front cover of Energy for Sustainability, Second Edition
Energy for Sustainability, Second Edition
Foundations for Technology, Planning, and Policy
John Randolph and Gilbert M. Masters
Island Press, 2018
Despite a 2016-18 glut in fossil fuel markets and decade-low fuel prices, the global transformation to sustainable energy is happening. Our ongoing energy challenges and solutions are complex and multidimensional, involving science, technology, design, economics, finance, planning, policy, politics, and social movements.

The most comprehensive book on this topic, Energy for Sustainability has been the go-to resource for courses. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to inform and guide students and practitioners who will steer this transformation.

Drawing on a combined 80 years of teaching experience, John Randolph and Gilbert Masters take a holistic and interdisciplinary approach. Energy for Sustainability can help techies and policymakers alike understand the mechanisms required to enable conversion to energy that is clean, affordable, and secure. Major revisions to this edition reflect the current changes in technology and energy use and focus on new analyses, data, and methods necessary to understand and actively participate in the transition to sustainable energy.

The book begins with energy literacy, including patterns and trends, before covering the fundamentals of energy related to physics, engineering, and economics. The next parts explore energy technologies and opportunities in three important energy sectors: buildings, electricity, and transportation. The final section focuses on policy and planning, presenting the critical role of public policy and consumer and investor choice in transforming energy markets to greater sustainability. Throughout the book, methods for energy and economic analysis and design give readers a quantitative appreciation for and understanding of energy systems. The book uses case studies extensively to demonstrate current experience and illustrate possibilities.

Students will gain an understanding of what it takes to achieve clean, affordable, sustainable energy. Supplemental materials are available at www.islandpress.org/energy 
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front cover of Energy for Sustainability
Energy for Sustainability
Technology, Planning, Policy
John Randolph and Gilbert M. Masters
Island Press, 2008
Energy for Sustainability is the first undergraduate textbook on renewable energy and energy efficiency with a unique focus on the community scale. Written by two of the foremost experts in the field, it is a pedagogically complete treatment of energy sources and uses. It examines the full range of issues—from generating technologies to land use planning—in making the transition to sustainable energy.

The book begins by providing a historical perspective on energy use by human civilizations and then covers energy fundamentals and trends; buildings and energy; sustainable electricity; sustainable transportation and land use; and energy policy and planning. Included in these topical areas are in-depth discussions of all of the most promising sources of renewable energy, including solar photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, and biofuels. In addition, the authors offer a thorough presentation of “green” building design, the impact of land use and transportation patterns on energy use, and the policies needed to transform energy markets at the local, state, and national levels. Throughout, the authors first provide the necessary theory and then demonstrate how it can be applied, utilizing cutting-edge practices and technologies, and the most current available data.

Since the dawn of the industrial age, the explosive growth in economic productivity has been fueled by oil, coal, and natural gas. World energy use nearly doubled between 1975 and 2005. China’s energy use has been doubling every decade. The implications for the environment are staggering. One way or another, our reliance on fossil fuels will have to end. Energy for Sustainability evaluates the alternatives and helps students understand how, with good planning and policy decisions, renewable energy and efficiency can support world demands at costs we can afford—economically, environmentally, and socially.
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front cover of Environmental Land Use Planning and Management
Environmental Land Use Planning and Management
John Randolph
Island Press, 2003

Environmental Land Use Planning and Management is a unique new textbook that presents a diverse, comprehensive, and coordinated approach to issues of land use planning and management and their impacts on the environment. It builds on recent advances in environmental science, engineering, and geospatial information technologies to provide students with the scientific foundation they need to understand both natural land systems and engineering approaches that can mitigate impacts of land use practices. While offering a base of knowledge in planning theory and natural science, its primary emphasis is on describing and explaining emerging approaches, methods, and techniques for environmental land use planning, design, and policy.

The book is divided into two parts. Part I, "Environmental Land Use Management," introduces broad concepts of environmental planning and describes management approaches. Those approaches include collaborative environmental management, land conservation, environmental design, government land use management, natural hazard mitigation, and ecosystem and watershed management. Part II, "Environmental Land Use Principles and Planning Analysis," focuses on land analysis methods, such as geospatial data and geographic information systems (GIS); soils and slope analysis; assessment of stormwater quantity and quality; land use and groundwater protection; ecological assessment for vegetation, wetlands, and habitats; and integrated analytical techniques like land suitability analysis, carrying capacity studies, and environmental impact assessment.

Environmental Land Use Planning and Managementoffers a unique interdisciplinary perspective with an emphasis on application. It is an important new text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in environmental planning, landscape architecture, geography, environmental studies, and natural resource management, and a valuable resource for professionals and others concerned with issues of environmental planning and land use.

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front cover of Environmental Land Use Planning and Management
Environmental Land Use Planning and Management
Second Edition
John Randolph
Island Press, 2011
Since the first publication of this landmark textbook in 2004, it has received high praise for its clear, comprehensive, and practical approach.  The second edition continues to offer a unique framework for teaching and learning interdisciplinary environmental planning, incorporating the latest thinking, newest research findings, and numerous, updated case studies into the solid foundation of the first edition.

The book has been reorganized based on feedback from instructors, and contains a new chapter entitled "Land Use, Energy, Air Quality and Climate Change." Throughout, boxes have been added on such topics as federal laws, state and local environmental programs, and critical problems and responses.

This new edition addresses three broad subject areas. Part I, "Environmental Planning and Management," provides an overview of the field, along with the fundamentals of land use planning, and presents a collaborative approach to environmental planning. Part II, "Sustainable Land Use Principles and Planning Analysis," considers environmental and geospatial information; soils, topography, and land use; stream flow, flooding, and runoff; stormwater management and stream restoration; groundwater hydrology; landscape ecology; wildlife habitats and biodiversity; energy, air quality and climate change; and methods for land analysis. Part III, "Managing Watersheds, Ecosystems and Development to Achieve Sustainable Communities," explains the principles of ecosystem management, restoration, and protection; land conservation; and the mitigation of natural hazards.

With this thoroughly revised second edition, Environmental Land Use Planning and Management maintains its preeminence as the leading textbook in its field.
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front cover of Environmental Regulations and Housing Costs
Environmental Regulations and Housing Costs
Arthur C. Nelson, John Randolph, Joseph M. Schilling, Jonathan Logan, James M. McElfish, Jr., and Newport Partners LLC
Island Press, 2009
Many communities across the nation still lack affordable housing. And many officials continue to claim that “affordable housing” is an oxymoron. Building inexpensively is impossible, they say, because there are too many regulations. Required environmental impact statements and habitat protection laws, they contend, drive up the costs of construction. But is this actually true? In a comprehensive study of the question, the authors of this eye-opening book separate fact from myth.
With admirable clarity, they describe the policy debate from its beginning, review the economic theory, trace the evolution of development regulation, and summarize the major research on the topic. In addition, they offer their own research, accompanied by a case study of two strikingly different Washington, D.C., suburbs. They also include results of focus groups conducted in Dallas, Denver, and Tucson. The authors find that environmental regulatory costs—as a share of total costs and processes—are about the same now as they were thirty years ago, even though there are far more regulations today. They find, too, that environmental regulations may actually create benefits that could improve the value of housing.
Although they conclude that regulations do not appear to drive up housing costs more now than in the past, they do offer recommendations of ways in which the processes associated with regulations—including review procedures—could be improved and could result in cost savings. Intended primarily for professionals who are involved in, or impacted by, regulations—from public officials, planners, and engineers to housing developers and community activists—this book will provide useful insights and data to anyone who wants to know if (and how) American housing can actually be made “affordable.”
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