Tuesday, April 6, 2010

A Renewable World: Energy, Ecology, Equality





ISBN: 978-1900322492
Publisher: Green Books
Date: September 2009
Price: £14.95

"Here’s the book we’ve been waiting for, a thorough, up-to-date, and above all proportionate response to our climatic predicament. When I say proportionate, I mean: it tells us how to solve the problem we really have, not the one we wish we had. It’s truly important!"

Bill McKibben, Founder, 350.org
The post-Copenhagen world requires a fresh look at the big picture. In the absence of international agreements, what steps can be taken nationally, regionally and locally to reduce both carbon emissions and carbon concentrations? The former can be achieved through a transformation in energy production, saving and use, and the latter through biological carbon sequestration. This book sets out examples of these strategies, in policy and practice, from around the world. In addition, the essential question of the active participation of all sectors of society in this transformation is considered through examples of existing initiatives, and the wider issue of democratic reform.

A Renewable World
was developed in conjunction with dozens of world experts and features solutions on renewable energy, biosequestration, energy sufficiency, energy for developing countries, green collar jobs, cities, transport, agriculture and food, regional economies, and civil participation and democracy. It seeks to clarify what can be done, and how we can all benefit, long into the future.
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Individual chapters:
About the authors

Herbert Girardet, Director of Programmes

Prof. Herbert Girardet is an author, consultant and filmmaker. He is chairman of the Schumacher Society UK, an honorary fellow of Royal Institute for British Architects (RIBA), a patron of the Soil Association, and a recipient of a UN Global 500 Award 'for outstanding environmental achievements'. His eight books include 'Earthrise' (1992), 'The Gaia Atlas of Cities' (1992), 'Creating Sustainable Cities' (1999) and 'Cities, People, Planet' (2004). He has produced 50 TV documentaries on sustainable development for broadcasters around the world. In 2003 he was 'Thinker in Residence' in Adelaide, developing sustainability strategies for South Australia. He is visiting professor at the University of Northumbria, Middlesex University, and the University of West of England.
Miguel Mendonça, Research Manager

Miguel Mendonça is the World Future Council’s Research Manager. His background is in forestry, horticulture, geography, history, journalism, social science and environmental ethics. He is a UK-based researcher, writer and advocate, and has spoken and campaigned successfully on four continents on the subject of the most effective renewable energy policy: feed-in tariffs. He has also introduced a variety of initiatives to improve international knowledge-transfer and discussion on them. Miguel focuses on social and political aspects of renewable energy policy, working for the rapid deployment of renewable energy around the world, and public participation in this process. He writes books, papers, articles, commentaries and reviews on sustainability issues, is author of the influential Feed-in Tariffs - accelerating the deployment of renewable energy (2007), and co-author of the follow-up, Powering the Green Economy: The Feed-in Tariff Handbook (2009).