the availability, aesthetics, environmental and social considerations, and longevity issues of these so-called soft energy technologies. In addition, you will learn about the current costs and the projected costs in the future, Energy StarTM regulations, the newest research and innovations, and the high development potential of renewable energy. This book will serve as a guide to creating more efficient buildings and an invaluable resource for how to change our preconceived notions about power. This book has taken the complexity and scientific terms out of this topic, making it jargon-free and easy to understand. Ultimately, you will learn how our country can improve energy efficiency, reduce oil dependence, improve energy security, and reduce the health and environmental impact of our current energy system. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| David Craddock | | Paperback:
| 287 pages | | Publisher:
| Atlantic Publishing Company (FL) | | Publication Date:
| August 18, 2008 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1601382405 | | Product Length:
| 8.9 inches | | Product Width:
| 6.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.8 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.8 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.5 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.9 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.5 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.8 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 10 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 10 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Way too basic..Apr 23, 2009
By agis
The book is written in extra-large font (to fill the pages?) and it's very, very basic. Author repeats useless information over and over again.. If you want an introductory book on the topic, your money is better spent elsewhere.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 good book for basic informationMay 25, 2009
By G. E. Kirby
Energy and the environment are topics of such importance today that it is easy to feel like a fool when you don't know even the basics. Renewable Energy Made Easy lives up to its name, making the subject easy to handle by dividing the book up into manageable sections. For me, I found the text a little simplistic at first. Recycle, Reduce, Reuse makes me feel like I am in fifth grade again. However, after the beginning he gets into a lot of interesting information about the actual technology making these changes in energy possible.
I wanted to see more diagrams/pictures of all the technology that the author talked about. I did enjoy, though, the case studies towards the end of the book that helped to give a clearer picture of how these technologies will be used by companies today. While the author is, of course, pro alternative energy, I didn't feel like he glossed over the many difficulties of making alternative energy work effectively and integrating it into our economy.
This is definitely a good book for those looking to get a basic grasp of renewable energy and especially for people looking for an in to more complicated material.
7 of 10 found the following review helpful:
It really IS that easy!Aug 27, 2008
By C. K.
"chrisk715"
Renewable Energy Made Easy - really is that easy! If you've ever felt lost in an energy conversation, or, if you watch the news but don't quite understand what's going on, then this is the book for you. It breaks down some of the hardest concepts regarding energy, consumption, and makes the case for solar, wind, and water (hydropower) and tells in it an easy-to-read, user friendly format. There's even a glossary at end. I liked how the book covers renewable energy from a global and local standpoint - even with ideas for the home! I finished this book in one sitting, it's that easy to read.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Poorly writtenJul 08, 2009
By dm
I only started this, then put it down. It is possible that the author knows the subject, but this is so poorly written that it did not inspire confidence for me. It reads like a self published book created without an editor. I prefer the many other good references on the subject.
This is a scam I'm sorry to say.Jan 18, 2012
By David Christian
"dv8"
I am an engineer and an IT professional, and unfortunately, you don't have to be an engineer to find that out. You only need to see how this company, or whomever this guy is, has manipulated the search engines.
What they did was to purchase many many many internet domains (dot com and dot org addresses) so when you did a search on this product, you have to get to the 23'd or so page to get good results. Plus it appears to me that also put some code in the headers of some of their 22nd or 23rd page websites--the sites that come up way down in the search--in order to keep people from going past about page 23 or so. I had to search directly in Amazon to find this entry. Plus, using a variety of search engines, i was able to get past the block in a way that the average person would be able to do. Try them all, and you will see.
I know most people won't go past the first few pages of searching so I'm probably wasting my breath. But one thing about the ad is true: It won't be up for long, because when they put these people in jail it will indeed be taken down--and rightly so.
Plus Conservatives and Liberals: Don't be fooled by the reference to President Obama and react as though: "Well, only a genuine person, would say that because a 'real' businessman would never risk alienating half his potential customers with a comment like that. And it's true: Only a conman would. If you can fool half of the people all of the time, as the saying goes, you'll still make millions. Also, please realize that even Liberal Democrats will be swayed by this because many of them will perceive the same thing: This guy is maybe a little partisan and fed up with government, etc. But that only proves he's not a fraud.
If I had a real turnkey system, I would never alienate half the country--that is absolutly true of any honest business owner. It takes a huge commitment to want to share something valuable (said for you stereotype liberals :) and conservative and liberal money spends equally well (said for you stereotype conservatives. :) And, Liberals tell their friends and so do Conservatives. Heck when something is really a good deal, Conservatives tell their liberal friends, and Liberals tell their conservative friends. The fact is, that margins in "real" companies are usually rather slim, so you can't afford to turn away customers--even communists or anarchists who don't believe in money at all still are currently employed in some way and spend money on things and probably will for the foreseeable future.
I'm not a lawyer so I don't know if this is legally fraud, particularly if there is some "real" information in the book.
HOWEVER: In my very early youth I worked for a telemarketing boiler room operation as an employee on the phone banks. I was in my early 20ies and really needed a job. This company had similar pamphlets such as "Earn money reading books." What they did pre-internet was put classified ads in newspapers and magazines all over the country, giving a short pitch and an 800 number. Believe me, the phones rang off the hook 20 hours a day.
Needless to say, I didn't keep working for this company for long.
Yes you actually can earn money reading books, but the pamphlet only gave you a little information which would get you started on a HUGE research project that you could easily do without it. 99.9% of the information you had to dig up on your own. The information contained wasn't exactly false, just pretty worthless, and definitely not what people were expecting for 39.99 which was the price back then for such things.
The techniques have changed however it still borders on mail and wire fraud. Our pamphlets--the ones I sold for a little while, were just like this book. Barely legal small pamphlets in very large print, very easy and cheap to produce. Needless to say, once I saw these pamphlets in a storeroom and actually realized how worthless they were
In my life, I have been a businessman a contractor and an employee, not to mention having been out of work for long periods of time as well. I feel really sorry for everyone who is going to lose 50 bucks on this--liberals, conservatives and martians as well, if there are any around :) But, even if you are pretty poor, you CAN survive the loss of fifty dollars.
And, all things considered, it will be a pretty cheap lesson for you.
See all 10 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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