The Bottomless Well The Twilight of Fuel, the

The things we think we know about energy are mostly myths. A better understanding will radically change our views and policies on a number of very controversial issues.

Peter Huber is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute's Center for Legal Policy, where he specializes in issues related to technology, science, and law. His previous books include Hard Green, Liability, and Galileo's Revenge. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland. Mark P. Mills, a founding partner of Digital Power Capital, is a physicist who once served as a staff consultant on technology to the White House Science Office. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

List of Figures

xv

Preface to the Paperback Edition

xvii

Preface

xix

Acknowledgments

xxxi

1 The Twilight of Fuel and the Ascent of Power

1

(23)

The Bottomless Well

2

(3)

The Energized Environment

5

(2)

Pyramids of Quads

7

(2)

Pontiacs, Power Plants, and Pentiums

9

(5)

Capital Spending

14

(2)

The Real Cost of Power

16

(2)

The Twilight of Fuel

18

(3)

The First Law

21

(3)

2 Voracious Technologies

24

(20)

The "Fire-Engine"

25

(2)

Jumbos and Jets

27

(4)

Electrification

31

(2)

The Power of Logic

33

(7)

The Logic of Power

40

(4)

3 The Virtue of Waste

44

(14)

Pyramids of Virtuous Waste

48

(4)

Order

52

(2)

The Second Law

54

(4)

4 Saving the Perilously Efficient Grid

58

(17)

The Perilous Grid

59

(3)

Assault on the Wires

62

(3)

California's Slouch into Night

65

(2)

Restoring Order

67

(4)

More Plants and Shorter Wires

71

(4)

5 Fueling the Silicon Car

75

(16)

Weight, Power, and Inertia

76

(3)

The Silicon Power Train

79

(4)

Convergence

83

(2)

Power Plants on Wheels

85

(2)

Uranium in the Gas Tank

87

(2)

Blind Visionaries

89

(2)

6 Bulbs, Radios, and Negawatts

91

(17)

Edison and DeForest

93

(4)

Bulbs on a Chip

97

(3)

Lighting the Whole Rainbow

100

(2)

Convergence

102

(3)

Efficiency

105

(3)

7 The Paradox of Efficiency

108

(16)

The Efficient Future

109

(2)

The Efficient Past

111

(1)

Fast

112

(4)

Light

116

(2)

Faster and Lighter

118

(3)

Inefficient by Design

121

(2)

Efficient Waste

123

(1)

8 Power, Productivity, Jobs, and GDP

124

(14)

Power and Productivity

126

(3)

Dexterous Robots

129

(2)

Digital Factories

131

(3)

Power and Jobs

134

(4)

9 Insatiable Demand

138

(18)

Saving Time

138

(4)

Creating Order

142

(2)

Suppressing Chaos

144

(3)

Waging War

147

(3)

Powering Logic

150

(3)

Enriching Life

153

(3)

10 Saving the Planet with Coal and Uranium

156

(16)

Carbon Chaos

157

(3)

America the Beautiful Carbon Sink

160

(4)

Carbohydrates versus Hydrocarbons

164

(2)

The Solar Road to Environmental Ruin

166

(1)

Green Nukes

167

(5)

11 Infinite Supply

172

(17)

Rising Reserves

174

(3)

Power in Pursuit of Energy

177

(1)

Logic in Pursuit of Power

178

(4)

Maxwell's Demon

182

(2)

Room at the Bottom

184

(2)

Perpetual Motion

186

(3)

12 The Power of Life

189

(10)

Sugar and the Helix

190

(4)

In the Heat of the Night

194

(5)

Notes

199

(10)

Index

209

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The Bottomless Well The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials