Renewable Energy Cannot Sustain a Consumer Society (2007)

It is widely assumed that our consumer society can move from using fossil fuels to using renewable energy sources, while maintaining the high levels of energy use to which we have become accustomed. This book details the reasons why this almost unquestioned assumption is seriously mistaken. Chapters on wind, photovoltaic, and solar thermal sources argue that these are not able to meet present electricity demands, let alone future demands. Coverage also explains why it is not likely that there will ever be a hydrogen economy and why nuclear energy is not the answer. The book, however, does offer an answer: a transition to The Simpler Way, a society based on more simple, self-sufficient and cooperative ways, within a zero-growth economy. It outlines the role renewable energy might play in enabling such a society.