Reference Reviews

Doug’s Student Reference Room

U.S. National Debate Topic 2008-2009: Alternative Energy, edited by Paul McCaffrey. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 2008. 198 pp. ISBN: 978-0-8242-1080-9. $50.00.

This edition in the Reference Shelf series considers the timely debate over whether the American federal government should expand alternative energy incentives. The articles, reprinted from a variety of sources including books, magazines and speeches on the issue, examine renewable fuel sources, exploring their benefits, drawbacks and viability—do they have the potential for “widespread, efficient and cost-effective use”? An editor’s introduction prefaces each of the volume’s six chapters, providing appropriate background information. The articles (three to six per chapter) present discussions from various points of view. The first chapter explores the phenomenon of global warming and the mechanisms behind it; the editor notes one writer’s contention that “steep reductions in carbon emissions are required if catastrophic changes are to be forestalled,” and goes on to present another article’s warning against climate-change alarmism. “There are, of course, good reasons for controlling many emissions and finding alternative sources to fossil fuel,” Thomas Sieger Derr remarks, “but stopping global warming is not one of them.” The second chapter examines the development of biofuels as an alternative to conventional petroleum. Some articles consider both the possibility that biofuels may help alleviate American dependence on foreign oil while also decreasing our greenhouse gas emissions; others question the fuels’ efficiency and effectiveness, as well as their potential for widespread use. The third chapter offers closer analysis of two alternative energy sources, the sun and the wind, discussing both their vast potential and their potential shortcomings. Hydrogen technology is the focal point of the pieces in the fourth chapter, which highlights the various impediments to hydrogen’s emergence as a primary power source while also presenting its viability as an alternative fuel. The fifth chapter looks at the science behind hydropower, as well as its environmental toll. Selections also explore the possibility that hydroelectric and wave power may be used to counteract climate change. The final chapter discusses the potential of geothermal power as a fuel source. The volume concludes with a comprehensive bibliography of books, websites and additional periodical articles, as well as a subject index. Recommended for high school, public and college libraries.
—Doug Achterman