Un libro completamente dedicato al riscaldamento domestico attuato con energia rinnovabile. In una panoramica ben strutturata e di facile approccio, Pahl passa in rassegna le possibilità esistenti per riscaldare le case con fonti rinnovabili di energia, quali stufe a legna, a pellet, a cereali, caminetti, caldaie, stufe in maiolica ad accumulo, sistemi solari attivi e passivi, impianti di riscaldamento a pompa di calore, soffermandosi su tutto ciò che c'è da sapere riguardo ai combustibili, i sistemi, le tecnologie, i costi, i vantaggi e gli svantaggi di ciascuna opzione. L'autore mostra come riadattare sistemi di riscaldamento già esistenti o progettare una casa completamente nuova ma adeguatamente riscaldata, con costi e impatto ambientale minimi. Insegna che il biodiesel a basso impatto ambientale può essere utilizzato non soltanto per alimentare le automobili ma anche per le caldaie. Ci fa scoprire il funzionamento di una pompa di calore geotermica spiegando perché può raggiungere un'efficienza del 40% e come bruciare la legna in modo davvero sostenibile.

Over 90 percent of US power generation comes from large, centralized, highly polluting, nonrenewable sources of energy. It is delivered through long, brittle transmission lines, and then is squandered through inefficiency and waste. But it doesn't have to be that way. Communities can indeed produce their own local, renewable energy.

Power from the People explores how homeowners, co-ops, nonprofit institutions, governments, and businesses are putting power in the hands of local communities through distributed energy programs and energy-efficiency measures.

Using examples from around the nation - and occasionally from around the world - Greg Pahl explains how to plan, organize, finance, and launch community-scale energy projects that harvest energy from sun, wind, water, and earth. He also explains why community power is a necessary step on the path to energy security and community resilience - particularly as we face peak oil, cope with climate change, and address the need to transition to a more sustainable future.

This book - the second in the Chelsea Green Publishing Company and Post Carbon Institute's Community Resilience Series - also profiles numerous communitywide initiatives that can be replicated elsewhere.

For anyone who is trying to keep up with the extremely rapid developments in the biodiesel industry, the second edition of Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy is an invaluable aid. The breathtaking speed with which biodiesel has gained acceptance in the marketplace in the past few years has been exceeded only by the proliferation of biodiesel production facilities around the United States--and the world--only to confront new social and environmental challenges and criticisms.

The international survey of the biodiesel industry has been expanded from 40 to more than 80 countries, reflecting the spectacular growth of the industry around the world. This section also tracks the dramatic shifts in the fortunes of the industry that have taken place in some of these nations. The detailed chapters that cover the industry in the United States have also been substantially rewritten to keep abreast of its many new developments and explosive domestic growth.

An expanded section on small-scale, local biodiesel production has been added to better represent this small but growing part of the industry. Another new section has been added to more fully explore the increasingly controversial issues of deforestation and food versus fuel, as well as GMO crops. The second edition concludes with updated views on where the industry is headed in the years to come from some of its key players.

Environmental journalist Pahl (U. of Vermont) offers readers a timely crash course in five renewable energy technologies--solar, wind, water, biomass and biofuels, and geothermal--aiming to inspire individual and community action through abundant examples of energy independence projects around the world. The introductory chapter explores peak oil and other energy problems in the U.S., as well as government initiatives (and the lack thereof) that address them. The author then discusses the potential, the history, and (briefly) the technology of each renewable alternative, followed by case studies. Language is appropriate for a general audience, but community/urban planners and homeowners may find this book especially useful. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Negli ultimi cento anni abbiamo alimentato le nostre auto con il petrolio, una fonte di energia molto concentrata che si è formata in milioni di anni. Il petrolio com'è evidente non è una risorsa infinita e non potremo affidarci solo a esso per questo XXI secolo. Inoltre, i cambiamenti climatici in atto richiedono lo sviluppo di fonti energetiche rinnovabili: il biodiesel è un gasolio prodotto da vegetali - semi di piante oleaginose come il girasole o la colza - la cui combustione non aumenta sensibilmente il carico di CO2 dell'atmosfera. Il volume affronta la questione sul piano tecnico e produttivo. Una postfazione dedicata alla situazione italiana completa il quadro di conoscenze del tema.