Renewable Energy

Greenhaven Press's Opposing Viewpoints series never seems to fail. I've read maybe 7 or 8 of them (there's literally dozens of titles) and they've all been pretty much the same. Each one takes a controversial issue and presents articles that fall on one side of the issue or another. They are typically very well compiled and do a fair job at providing every angle to educate the reader on the complexities of the issue. This book takes on Renewable Energy.

This book looks at all kinds of renewable resources and alternative energy sources. It looks at issues like: "Is nuclear power renewable?" "Are renewable resources environmentally responsible?" "Are fuel cells a viable alternative to gasoline?" "Is hydrogen a legitimate future energy source?" and more.

This book, more so than some of the others I have read, really did an excellent job of detailing the complexities of renewable resources. At the end, I found myself a bit perplexed. After being introduced to both the hopes and the problems with each type of renewable/alternative energy sources, I found it difficult to take a strong stance on any of the sources! In the end, my conclusion was that maybe we need to do a little bit of everything. Obviously, reliance on any one - or two - or three - types of energy is a setup for failure.

Every energy source has its benefits and drawbacks. For example, Wind energy is 100% renewable but is also unreliable and obtrusive to the environment. Hydrogen is efficient and clean but dangerous to deal with and problematic in other ways. Fossil Fuels are incredibly efficient and inexpensive (for now), but have devestating effects on the earth, pollute like crazy, and are running out.

I always enjoy these books, but some articles are better than others. Some articles are very abridged, and a couple came from questionable sources. One mini-article was a letter to the editor!

All in all, this is an excellent choice for becoming knowledgeable about the complexities of renewable energy.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

(92/100)