Energies

Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of forty books, including Energy and Civilization, published by the MIT Press. In 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers. In 2013 Bill Gates wrote on his website that "there is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil."

An overview of concepts and units. Part 1 Sun and earth: sun; solar radiation; atmosphere; planet Earth; winds; rains; oceans; rivers; Earth's heat; geotectonics; earthquakes; volcanoes; denudation; space encounters. Part 2 Plants and animals: adenosine triphosphate; archaea and bacteria; photosynthesis; C3 and C4 plants; phytoplankton; forests; grasslands; heterotropic metabolism; reproduction; growth; endotherms and ectotherms; food chains; herbivores; carnivores; swimming; running and jumping; flying. Part 3 People and food: basal metabolism; thermoregulation; pregnancy and lactation; human growth; walking and running; labour and leisure; nutrients; grains; bread; lipids and meat; milk; ethanol. Part 4 Preindustrial societies: hunters and gatherers; shifting cultivation; traditional agricultures; cattle; horses; wood, charcoal and straw; waterwheels; windmills; copper, iron and steel; gunpowder; sailships. Part 5 Fossil-fuelled civilization: fossil fuels and electricity; coals; crude oils; natural gases; steam engines; steam turbines; water turbines; fission reactors; transmission; electric motors; lights; internal combustion engines; gas turbines; blast furnaces; aluminium; nitrogen; nuclear weapons. Part 6 Transportation and information: trains; ships; bicycles; cars; airplanes; rockets; pipelines; tankers; telephones; radio and television; computer and microchips.