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larryerick's review
4.0
This is a book directed towards Americans about their energy usage and how best to obtain it and use it. As such, it accomplishes its task, but it does so in a very uneven way. The beginning chapters are about the alternatives to fossil fuels. Clearly, it is aimed at the "soft" environmentalists who think that being an environmentalist is as simple as just opposing what the Republicans want. (No diehard Republican would be caught dead reading this book.) In short, the book quite effectively tears down all the popular "green" solutions, for a variety of reasons: too costly, too "dirty", too difficult, too inadequate, etc. Moreover, the author points out how getting more "green" energy, assuming it was easy to get, would simply increase the demand for energy, rather than replace "dirty" energy. At this point, the book shifts gears. Frankly, the author handles the adjustment very poorly. Imagine your high school math teacher being Sir Laurence Olivier dressed as Hamlet. It just was too much "eloquence" and not enough rationale. Also, it was sort of like trying to figure out what someone, who is mumbling to themselves, is really talking about. Yet, eventually, after a rather odd section on how a lack of women's rights is a big reason why we use so much energy, only some of which relates to what I, at least, think of as women's rights issues, the author goes into a series of chapters on using less energy and why it would work well, especially since it works elsewhere in the world so well. This is not a perfect book for its purpose, but it is definitely worth reading for what it does accomplish. Read it and be enlightened.
rooafza's review
4.0
The alternative energy movement/industry has been co-opted by Big Oil and is a massive ruse to get subsidies. Solar power is inefficient. Wind power suffers from unpredictable supply issues and adverse environmental side effects. The risk of nuclear(fission) power is too high. Fusion is unfeasible. Hybrid cars are a red herring and a PR gimmick by the oil and car industries. So where do we go from here?
The author's basic premise is that technology is not a panacea and we need to completely revise our way of thinking about energy. "Jevon's paradox arises again and again in the various incarnations throughout the history of energy use: Increases in energy efficiency make energy services relatively cheaper, encouraging greater consumption". In other words, correcting energy consumption should be our focus, rather than increasing energy production. Basically, "Alternative-energy techs are only as durable as the contexts we create for them".
The author's basic premise is that technology is not a panacea and we need to completely revise our way of thinking about energy. "Jevon's paradox arises again and again in the various incarnations throughout the history of energy use: Increases in energy efficiency make energy services relatively cheaper, encouraging greater consumption". In other words, correcting energy consumption should be our focus, rather than increasing energy production. Basically, "Alternative-energy techs are only as durable as the contexts we create for them".
aurodon's review
Very well-researched and thought-out, albeit with a flair for the dramatic.
raviwarrier's review
3.0
Before reading the book, I, like many others, was under the impression that alternative energy solutions was the answer to our growing environmental problems. This book is the proverbial other-side-of-the-coin.
As an uneducated (at least in the field of alternative energy) the arguments presented make a lot of sense and plausible, though a sceptic might find it to be an anti-greenwash campaign - my mind just cannot fathom that green technologies are not that green, perhaps in my naivety and optimism. Nevertheless, Ozzie manages to clear a lot of myths around and addresses the misconceptions regarding alternative energy. At least now, I can consider myself to be "informed" about what my (and the world's) possible options are.
Like I mentioned above, the book can open the eyes of many diehard believers (such as me) that perhaps our dreams aren't as rosy as we'd like it to be. However, Ozzie does provide a solution - one that requires an overhauling of human mentalities and tendencies (read - almost impossible today), but it's a start that is being seen in many small pockets of the world today.
Good book with good insights and arguments. 3/5 stars.
As an uneducated (at least in the field of alternative energy) the arguments presented make a lot of sense and plausible, though a sceptic might find it to be an anti-greenwash campaign - my mind just cannot fathom that green technologies are not that green, perhaps in my naivety and optimism. Nevertheless, Ozzie manages to clear a lot of myths around and addresses the misconceptions regarding alternative energy. At least now, I can consider myself to be "informed" about what my (and the world's) possible options are.
Like I mentioned above, the book can open the eyes of many diehard believers (such as me) that perhaps our dreams aren't as rosy as we'd like it to be. However, Ozzie does provide a solution - one that requires an overhauling of human mentalities and tendencies (read - almost impossible today), but it's a start that is being seen in many small pockets of the world today.
Good book with good insights and arguments. 3/5 stars.
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