Cuba's Energy Future

Cuba's Energy Future PDF Author: Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0815704593
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
Approaching an uncertain future without Fidel Castro, and still reeling from a downturn at the end of the cold war, Cuba must act decisively to improve its economy and living conditions. One of the major challenges facing the impoverished island nation is securing access to energy resources that are sufficient to meet the needs of its revitalization and development goals. What steps can Cuba take to achieve both short- and long-term energy sustainability and self-sufficiency? In this timely analysis, Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado and his colleagues answer that question. Cuba's Energy Future sets the geostrategic context within which Cuba is operating. The book provides an overview of the evolving relations among Caribbean states and explains why Cuba and its longtime nemesis the United States should look for ways to cooperate on developing energy resources. The possible role of oil companies is explored, as is Cuba's energy relationship with Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. The second section of Cuba's Energy Future features economic and technical appraisals, economic projections, and trends affecting Cuba's energy needs, including oil and natural gas potential, the country's antiquated electric power sector, and the role of biofuels such as sugarcane ethanol. The concluding section focuses on the conditions necessary for, and the mutual benefits of, greater cooperative engagement with the United States. Contributors: Juan A. B. Belt (Chemonics International, formerly USAID), Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado (University of Nebraska–Omaha and University of Georgia), Amy Myers Jaffe (Rice University), Jorge R. Piñón (Florida International University), Ronald Soligo (Rice University).

Cuba's Energy Future

Cuba's Energy Future PDF Author: Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0815704593
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 159

Get Book

Book Description
Approaching an uncertain future without Fidel Castro, and still reeling from a downturn at the end of the cold war, Cuba must act decisively to improve its economy and living conditions. One of the major challenges facing the impoverished island nation is securing access to energy resources that are sufficient to meet the needs of its revitalization and development goals. What steps can Cuba take to achieve both short- and long-term energy sustainability and self-sufficiency? In this timely analysis, Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado and his colleagues answer that question. Cuba's Energy Future sets the geostrategic context within which Cuba is operating. The book provides an overview of the evolving relations among Caribbean states and explains why Cuba and its longtime nemesis the United States should look for ways to cooperate on developing energy resources. The possible role of oil companies is explored, as is Cuba's energy relationship with Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. The second section of Cuba's Energy Future features economic and technical appraisals, economic projections, and trends affecting Cuba's energy needs, including oil and natural gas potential, the country's antiquated electric power sector, and the role of biofuels such as sugarcane ethanol. The concluding section focuses on the conditions necessary for, and the mutual benefits of, greater cooperative engagement with the United States. Contributors: Juan A. B. Belt (Chemonics International, formerly USAID), Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado (University of Nebraska–Omaha and University of Georgia), Amy Myers Jaffe (Rice University), Jorge R. Piñón (Florida International University), Ronald Soligo (Rice University).

Conventional Energy in North America

Conventional Energy in North America PDF Author: Jorge Morales Pedraza
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 012814890X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
Conventional Energy in North America: Current and Future Sources for Electricity Generation provides in-depth information on the current state of conventional energy sources used for electricity generation in the United States and Canada. As energy is a major force of civilization, determining, to a high degree, the level of economic and social development, this book provides relevant information and a deep analysis regarding the main problems associated with the use of fossil fuels for the generation of electricity in both countries. Finally, the book offers guidance for countries seeking to expand their use of conventional energy sources for electricity generation. Users in government, energy experts, economists, politicians, academics, scientific institutions and universities, international organizations and the private and public power industry will find this book to be a great reference on what type of conventional energy sources should be used for electricity generation with the aim of reducing the emission of CO2 and other contaminated gases to the atmosphere. Includes comprehensive information on the different types of conventional energy sources available in the USA and Canada, including their impact on climate, level of energy reserves, and levels of production and consumption Covers the pros and cons of each type of conventional energy source for electricity generation Features an analysis of what types of conventional energy sources should be used for future electricity generation in the USA and Canada, with the aim of reducing the emission of CO2 and other contaminated gas to the atmosphere

Power to the People

Power to the People PDF Author: Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135960690
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
First published in 2000. Why would Cuba, an isolated and impoverished country, be trying to develop a nuclear energy capability and why would it attempt to expand its energy generation capability when it can barely feed its population? This book seeks to clarify the risks and opportunities associated with the development and expansion of the Cuban energy sector. Once reliant on imported fossil fuels as well as Russia1s willingness to underwrite its energy development schemes, post-Cold War Cuba is now confronted with the daunting tasks of expanding its energy capabilities while simultaneously replacing its energy infrastructure. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Cuba, this book looks in depth at the economic, social, and political implications of what is rapidly becoming one of the next century1s most important public policy issues in Cuba.

The Low-Carbon Contradiction

The Low-Carbon Contradiction PDF Author: Gustav Cederlof
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520393139
Category : Carbon dioxide mitigation
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
"In the pursuit of socialism, Cuba became Latin America's most oil dependent economy. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the country lost 86 percent of its crude oil supplies, resulting in a severe energy crisis. In the face of this shock, Cuba started to develop a low-carbon economy on the basis of economic and social reform rather than high-tech innovation. The Low Carbon Contradiction examines this period of rapid low-carbon energy transition, which many have described as a "Cuban miracle" or even a real-life case of successful "degrowth". Based on original research inside households and workplaces, universities and government offices, Gustav Cederlöf retells the history of the Cuban Revolution as one of profound environmental and infrastructural change. In doing so, he opens up new questions about energy transitions, their politics, and the conditions of a socially just low-carbon future. The Cuban experience shows how a society can transform itself while rapidly cutting carbon emissions in the search for sustainability"--

Energy's Digital Future

Energy's Digital Future PDF Author: Amy Myers Jaffe
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231551843
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Disruptive digital technologies are poised to reshape world energy markets. A new wave of industrial innovation, driven by the convergence of automation, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics, is remaking energy and transportation systems in ways that could someday end the age of oil. What are the consequences—not only for the environment and for daily life but also for geopolitics and the international order? Amy Myers Jaffe provides an expert look at the promises and challenges of the future of energy, highlighting what the United States needs to do to maintain its global influence in a post-oil era. She surveys new advances coming to market in on-demand travel services, automation, logistics, energy storage, artificial intelligence, and 3-D printing and explores how this rapid pace of innovation is altering international security dynamics in fundamental ways. As the United States vacillates politically about its energy trajectory, China is proactively striving to become the global frontrunner in a full-scale global energy transformation. In order to maintain its leadership role, Jaffe argues, the United States must embrace the digital revolution and foster American achievement. Bringing together analyses of technological innovation, energy policy, and geopolitics, Energy’s Digital Future gives indispensable insight into the path the United States will need to pursue to ensure its lasting economic competitiveness and national security in a new energy age.

Conquering Nature

Conquering Nature PDF Author: Sergio Diaz-Briquets
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Pre
ISBN: 0822972093
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Conquering Nature provides the only book-length analysis of the environmental situation in Cuba after four decades of socialist rule, based on extensive examination of secondary sources, informed by the study of development and environmental trends in former socialist countries as well as in the developing world. It approaches the issue comprehensively and from interdisciplinary, comparative, and historical perspectives. Based on the Cuban example, Díaz-Briquets and Pérez-López challenge the concept that environmental disruption was not supposed to occur under socialism since it was alleged that guided by scientific policies, socialism could only beget environmentally benign economic development. In reality, the socialist environmental record proved to be far different from the utopian view. Between the early 1960s and the late 1980s the environmental situation worsened despite Cuba's achieving one of the lowest population growth rates in the world and having eliminated extreme living standard differentials in rural areas, two of the primary reasons often blamed for environmental deterioration in developing countries. The government's approach was to “conquer nature” and under its central planning approach, it did not take local circumstances into consideration. This disregard for the environmental consequences of development projects continues to this day despite official allegations to the contrary—as the country pursues an economic survival strategy based on the crash development of the tourist sector and exploitation of natural resources. An underlying conclusion of the book is that the environmental legacy of socialism will present serious challenges to future Cuban generations. Conquering Nature provides, for the first time, a relevant analysis of socialist environmental policies of a developing country. It will be of interest to students and scholars of Cuba and those interested in environmental issues in developing countries.

Energy Kingdoms

Energy Kingdoms PDF Author: Jim Krane
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231548923
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 141

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Book Description
After the discovery of oil in the 1930s, the Gulf monarchies—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Bahrain—went from being among the world’s poorest and most isolated places to some of its most ostentatiously wealthy. To maintain support, the ruling sheikhs provide their subjects with boundless cheap energy, unwittingly leading to some of the highest consumption rates on earth. Today, as summertime temperatures set new records, the Gulf’s rulers find themselves caught in a dilemma: can they curb their profligacy without jeopardizing the survival of some of the world’s last absolute monarchies? In Energy Kingdoms, Jim Krane takes readers inside these monarchies to consider their conundrum. He traces the history of the Gulf states’ energy use and policies, looking in particular at how energy subsidies have distorted demand. Oil exports are the lifeblood of their political-economic systems—and the basis of their strategic importance—but domestic consumption has begun eating into exports while climate change threatens to render their desert region uninhabitable. At risk are the sheikhdoms’ way of life, their relations with their Western protectors, and their political stability in a chaotic region. Backed by rich fieldwork and deep knowledge of the region, Krane expertly lays out the hard choices that Gulf leaders face to keep their states viable.

Empowering the Great Energy Transition

Empowering the Great Energy Transition PDF Author: Scott Valentine
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231546424
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
At a time when climate-change deniers hold the reins of power in the United States and international greenhouse gas negotiations continue at a slow crawl, what options are available to cities, companies, and consumers around the world who seek a cleaner future? Scott Victor Valentine, Marilyn A. Brown, and Benjamin K. Sovacool explore developments and strategies that will help fast-track the transition to renewable energy. They provide an expert analysis of the achievable steps that citizens, organizational leaders, and policy makers can take to put their commitments to sustainability into practice. Empowering the Great Energy Transition examines trends that suggest a transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources is inevitable—there are too many forces for change at work to stop a shift to clean energy. Yet under the status quo, change will be too slow to avert the worst consequences of climate change. Humanity is on a path to incur avoidable social, environmental, and economic costs. Valentine, Brown, and Sovacool argue that new policies and business models are needed to surmount the hurdles separating the current consumption model from a sustainable energy future. Empowering the Great Energy Transition shows that with well-placed efforts, we can set humanity on a course that supports entrepreneurs and communities in mitigating the environmental harm caused by technologies whose time has come and gone.

Climate Change

Climate Change PDF Author: Jason Smerdon
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231518188
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
Climate Change is geared toward a variety of students and general readers who seek the real science behind global warming. Exquisitely illustrated, the text introduces the basic science underlying both the natural progress of climate change and the effect of human activity on the deteriorating health of our planet. Noted expert and author Edmond A. Mathez synthesizes the work of leading scholars in climatology and related fields, and he concludes with an extensive chapter on energy production, anchoring this volume in economic and technological realities and suggesting ways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Climate Change opens with the climate system fundamentals: the workings of the atmosphere and ocean, their chemical interactions via the carbon cycle, and the scientific framework for understanding climate change. Mathez then brings the climate of the past to bear on our present predicament, highlighting the importance of paleoclimatology in understanding the current climate system. Subsequent chapters explore the changes already occurring around us and their implications for the future. In a special feature, Jason E. Smerdon, associate research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, provides an innovative appendix for students.

Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation

Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation PDF Author: Ottmar Edenhofer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781139248709
Category : Climate change mitigation
Languages : en
Pages : 1076

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Book Description
This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SRREN) assesses the potential role of renewable energy in the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy sources - bioenergy, solar, geothermal, hydropower, ocean and wind energy - as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It considers the environmental and social consequences associated with the deployment of these technologies and presents strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion. SRREN brings a broad spectrum of technology-specific experts together with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. Prepared following strict IPCC procedures, it presents an impartial assessment of the current state of knowledge: it is policy relevant but not policy prescriptive. SRREN is an invaluable assessment of the potential role of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change for policymakers, the private sector and academic researchers.