THE CLEAN ENERGY AGE

A comprehensive, practical guide to clean, renewable energy.

Nagy’s nonfiction debut begins by laying out some basic realities: “Climate change,” he says, “is a serious problem” and simply “ignoring it…is untenable.” But some solutions to the problem, he notes, have plenty of health and economic benefits. Nagy initially concentrates on three infrastructure-related energy challenges—buildings, power structures, and transportation—and he details obstacles and innovative approaches connected with each. Citing advancements in clean-energy technology and the so-called “internet of things,” Nagy discusses how corporations and individual homeowners have been lessening their carbon footprints and increasing the efficiency of their heating and cooling systems. “Smart” buildings, designed to minimize energy loss, are increasingly practical and affordable, he asserts. Nagy also targets persistent myths about switching over to renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, or geothermal power; he cites reassuring research into questions regarding intermittent supply, affordability, animal habitat destruction, and noise pollution, and he assuages concerns about putting old power industries out of business. Throughout, the author interviews not only specialists in different types of power usage, but also ordinary consumers from all walks of life as they confront new economic and environmental factors. It’s a thorough and wide-ranging approach that aligns neatly with the book’s broader message, which offers unexpected hope in the face of a drastic problem—one that’s coming whether we prepare for it or not. Nagy effectively counters doomsayers by constantly pointing out real-world measures that can be taken today to lessen the impact of change down the line—and maybe improve things in the short run, as well: “Your choices today will make you important beyond your time and beyond your circle of family and friends,” he writes. “You can achieve something.”

A sweeping and empowering look at a new era of energy production.