Course: REEC 120 Sustainability and Renewable Energy

Unit 8 Overview

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In Unit 8 we are going to explore materials from the book Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air by David Mackay. You are expected to read five sections:

- “Gadgets,” pages 68-72
- “Stuff,” pages 88-95
- “Public Services,” pages 100-102
- “Stuff II,” pages 322-326
- “Efficient Electricity Use," pages 155-156

The rest of this unit has been adapted from a presentation by Timothy Wilhelm, from Kankakee Community College.

The topics covered in this week’s readings are my favorite. I think you will find some amusement in the “Truth about Chargers” section. I think it is clear that most folks want energy conservation to happen and something as simple as unplugging items when not in use seems like a solution to them. David’s analogy is quite fitting: switching off a phone charger is like bailing out the Titanic with a teaspoon. Clearly we need to limit our impact, but the means of some of these outcomes is trivial.

1 second of driving, ONE second of driving is equal to the energy saved by switching off a charger for one day.