Energy Revolution: Policies For A Sustainable Future

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 256 pages
• Published by: Island Press
• Edition: 1st Edition November 1, 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1559639652
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1559639651
• Book Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 14.4 ounces

Product Description


The transformation from a carbon-based world economy to one based on high efficiency and renewables is a necessary step if human society is to achieve sustainability. But while scientists and researchers have made significant advances in energy efficiency and renewable technologies in recent years, consumers have yet to see dramatic changes in the marketplace?due in large part to government policies and programs that favor the use of fossil fuels.

Energy Revolution looks at the policy options for mitigating or removing the entrenched advantages held by fossil fuels and speeding the transition to a more sustainable energy future, one based on improved efficiency and a shift to renewable sources such as solar, wind, and bioenergy. The book:

• examines today's energy patterns and trends and their consequences
• describes the barriers to a more sustainable energy future and how those barriers can be overcome
• provides ten case studies of integrated strategies that have been effective in different parts of the world
• examines international policies and institutions and recommends ways they could be improved
• reviews global trends that suggest that the transition to renewables and increased efficiency is underway and is achievable

Energy policy represents a linchpin for achieving a broader transition to a more sustainable economy. Energy Revolution offers a unique focus on policies and programs, and on the lessons provided by recent experience. It represents a key statement of the available options for reforming energy policy that have proven to be successful, and is an essential work for policymakers, researchers, and anyone concerned with energy and sustainability issues.

Reader Reviews
ENERGY REVOLUTION presents a sensible strategy for promoting the necessary transition to renewable energy in the U.S. I would say the title is misleading (revolution?), but even sensible reforms seem like revolutionary changes in the face of the entrenched power of the oil companies, auto industry, nuclear power lobby, and the rest of the empire of the fossil fuel status quo. Howard Geller is an old hand and an expert in the field -- he headed the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy for two decades in Washington D.C. He has stepped out of the Beltway, and is now Director of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project based in Boulder. With that background, you can bet he knows what we're up against. The core of Geller's book are his presentations of Clean Energy scenarios for the U.S. and Brazil, where he studied. His U.S. scenario has ten policies: 1) increase passenger vehicle fuel economy standards, 2) establish a national system benefits trust fund (a utility surcharge used to promote energy efficiency), 3) adopt voluntary agreements to reduce industrial energy use, 4) establish a renewable energy portfolio standard for power generators, 5) adopt new appliance efficiency standards and stronger building codes, 6) provide tax incentives for innovative renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies, 7) expand federal R&D and deployment programs, 8) remove barriers to combined heat and power systems, 9) establish renewable or carbon content standards for vehicle fuel, and 10) strengthen emissions standards on coal-fired plants. Geller calculates that the impact of these policies would be a $600 billion cost and a $1200 billion savings, for a net savings of $600 billion compared to a baseline scenario of continued promotion of fossil fuels. He knows that this economic analysis is critical, given that the fossil fuel lobby will try to portray renewable energy as more costly. Notice that Geller avoids proposing any sort of energy or CO2 emissions tax -- such "green taxes" are already being used to great effect in Europe, but Geller is experienced and pragmatic enough to know that the U.S., the land of cheap gas, long distances and gas-guzzling SUVs, requires a different approach. Much more could be said about this excellent book. But given the political campaign now going on, let me add a word about Democratic political strategy and vision. The current debate is over who will do a better job of keeping gas prices low. Kerry is certainly realistic in this, and I hope he wins in November -- with Bush/Cheney and the oil industry in the saddle, renewable energy is going nowhere. But keeping gas cheap is doing nothing to encourage renewable energy -- it's sending the wrong price signal. Kerry needs to go on the offensive, making the case that we've got to rapidly wean ourselves from oil for the sake of national security as well as ecological survival. His policy team should take a look at the bold program of the Apollo Project, which includes major labor unions -- a proposed all-out push for renewable energy comparable to the 1960s race to the moon. This would create jobs and revitalize the economy while making the environment cleaner and making the U.S. self-sufficient in energy. Put Bush on the defensive! Renewable energy needs to become the focus of a mass movement, starting now. For a truly revolutionary strategy for renewable energy, see THE SOLAR ECONOMY by Herman Scheer, a member of the German parliament, the Bundestag, and a Social Democrat (SPD) -- see my review. See my OVERSHOOT AND COLLAPSE? list for more on oil and energy.