Basic Energy Science: A Citizen’s Guide to Energy Choices is intended to give a broad audience an understanding of the energy challenges and opportunities that human society currently faces. The digital book is broken up into seven modules, and the emphasis is on developing a broad understanding of the pros and cons surrounding different energy sources. Plain language is used throughout, with the goal of allowing students of any background to make informed choices about energy in the modern world.
Jonathan Kelman, PhD is a Senior Sustainability Scientist and Instructor at the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. He has been teaching political science, international studies and energy at the university level since 2004, and has been teaching courses of his own design for the School of Sustainability’s Energy and Sustainability Certificate since 2013. He earned his doctorate in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine, and a BA in Nuclear Studies from the University of North Carolina, Asheville. He has also served as an analyst for an energy consulting firm. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Tempe, Arizona.
UNIT 1: What is Energy?
UNIT 2: Coal and Natural Gas, the Status Quo
UNIT 3: Nuclear Fission
UNIT 4: Renewables
UNIT 5: Efficiency and Electricity
UNIT 6: Oil and Transportation Alternatives
UNIT 7: Anthropogenic Climate Change