Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-216).

Of megawatts and meadowlarks : a Wyoming wind farm -- Angels and monsters : a Wyoming coal-fired power plant -- Fission and fishing : a Nebraska nuclear power plant -- Solids, liquids, and gases : a Texas gas field -- Homegrown revolution : an Iowa biomass research facility -- Journey a little way into the Earth : a Utah geothermal plant -- Water, water, everywhere : a Kentucky hydropower plant -- Don't let the sun go down, without capturing its energy : a Nevada solar-thermal power plant -- Harnessing the moon : a Maine tidal power project. "In our power-hungry world, all the talk about energy-what's safe and what's risky, what's clean and what's dirty, what's cheap and what's easy-tends to generate more heat than light. What, Julianne Couch wanted to know, is the real story on power production in this country? Approaching the question as a curious consumer, Couch takes us along as she visits nine sites where electrical power is developed from different fuel sources. From a geothermal plant in the Mojave Desert to a nuclear plant in Nebraska, from a Wyoming coal-fired power plant to a Maine tidal-power project, Couch gives us as she visits nine sites where electrical power is developed from different fuel sources. From a geothermal plant in the Mojave Desert to a nuclear plant in Nebraska, from a Wyoming coal-fired power plant to a Maine tidal-power project, Couch gives us an insider's look at how power is generated, how it affects neighboring landscapes and the people who live and work there, and how each source comes with its own unique complications."--Back cover.