Endorsements for Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air

Prof Mike Ashby

Royal Society Research Professor, Principal Investigator, Engineering Design Centre, Cambridge

MacKay brings a welcome dose of common sense into the discussion of energy sources and use. Fresh air replacing hot air.

Prof Ian Fells CBE

founding chairman of the New and Renewable Energy Centre

David MacKay's book "Sustainable Energy without hot air" is an intellectually satisfying, refreshing contribution to really understanding the complex issues of energy supply and use. It debunks the emotional claptrap which passes for energy policy and puts real numbers into the equations. It should be read by everyone, especially politicians.

Prof Daan Frenkel FRS

The choices that we make (or fail to make) in the coming years about sustainable energy will determine what world future generations will inherit. How do we arrive at rational decisions? In his book, David MacKay does not tell us what to choose but how to. He shows that choosing between different energy options should never be a matter of whom you believe: basic arithmetic is all it takes to distinguish between viable strategies and pipedreams. Understanding our options is one thing. Acting upon this information is another.

Bob White FRS

Professor of Geophysics, Cambridge University

If everyone lived in the same way as we do in the West we would need three whole planets like earth to fuel our habits. You don?t have to be a rocket scientist to work out that this isn?t sustainable. But its seductively easy to ignore. The people who will suffer most from our profligate use of natural resources are those on the other side of the world in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia and our as-yet unborn children and grandchildren. They are out of sight and out of mind. We excuse ourselves by saying that the inevitable march of technology is bound to bring a solution.

Darran Messem

Vice President Fuel Development, Royal Dutch Shell

By focusing on the metrics of energy consumption and production, in addition to the aspiration we all share for viable renewable energy, David MacKay's book provides a welcome addition to the energy literature. "Sustainable Energy - without the hot air" is a vast undertaking that provides both a practical guide and a reference manual. Perhaps ironically for a book on sustainable energy, MacKay's account of the numbers illustrates just how challenging replacing fossil fuel will be, and why both energy conservation and new energy technology are necessary.

Prof. Volker Heine FRS

Conversations, newspapers and committees often make me wonder "Is it only physicists who care about how important or how big some issue is?". Here are the numbers in a form easy to digest about energy use and availability. Fantastic achievement.

Lord Oxburgh KBE FRS

Former Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell

…a really valuable contribution… uses a potent mixture of arithmetic and common sense to dispel some myths and slay some sacred cows.

Prof David Newbery FBA

Director, Electricity Policy Research Group, University of Cambridge

This is a brilliant book that is both a racy read and hugely informative.

Graham Stuart MP

David Mackay sets out to dispel the half truths, distortions and nonsense which make up so much of what we're told about climate change and our energy needs. It's readable, accessible and thorough. He cuts through unfounded opinion and takes us to facts and figures which speak for themselves. It's a useful guide for both layman and expert…

Peter Ainsworth MP

Shadow Secretary of State, for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs

… engagingly written, packed with useful information, and refreshingly factual.

Michael Meacher MP

Former Minister of State for the Environment

So much uninformed rhetoric is thrown about on climate change and energy systems that there is an urgent need for an authoritative study setting out just what can and cannot realistically be done to achieve sustainable energy. This hugely important book fills that gap both technically and highly readably. It should be a 'must read' not only at home and in industry, but on each Government Minister's desk, and not just in the UK.

Professor Sir David King

Director, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford

This remarkable book from an expert in the energy field sets out, with enormous clarity and objectivity, the various alternative low carbon pathways that are open to us. Policy makers, researchers, private sector decision makers, and NGOs, all will benefit from these words of wisdom.

Dr Derek Pooley CBE

Former Chief Scientist at the UK Department of Energy and Member of the European Union Advisory Group on Energy

...a delight to read... this fascinating book is a mine of quantitative information.So much has been written about meeting future energy needs that it hardly seems possible to add anything useful, but David MacKay has managed it. His new book is a delight to read and will appeal especially to practical people who want to understand what is important in energy and what is not.