Just when I thought there was no creative way to present a plan to address America’s energy issues, I read “Freedom From Oil,” by David Sandalow. Two words immediately come to mind to sum up the book. Clever. Brilliant. It is no surprise that Sandalow has recently been nominated by President Obama to serve as DOE assistant secretary for Policy …
Book Review: Hope for a Heated Planet
As we approach the 39th celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd I’m integrating a few environmental books into the repertoire. Too many people criticize the “crazy tree huggers” as doing more harm than good, but “Hope for a Heated Planet” author Robert Musil offers a different take to approaching the environmental challenges our world faces, one that in my …
Book Review: Uranium
“Man’s most carnal tendencies are inflamed by the most modern of elements, uranium.” War, terrorism, treason, energy, and renaissance — the basic elements of uranium as vividly described in the new book, “Uranium: War, Energy, And The Rock That Shaped The World” by Tom Zoellner. This is a fantastic true tale of the quest for “nuclear fission,” the devastation it …
Book Review – The Green Guide to Power
There is an advantage to self publishing because you can truly say what you want to say. And Ronald H. Bowman, Jr. does just that in his book, “The Green Guide to Power Thinking Outside the Grid”. I originally thought the book was going to be about the development of the “Smart Grid“. It wasn’t. Although he did talk a …
Book Review – The Tyranny of Oil
This week I read the book, The Tyranny of Oil by Antonia Juhasz. It started off highlighting a lot of what other energy books discuss but then it got interesting. So much so that I’m giving the theme of this review, “How long will American citizens live in denial?”Here are a few facts as laid out in the book that …
Book Review – The First Billion is the Hardest
With the economy in the toilet, I thought I’d get a little inspiration from T. Boone Pickens’ book, “The First Billion is the Hardest.” I don’t know about you, but for me the first million is still eluding me…. Pickens was originally known as an oil guy, but today is best known for his role in promoting wind energy and …
Book Review – Hot, Flat, and Crowded
The other week I was meeting with Suzanne Shelton, President and CEO of the Shelton Group (you should check out their Energy Pulse research) and we were ruminating over how difficult it is to get through a Thomas Friedman book. I’ve been trying to finish Hot, Flat, and Crowded for several months and I’m proud to say, I’m finished! The …
Book Review – Living Like Ed
I’m sitting in artic Tennessee and feel like I’m an extra in the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” depicting the world in turmoil due to global warming. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but the bitter cold, along with low gas prices, is a perfect combination to lull me into energy and environmental complacency. I just finished reading, “Living Like …
Movie Review – Who Killed the Electric Car?
“If there are enough David’s in the world, we can win.” S. David Freeman in “Who Killed the Electric Car?” I’m switching gears this week and watched a documentary that still has momentum, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” If you have a real passion for alternative energy/technology/environment, then you must watch this movie. The drama begins by telling us that the number …
Book Review – A Declaration of Energy Independence by Jay Hakes
I was recently visiting the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, a museum focused on one of the largest dinosaur finds in California. And I couldn’t help but think of where oil comes from. Dinosaurs = oil. No more dinosaurs = no more oil Not exactly. As pointed out in the article “20 Things You Didn’t Know About Oil” …