Though oil prices have been on a downward trajectory in recent months, that doesn't obscure the fact that fossil fuels are finite, and we will eventually have to grapple with the end of their dominance. At the same time, however, skepticism about the alternatives remains: we've never quite achieved the promised 'too cheap to meter' power of the future, be it nuclear, solar, or wind. And hydrogen and bio-based fuels are thus far a disappointment. So what does the future of energy look like?The Tesla Revolution has the answers. In clear, unsensational style, Willem Middelkoop and Rembrandt Koppelaar offer a layman's tour of the energy landscape, now and to come. They show how rapid technological advances in batteries and solar technologies are already driving large-scale transformations in power supply, while economic and geopolitical changes, combined with a growing political awareness that there are alternatives to fossil fuels will combine in the coming years to bring an energy revolution ever closer. Within in our lifetimes, the authors argue, we will see changes that will reshape economics, the balance of political power, and even the most mundane aspects of our daily lives.Determinedly forward-looking and optimistic, though never straying from hard facts, The Tesla Revolution paints a striking picture of our global energy future.
- Cover
- Table of Contents
- Prologue
- Special Introduction
- Chapter 1 – The Tesla Revolution
- 1. Did Tesla pay you to use this title?
- 2. What makes Tesla such an important part of this revolution?
- 3. What is Tesla’s history?
- 4. What is Elon Musk’s goal?
- 5. Tesla’s master plan doesn’t stop with cars, does it?
- 6. Is cheap solar energy the other driver of this revolution?
- 7. Will electric cars really take over before 2030?
- 8. Why is the price of electric cars declining so rapidly?
- 9. How do developments in fuel cell cars compare?
- 10. What makes the Tesla Revolution so different from previous energy transformations?
- 11. Have we already entered an era moving away from fossil fuels?
- 12. How much energy does the world need?
- 13. From fossil fuels to alternatives, what are the scenarios?
- 14. So Big Oil is losing the energy war?
- 15. What needs to be done to accelerate the Tesla Revolution?
- 16. Are governments serious enough about this Revolution?
- 17. Is this energy Revolution possible without subsidies?
- 18. Why are low-income countries potentially winners?
- Chapter 2 – A History of Fossil Fuel Dominance
- 19. So the first Tesla Revolution started a good 100 years ago?
- 20. What was the second chapter of the industrial energy revolution?
- 21. How did the 1970s-1980s oil crises change our energy outlook?
- 22. When did we discover oil?
- 23. What was our main source of energy before oil?
- 24. What’s the ‘miracle of oil’?
- 25. Are we still discovering enough oil ?
- 26. What is the history of solar energy?
- 27. How much does it cost to live off the grid?
- 28. Is wind energy a great success as well?
- Chapter 3 – The Petrodollar and the Geopolitics of Oil
- 29. Oil and power—who is leading whom?
- 30. What happened after the Second World War?
- 31. Wasn’t the war in Iraq after 9/11 all about oil as well?
- 32. Didn’t oil play a role in the first Gulf war too?
- 33. What’s all this talk about the petrodollar?
- 34. So oil is a weapon in a financial, economic war?
- 35. Does natural gas play a role in this new ‘cold war’ too?
- Chapter 4 – Peak Oil Revisited: The End of Cheap Oil
- 36. Why hasn’t world oil production peaked yet?
- 37. When will we reach world peak oil?
- 38. So the era of cheap oil is already over?
- 39. How did shale oil grow so quickly?
- 40. Why are experts and the media always wrong on oil prices?
- 41. What are the oil market implications of rising oil prices?
- 42. Is future oil production at risk?
- 43. How much can ‘cheap’ OPEC production grow?
- 44. How important is Saudi Arabia in this respect?
- Chapter 5 – Climate Change and the World of Energy
- 45. Is the climate really changing?
- 46. What is the role of carbon dioxide (CO2)?
- 47. Hasn’t climate always changed?
- 48. What is different this time?
- 49. What are the risks of our ‘climate experiment’?
- 50. What is the consensus among scientists?
- 51. Are climate change policies leading to lower coal use?
- 52. Will fossil fuels become obsolete?
- Chapter 6 – What Will the Energy Mix of the Future Be?
- 53. Why is the electricity mix based on coal and gas?
- 54. Can shale gas fuel the US economy for decades to come?
- 55. What about shale plays in the rest of the world?
- 56. Can cleaner natural gas replace coal?
- 57. Do we need to reduce world coal use?
- 58. Will coal be phased out because of pollution?
- 59. What role will nuclear energy play in the future?
- 60. Can we rely on wind and solar for our electricity needs?
- 61. Should we all share energy through a worldwide grid?
- 62. Can 24/7 trucking and shipping be converted to electric?
- 63. So biofuels are not a big success?
- 64. How much money is needed to build a clean energy infrastructure?
- Epilogue
- Appendix
- References Prologue
- Register
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