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The Peak Oil and Renewable Energy Bookstore

Turbine near Ft Stockton, TX

A recommended selection of Peak Oil books wind energy books, solar energy books, ethanol books, hydrogen power books, geothermal books, and more.

Although I work in the oil and gas industry  and I believe oil will be around for many more years, it is running out. How fast depends on who you talk to. Those who subscribe to the Peak Oil Theory believe we are now at the point where new discoveries cannot keep up with demand. Current prices alone are enough to make many believe peak oil is here. Slowly, renewable forms of energy will  supply the world with  the energy we need.  Here is a selection of books on renewable and alternative energy.   Nolan Hart

Top Peak Oil Books    Twilight in the Desert  By Matthew Simmons   The Coming Economic Collapse By Stephen Leeb

The Long Emergency By James Howard Kunstler       The Party's Over  By Richard Heinberg 

For more good books on the subject of Peak Oil theory click on  "Peak Oil  Books" in the "Browse By Category Tab" below.

What can you do to prepare for Peak Oil and help the environment as well? There are a number of things that you can do that will ensure that you are not caught paying outrageous utility bills as Peak Oil becomes a reality. Here are a couple of things that could save you some big money down the road and help you "peak oil proof your life"

Last year my wife and I put in a Tetco geothermal heat pump and thanks to a rebate from the  city we live in, rooftop solar panels.  The ground source geothermal unit uses loops buried under the ground in our yard to exchange heat or cool with the ground instead of with the air, which on a hot day is very inefficient.  It is a closed loop system and requires no maintenance and should last for decades. I think any new home that has a big enough yard, and soft soil, could have a geothermal system. I don't think rooftop solar will solve all of our energy needs but it will be a percentage, say thirty percent in the sunbelt states with solar hot water kicking in  perhaps another ten percent of our energy needs. For our needs the rooftop system gives us thirty to forty percent of our power.

 The problem with photovoltaic panels is that pure silicon wafers are expensive to manufacture, extremely high tech dependent and there is a worldwide shortage of enough pure silicon since the demand for solar panels are high. I believe economy of scale can help solve this. Already there are nearly a dozen high tech plants springing up in China and they are set to rival the dominance of the market by Germany and Japan.

The other renewable source that is actually making a big difference in the Southwest part of the US is wind. For the remainder of our power not produced by the rooftop panels we can choose to buy wind energy for an extra one to two cents per kilowatt hour from our utility. The advantage is that we can lock in that rate with our utility for five years which is actually a pretty good deal. Like rooftop solar panels and the geothermal system, we are voting with our dollars for a renewable future.

For every homeowner that does the same economy of scale will be encouraged by that amount and eventually the price will compete (for solar) with other forms of energy. The other factor to consider is that even though your solar panel system seems costly now, when electricity is double or triple the current rate due to the shortage of natural gas or oil that is going to happen due to peak oil, the payback will be much faster then. 

Personally I'm sold on renewable energy and green building methods as a package. It doesn't make any sense to build a home that is energy inefficient and then put solar panels on the roof and call it green. That is being done a lot only to sell houses or make people feel good. What makes sense is to build a super insulated home, perhaps with ICF building methods, and not need as much energy to heat and cool it. You will have a quieter, safer home to boot.

The other thing that does not make any sense it to build a home that is energy efficient and then waste the savings by putting in a lot of energy wasters like hot tubs, flat screens that you leave on all day and so on. The temptation to spend the savings is natural. If you refused to take a job that was thirty miles from home before you bought the Prius, it should not be a good idea after you saved half the gas from buying one.

, I know alternative energy lovers like myself might seem like crazy zealots. Maybe we are, but what I feel is excitement and a need to share what I have learned with my neighbors and web site readers so that they may save money on down the road as Peak Oil has a greater and greater effect on our lives.

 I get a big smile on my face and a happy feeling when I walk by my outside meter and see it going backward on a sunny day.  Hopefully the trend will catch on as more people see the benefit to their wallets.

  Helpful Links: Rigzone.com  Rig Count Page   Schlumberger Dictionary   Baker Hughes   Peak Oil News Looking For Something? Search Amazon:  tips and advice and how to info.                                

     

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