Bakke, Gretchen Anna, author.

The grid : the fraying wires between Americans and our energy future / Gretchen Bakke.

New York, NY : Bloomsbury USA, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016.
©2016

xxx, 352 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

"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perceptive, and deeply researched fashion, cultural anthropologist Gretchen Bakke uses the history of an increasingly outdated infrastructure to show how the United States has gone from seemingly infinite technological prowess to a land of structural instability.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.

9781608196104 (hardcover)
1608196100 (hardcover)
(epub)
9781620401248

Electric power systems Technological innovations United States.
Electric power distribution United States History.
Clean energy United States.
Electric power failures United States.
Energy policy Social aspects United States.
Réseaux électriques (Énergie) Innovations États-Unis.
Électricité Vente États-Unis Histoire.
Énergies propres États-Unis.
Pannes d'électricité États-Unis.
Politique énergétique Aspect social États-Unis.
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING Power Resources Electrical.
SOCIAL SCIENCE Sociology General.
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS Infrastructure.
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING Environmental General.
SCIENCE Electricity.
Clean energy
Electric power distribution
Electric power failures
Electric power systems Technological innovations
Energy policy Social aspects
United States

History

Localisation: Bibliothèque main 297736
Cote: BIB 244082
Statut: Disponible