Energy for future presidents: the science behind the headlines

I. Energy catastrophes. 1. Fukushima. Meltdown ; Radioactive release ; Radioactivity and death ; The Denver dose ; Bottom line : what should we do?

2. The Gulf Oil Spill. The Deepwater Horizon accident ; Damage ; Iatrogenic disease

3. Global warming and climate change. A brief introduction to global warming ; Tipping points ; Local variability ; Hurricanes ; Tornadoes ; Polar warming ; The hockey stick ; Sea level rise ; Assuming it is a threat : can we stop global warming? ; Geoengineering ; The global-warming controversy.

II. The energy landscape. Recycled energy

Energy security

4. The natural-gas windfall. Fracking and horizontal drilling ; Shale gas reserves ; Ocean methane

5. Liquid energy security. Hubbert's Peak

6. Shale oil

7. Energy productivity. Invest for a 17.8% annual return, tax-free, with no risk ; Invest for a 209% annual return, tax-free with no risk ; Government Energy Productivity Policy ; Other great investments: Cool roofs, More efficient autos, Energy-efficient refrigerators, The McKinsey Chart ; Feel-good measures that don't necessarily work: Buses, Recycling paper ; Power blackouts ; The smart grid: A case study : smart meters in California.

III. Alternative energy. 8. Solar surge. The physics of sunlight ; Solar thermal ; Photovoltaic cells: Silicon, CdTe (Cadmium Telluride), CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide), Multijunction cells ; Solar-cell summary

9. Wind

10. Energy storage. Batteries: The physics and chemistry of batteries, The future of batteries ; Bottled wind : compressed-air energy storage (CAES) ; Flywheels ; Supercapacitors ; Hydrogen and fuel cells ; Natural gas

11. The coming explosion of nuclear power. Blowing up ; Cost ; Small modular nuclear reactors ; Running out of uranium? ; Fukushima deaths ; Nuclear waste storage ; The coming nuclear explosion

12. Fusion. Tokamak ; NIF, the National Ignition Facility ; Beam fusion ; Muon fusion ; Cold fusion

13. Biofuels. Ethanol from corn ; Biodegradable is bad? ; Pseudo-biofuels ; Ethanol from cellulose ; Ethanol from algae

14. Synfuel and high-tech fossil fuels. Synfuel ; Coal bed methane ; Coal bed gasification ; Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) ; Oil sands

15. Alternative alternatives : hydrogen, geothermal, tidal, and wave power. Hydrogen ; Geothermal ; Tidal power ; Wave power

16. Electric automobiles. The electric auto fad: Tesla Roadster, Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf ; Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles ; Lead-acid batteries ; Recharge time ; Effective miles per gallon ; Ordinary hybrids ; Battery challenges

17. Natural-gas automobiles

18. Fuel cells

19. Clean coal.

IV. What is energy? The properties of energy. Energy in foods, fuels, and objects ; Is energy a thing?

The meaning of energy. Energy as taught to High School students and College freshmen ; Energy as taught to Sophomores ; Energy as taught to Juniors ; Energy as taught to Seniors and Graduates

The beauty of energy.

V. Advice for future presidents. Energy technology policy. Energy productivity ; Natural gas ; Shale oil ; Synfuel ; Hybrids and plug-in hybrids ; Nuclear

Key considerations. Global warming and China ; More on energy productivity ; Electric power grid and Venture Capitalism ; Subsidies ; Energy catastrophes

Beware. Beware of fats ; Beware of risk-benefit calculations ; Beware of the precautionary principle ; Beware of optimism bias and skepticism bias ; Beware of aphorisms

Your legacy.