Book Review – The End of Energy Obesity

Book Review – The End of Energy Obesity
By Joanna Schroeder
Originally published on DomesticFuel.com

I thought it would be apropos to tie this week’s book review into a common New Year’s resolution -weight loss. The End of Energy Obesity, by Peter Tertzakian. While this book has the same theme as most energy books these days, breaking America’s energy addiction, it varied from the most common used parallels and likened our country’s energy addiction to our country’s food addiction. It is an effective analogy.

Tertzakian writes, “Over the last decade, specifically in North America, our energy appetite has soared to such an extent that we are now energy obese.”

Throughout the book, Tertzakian outlines how America became energy obese as well as the way our country can curb its energy appetite as this will need to be done, in part, through a new energy diet that is compelling. He explains that energy sources, both renewable and nonrenewable will need to meet nine energy attributes. The higher the score, the better chance the energy source has of being successfully incorporated into our energy diet. The nine attributes include: versatility, scalability, storability and transportability, deliverability, energy density, power density, constancy, environmental sensitivity, and energy security.  Ultimately, Tertzakian feels that renewable energy has limited potential and his winning solution is increasing the use of natural gas.

For the most part, he stays the course with his metapor through the first two parts but he begins to wander off topic in part three as he delves into conservation, dissolving distance and the development of communication technologies. I also disagree with him in the sense that relying on an increase in natural gas is not the best way to go. Natural gas is a limited resource that fluctuates heavily in terms of pricing. An increase in the use of this energy source could cause our energy prices to become even more volitale. Yes, energy prices will increase as we ramp up the integration of alternative energy sources but over the long-term, prices will become more stable than they are now.

Ultimately the book presents some interesting ideas to mull over but if you’re short of time, just focus on the first half of the book. To read this book or any book I review, click here.

Joanna Schroeder, APR
Principal, 4R Communications
Phone: 636-399-4381
Email: jms@4RCommunications.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/joannaschroeder
Twitter: jmschroeder

I Blog! You can follow me at:
www.DomesticFuel.com
www.Gas2.org

Check out my book review blog at: www.domesticfuel.com/category/book-reviews/

Book Review - Climate Cover-Up

Book Review: Climate Cover-Up
By Joanna Schroeder
Originally published on DomesticFuel.com

This week we’re back to climate change, and the author James Hoggan, lays out the “crusade to deny global warming in “Climate Cover-Up.” For those of you familiar with the online green space, you may have come across the blog DeSmogBlog, which is co-founded by Hoggan. This site is dedicated to “out” those companies, experts and scientists who are (or were) trying to deny global climate change and manipulate the public. It also calls out the supporting characters to the deceit - the mainstream media.

Like companies who have been outed in their campaigns against ethanol, Hoggan outs companies like ExxonMobil who had campaigns against the existence of global climate change. Climate changed seemed to gain worldwide consensus in 2006/07 in part due to the success of Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth“. (For Gore fans, he just released his follow-up “Our Choice” last winter.)

Hoggan writes, “…no one seemed to be confused about climate change in 1988. The great scientific bodies of the world were concerned, and the foremost political leaders were engaged. So what happened then and now?” Well, that’s exactly what Hoggan lays out for the reader: a big fat smear campaign against the earth.

The result is lack of action and trust issues. Not surprisingly, people don’t trust Big Oil or Big Coal, they don’t trust corporations (they believe PR people help deceive the public on behalf of these corporations), they don’t trust our leaders, they don’t trust scientists (too much junk science), they don’t trust the media, they don’t trust their neighbors and ultimately, they doubt their own personal ability to stop climate change.

However, do not despair. Hoggan offers up solutions to cause a “turn-about” and ends with words of hope. He encourages everyone to delve into the science of global climate change and be “hypervigilant about sources, encourages vigilance and encourages leadership. And ends by saying, “So please, be bold. Be courageous. Be positive. Act and demand action….For this bears repeating: the world is worth saving.”

While this book is interesting for those who are concerned about global warming and would like to be more educated about climate change deniers, it may be best suited for public relations professionals. With everyone trusting no one, how we communicate about climate change needs an overhaul.

Joanna Schroeder, APR
Principal, 4R Communications
Phone: 636-399-4381
Email: jms@4RCommunications.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/joannaschroeder
Twitter: jmschroeder

I Blog! You can follow me at:
www.DomesticFuel.com
www.Gas2.org

Check out my book review blog at: www.domesticfuel.com/category/book-reviews/

Book Review – The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

By Joanna Schroeder
Originally published on DomesticFuel.com

I have a new hero and his name is William Kamkwamba – “The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.” William begins his story by writing, “A windmill means more than just power, it means freedom.” William was born in Malawi and like many in his country, his family struggled to survive in a country defined by drought and hunger. Unable to pay for school, William, gifted in the sciences, began spending his time in the library where he discovered how to bring electricity to his home with a windmill in the outdated American textbook, Using Energy.

What happened after he found that book is absolutely amazing – William spent months collecting the pieces that he would use to fashion a windmill out of junk. Fueled by ridicule and passion along with the support of his family and two best friends, William succeeded in creating a windmill that brought electricity to his home. Word spread and people began coming from miles and miles away to see “The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.”

William understood what most take for granted – that electricity would help the family survive. It would replace the expensive kerosene that his family had to travel nearly seven kilometers to purchase. It would bring light to the darkness and it would allow them to pump water and irrigate the land, not only improving the bushel per acres of their crops, but allow them to plant and harvest two crops a year, helping to eliminate the months of hunger suffered year after year.

Book Review – The Chilling Stars

By Joanna Schroeder
Originally published on DomesticFuel.com /a>

Yesterday, in the post Countdown to Copenhagen, I mentioned that there are still quite a few scientists around the world who agree that climate change exists, but don’t agree about the cause. To kick off my three views in seven days series, is a review of the book, “The Chilling Stars A New Theory of Climate Change.” The authors are climate physicist Henrik Svensmark and award winning science writer Nigel Calder.

Let me start off by acknowledging that the majority of scientists believe that greenhouse gas emissions, primarily CO2, are causing global climate change. However, here is what Svensmark and Calder say about carbon dioxide. “To correct apparent over-estimates of the effects of carbon dioxide is not to recommend a careless bonfire of the fossil fuels that produce the gas. A commonplace libel is that anyone skeptical about the impending global-warming disaster is probably in the pay of the oil companies.”

They continue, “In fact, there are compelling reasons to economize in the use of fossil fuels, which have nothing to do with the climate–to minimize unhealthy smog, to conserve the planet’s limited stocks of fuel, and to keep energy prices down for the benefit of the poorer nations.”

So if climate change is not driven in part by CO2, as argued by the authors, then what is the primary driver of climate change?

The premise of Svensmark’s climate change theory is that the interplay between clouds, the sun and cosmic rays, have a greater effect on climate than man-made carbon dioxide. For those who don’t remember much of any science from high school or college a cosmic ray is comprised of sub-atomic particles from exploded stars. Read more

Countdown to Copenhagen

By Joanna Schroeder
First published on DomesticFuel.com

The countdown to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference is on as the talks begin in six days. The conference, December 7-18, 2009 is a meeting of the UN to hash out a successor to the Kyoto protocol that is set to expire in 2012. The aim is to prevent global warming, and similar talks date back to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.

While we haven’t focused much on Copenhagen on this site, alternative energy will play one of the biggest roles during the summit for its potential to curb worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. According to an article in the Guardian, “Climate scientists are convinced the world must stop the growth in greenhouse gas emissions and start making them fall very soon. To have a chance of keeping warming under the dangerous 2C mark, cuts of 25%-40% relative to 1990 levels are needed, rising to 80%-95% by 2050. So far, the offers on the table are way below these targets.”

What I find most interesting is that while there appears to be a scientific consensus on the existence of global warming and that it is caused by greenhouse gas emissions, mainly CO2, there are still many scientists who don’t agree. As such, the question must be asked, should we be moving forward so quickly both in the U.S. and around the world, on climate policies based on greenhouse gas emission reductions?

Now, before you shoot me and accuse me of being indifferent to the environment and human health issues, less pollution is always good and many economists predict that the next “Green Revolution” (the first one was in the 70s) will help our country rise above the recession. That said, I do believe we need to do something, I’m just not convinced the options on the table are the right ones.

Therefore, over the next week, I’m going to be offering three views on climate change as laid out in three books focusing on global warming. From there, it’s up to you to decide what direction worldwide leaders should be taking.

To read these books or any I review, click here, and if you have a book you’d like me to review, email me at jomschro2071@gmail.com.

Joanna Schroeder, APR
Principal, 4R Communications
Phone: 636-399-4381
Email: jms@4RCommunications.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/joannaschroeder
Twitter: jmschroeder

I Blog! You can follow me at:
www.DomesticFuel.com
www.Gas2.org

Check out my book review blog at: www.domesticfuel.com/category/book-reviews/

Book Review – Cool It

By Joanna Schroeder
Originally published on Domesticfuel.com

What is the greatest crisis in the history of civilization? Global warming. Well, at least according to the media’s portrayal. However, according to Bjorn Lomborg, the author of “Cool It“, and the second review in my Copehagen Climate Conference three views in seven days series, while global warming is an concern, it is not the most pressing worldwide issue.

Lomborg writes, “That humanity has caused a substantial rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over the past centuries, thereby contributing to global warming, is beyond debate. What is debatable, however, is whether hysteria and headlong spending on extravagant CO2-cutting programs at an unprecedented price is the only possible response.”

He continues, “Such a course is especially debatable in a world where billions of people live in poverty, where millions die of curable diseases, and where these lives could be saved, societies strengthened, and environments improved at a fraction of the cost.”

Has the worldwide frenzy surrounding global warming caused us to lose our common sense? Read more

Book Review - Power Trip

Reviewed by Joanna Schroeder for DomesticFuel.com

Remember that old wives tale told to children that babies come from storks? Here is the addendum to the tale…and everything else comes from oil. When President Bush delivered his now famous quote, “We’re addicted to oil,” I don’t think he quite realized how prolific that was. He obviously meant in the form of gasoline/energy use but petroleum by-products are used to make plastics, fertilizer, pharmaceuticals (like you lotion and makeup) and even your clothes, and author Amanda Little takes you on this journey in her new book, “Power Trip“.

Little traveled the country for two years, starting her journey on the “Cajun Express,” an offshore rig located miles from the coast of Louisiana, and ending her trip back in Louisiana, spending time with Hurricane Katrina victims as they move into their near zero emission homes as part of the Make It Right program. In the middle, she spent a good bit of time visiting companies developing alternative energy sources.

The end of her journey is spent with the leaders of tomorrow, but these are not your typical Generation Xers or a group of kids who feel “entitled” to everything. These are the people who are refining the new environmental justice movement. These are children who are growing up in areas that have shouldered most of the hidden costs of our country’s fossil-fuel based lifestyle, and they’re making change door-to-door, not via the power of Capital Hill lobbyists. Read more

Book Review - Green Guides

I’m writing this review as I fly on a plane and I’m feeling guilty about the amount of CO2 that is emitted when flying – on average, flying contributes about 10 times as much carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as a similar journey by train. And no, I didn’t buy carbon offsets for this trip….

The guilt is being fostered by this week’s read, a Green Series, published by Chelsea Green Publishing. I read four in the series, all co-written by Jon Clift and Amanda Cuthbert: Energy; Water; Greening Your Office; and Climate Change. Also in the series: Reduce Reuse Recycle; Composting; and Biking to Work.

I liked how easy the series is to read, many bullets points and quick facts, as well as their, “If you do one thing” pointers and the way they have the, “spend nothing save less,” and spend little, save more.” On the negative side, the books don’t have any real background on the issues, but the authors do have a list of resources at the end of each book.

I’m going to leave you with this thought, since many who are pushing environmental responsibility often go to far as they live further and further off the grid. (Let’s get a grip. It is not in our country’s best interest to revert back to the pioneer days).

“We can take control of the situation and reduce our energy and reduce our consumption. We don’t have to live shivering in an unheated room with no modern appliances; we’re just talking about being more energy efficient – reducing the need for so much power.”

To read these books or any I review, click here, and if you have a book you’d like me to review, email me at jomschro2071@gmail.com.

Joanna Schroeder, APR
Principal, 4R Communications
Phone: 636-399-4381
Email: jms@4RCommunications.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/joannaschroeder
Twitter: jmschroeder

I Blog! You can follow me at:
www.DomesticFuel.com
www.Gas2.org

Check out my book review blog at: www.domesticfuel.com/category/book-reviews/

Book Review – Turning Oil Into Salt

What do salt and oil have in common? In its time, the world was overdependent on the strategic commodity (oil today and salt more than 100 years ago). Our country (nor the world) is “salt dependent” but the world is oil dependent, but not in the way that most people define oil dependence. “That is what energy independence means: that it no longer matters who holds the reserves, that oil becomes much less relevant to global affairs, that it becomes just another commodity,” writes Gal Luft and Anne Korin, in “Turning Oil Into Salt Energy Independence Through Fuel Choice.”

The authors, who co-founded Set America Free Coalition and are also co-directors of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS), continue,”Contrary to popular conception, energy independence does not mean autarky - it doesn’t mean walling ourselves off from the global market. Independence means not having to kowtow to the various petrodictators that sit on the bulk of the world’s oil reserves. Independence requires that oil become just not that important any more.”

The meat of the book delves into what energy independence looks like and the strategies that are currently in place, which the authors note are not effective and write that, “America’s energy policy still suffers from institutional paralysis.” They discuss terrorism at length but make a point that most authors fail to make, “Energy independence will not stop terrorism and will probably not prevent rogue regimes from obsessively pursuing nuclear weapons.” (The reason the U.S. is supposedly in a war with Iraq.) Read more

Book Review: Two Center Per Mile

One of the things I love about America is “freedom of the press” and the ability for people to disseminate “conspiracy theories”. Conspiracies are driving amuck in the quest for the ‘winning’ technology to replace gas guzzlers. The best way forward, according to author Nevres Cefo – electric vehicles. The worst way forward – hydrogen. In his new book, “Two Cents Per Mile: Will President Obama Make it Happen with the Stroke of a Pen?” Cefo says that the government is in collusion with the Little Autos (formerly known as the Big Autos) and Big Oil to determine what is best for our future – hydrogen – and not moving forward with technologies that are best for the people – electric vehicles.

“We are at a pivotal juncture in in history–a showdown between hydrogen and electric powered vehicles,” he writes. While Cefo has some interesting insights into the development and ultimate adoption of electric vehicles, at first blush, I somewhat disagreed with his view of government support for hydrogen. The hydrogen program was suspended and only brought back from the dead this past July. But just yesterday, the DOE announced that it would award a $1 million for the best “breakthrough” hydrogen technology.

Regardless of whether you are a fan of electric vehicles, hydrogen both or neither, Cefo writes something that should resonate with everyone - especially as our country continues to suffocate under a recession caused by our addiction to oil.

“People may feel that their elected officials do not hear the voice of their constituent, or at least not as much as they pay attention to corporate influence, power and money. That is exactly what Big Oil and the Big Three are counting on–the belief that we, the average American, cannot do anything to change the course they outlined for us.”

On this issue, I agree and ultimately “Two Cents Per Mile” is a call for action for every one of us to get involved in our future.

To read this book or any book I review visit my bookstore. If you have a book you’d like me to review, email me at jomschro2071@gmail.com.

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