Cloud based data management

Geeks Guide₂ When it comes to climate change, techies get their fair share of the abuse. Whether it's being told to unplug your mobile phone or laptop at night, or to cut down on your Google searches (why not go make a cuppa instead?), we're constantly reminded that our energy guzzling lifestyles cannot last forever.

David JC MacKay's "Sustainable Energy - without the hot air" came like a bolt from the blue, receiving accolades for its 'does what it says on the tin' approach to the climate change debate. With helpful doses of dry humour, MacKay does away with common adjectives such as 'huge amounts of renewable power are available'; instead he concerns himself solely with the numbers and using them to answer some key questions. These include: can Britain live on renewable energy resources alone? And how can a country like Britain make a realistic post fossil fuel energy plan that adds up.

Steering away from politics and economics, Sustainable Energy is satisfied with providing you with the numbers that are both thought provoking and easy to grasp. MacKay encourages you to make your own mind up - leaving you to ponder the hard facts (which are simplified by using a single measurement for each form of power consumption and production) and decipher sense from nonsense when looking at the alternatives to fossil fuels.

Highly visual and with a great use of diagrams (some being somewhat 'alternative' in their style) it discusses everything from wind and solar to cars, planes and gadgets. It's a common sense approach to a delicate topic and provides people with limited knowledge of the subject and enough information to make an informed decision of their own - without the bias.

Want to learn more? Sustainable Energy is available for entirely free (no registration required) at its official website in PDF format. The hardback and paperback editions are available now at Register Books with free delivery on orders over £25.

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