Sustainable Energy: Resources, Technology and Planning

Almost every individual, organisational, and societal activity is linked to, and dependent on, the use of one or more forms of energy. The development of a nation and the quality of life of its population is closely related to the amount and types of energy consumption. In the face of an increasing world population, improving the standard of living in developing countries, and maintaining the levels that have been reached in advanced industrialised countries, will require a considerable increase in the world’s use of energy. The challenge is to make this use compatible with sustainability.

Providing a broad introduction, this book discusses some of the fundamental considerations associated with energy sustainability. The text is written for advanced undergraduates and first-year postgraduates in energy resources, technology and planning and related areas. It should also appeal to the many professionals in industries concerned with energy technology, management and energy systems sustainability. These include specialists in energy project management, energy information systems, systems analysis and simulation of energy systems.

Contents: History and Introduction; Systems Analysis of Energy Systems; Energy Resources; Energy Technology; Energy Economics; Energy Planning and Policy; Energy and Society; Energy and the Global Environment; Glossary of Energy Terms; Bibliography.

Sustainable Food and Agriculture

Over the past two decades, a growing movement has emerged to question the role of the agricultural establishment in promoting practices that contribute to such problems as topsoil depletion, groundwater contamination, the decline of family farms, escalating costs of production, and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities. Now gaining increasing support and acceptance within mainstream agriculture, this movement for sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals – environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity.

This text is written for both advanced undergraduate and graduate students in food and agricultural resources, technology and planning and related areas including economics, sociology and environmental studies. It will also be of interest to the many professionals in industries concerned with food and agriculture technology, management and sustainable food and agriculture systems, such as specialists in project management, information systems, systems analysis and simulation of systems.

Sustainable Water Resources Management

Water is not only essential to sustain life, but also to the support of ecosystems, economic development, community well being, and cultural values. Professionals in water resources have an obligation to plan and manage water resource systems so that they will fully contribute to an improved quality of life for all people, now and in the future. Water resource systems that can satisfy the changing demands inevitably placed on them without significant system degradation can rightly be called sustainable.

Discussing some of the fundamental factors and approaches connected with water sustainability, this book provides a broad introduction to the subject. Written for both advanced undergraduates and first-year postgraduates in water resources, technology and planning and such related areas as water economics, water-society links and water impacts on the global environment, it will also be of interest to the many professionals in industries concerned with water technology, management and systems sustainability. Others who will find this volume useful include those active in water project management, water information systems, systems analysis and simulation of water systems.