Energy Harvesting: Solar, Wind, and Ocean Energy Conversion Systems Book

I'm suddenly surrounded by very environmentally friendly folk, and I know pretty much nothing about the subject. Now my students are telling me that using plastic water bottles (and recycling them) is *still* not good, so I found myself motivated to learn more.

That doesn't really directly drive me to this book, but I knew I had it and figured I'd give it a try. I really appreciated the history that the Hoffman includes early on in the book. I also appreciated the explanations of the different kinds of sources of energy that are available to us.

Before reading the book, I think it's important to look at the information about the authors themselves. This isn't a book about why you should recycle your bottles and not waste water, though those are important things. We're talking about saving our poor planet and the people who live here, so this talks about issues on the government level. But the authors aren't pointing fingers at bad people and telling us to take our money elsewhere. I recently read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, and one of the messages I pulled from it is that people, in general, just aren't paying enough attention to their health, and that it really might not be a bad idea to put more money into our food if that means we're eating healthier. What I've gotten out of reading this book is that we need to think smarter about environmentalism and, since it seems necessary, make a connection between the environment and the economy. It needs to become our priority.