The grid : the fraying wires between Americans and our energy future / Gretchen Bakke.
2016
KF2125 .B35 2016 (Mapit)
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Title
The grid : the fraying wires between Americans and our energy future / Gretchen Bakke.
Imprint
New York, NY : Bloomsbury USA, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016.
Copyright
©2016.
Description
xxx, 352 pages ; 25 cm
Formatted Contents Note
The way of the wind
How the grid got its wires
The consolidation of power
The cardigan path
Things fall apart
Two birds, one stone
A tale of two storms
In search of the Holy Grail
American zeitgeist
Afterword: Contemplating death in the afternoon.
How the grid got its wires
The consolidation of power
The cardigan path
Things fall apart
Two birds, one stone
A tale of two storms
In search of the Holy Grail
American zeitgeist
Afterword: Contemplating death in the afternoon.
Summary
"The grid is an accident of history and of culture, in no way intrinsic to how we produce, deliver and consume electrical power. Yet this is the system the United States ended up with, a jerry-built structure now so rickety and near collapse that a strong wind or a hot day can bring it to a grinding halt. The grid is now under threat from a new source: renewable and variable energy, which puts stress on its logics as much as its components. In entertaining, perceptive, and deeply researched fashion, cultural anthropologist Gretchen Bakke uses the history of an increasingly outdated infrastructure to show how the United States has gone from seemingly infinite technological prowess to a land of structural instability. She brings humor and a bright eye to contemporary solutions and to the often surprising ways in which these succeed or fail. And the consequences of failure are significant. Our national electrical grid grew during an era when monopoly, centralization and standardization meant strength. Yet as we've increasingly become a nation that caters to local needs, and as a plethora of new, renewable energy sources comes on line, our massive system is dangerously out of step. Charting the history of our electrical grid, Bakke helps us see what we all take for granted, shows it as central to our culture and identity as a people, and reveals it to be the linchpin in our aspirations for a clean energy future"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Location
STA
Call Number
KF2125 .B35 2016
Language
English
ISBN
9781608196104 hardcover
1608196100 hardcover
1608196100 hardcover
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