Cover image for Charged : a history of batteries and lessons for a clean energy future / James Morton Turner ; foreword by Paul S. Sutter.
TITLE:
Charged : a history of batteries and lessons for a clean energy future / James Morton Turner ; foreword by Paul S. Sutter.
Publication Date:
2022
Publication Information:
Seattle, Wash. : University of Washington Press,
Physical Description:
xv, 234 p. : ill.
Subject Term:
Additional Contributors:
Bibliography Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-226) and index.
Summary:
Few technologies are more important to unlocking a clean-energy future than batteries. Batteries will help store electricity from solar panels and wind turbines. Batteries will help improve the reliability, versatility, and efficiency of the electric grid. And batteries will power a new generation of zero-emissions vehicles, from cars to bikes to planes. But while batteries may make it possible to scale up renewable energy sources and help to solve global warming while preserving the conveniences of modernity, this transition risks trading one set of resource dependencies and injustices for another, as batteries present their own unique environmental demands and consequences. How will scaling up the production of renewable energy technologies to meet the demands of a clean energy future affect workers and front-line communities who bear the risks and consequences of building this future? What role will batteries play in a "just transition" to a clean energy future?In this book, James Morton Turner explores the environmental history of the three most common battery types to yield insights in into the prospects, challenges, and material consequences of scaling up batteries to support a clean energy future.
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780295750248