We don’t have an energy crisis. We have a consumption crisis. And this book, which takes aim at cherished assumptions regarding energy, offers refreshingly straight talk about what’s wrong with the way we think and talk about the problem. Though we generally believe we can solve environmental problems with more energy—more solar cells, wind turbines, and biofuels—alternative technologies come with their own side effects and limitations. How, for instance, do solar cells cause harm? Why can’t engineers solve wind power’s biggest obstacle? Why won’t contraception solve the problem of overpopulation lying at the heart of our concerns about energy, and what will? This practical, environmentally informed, and lucid book persuasively argues for a change of perspective. If consumption is the problem, as Ozzie Zehner suggests, then we need to shift our focus from suspect alternative energies to improving social and political fundamentals: walkable communities, improved consumption, enlightened governance, and, most notably, women’s rights. The dozens of first steps he offers are surprisingly straightforward. For instance, he introduces a simple sticker that promises a greater impact than all of the nation’s solar cells. He uncovers why carbon taxes won’t solve our energy challenges (and presents two taxes that could). Finally, he explores how future environmentalists will focus on similarly fresh alternatives that are affordable, clean, and can actually improve our well-being.
[...]... instead pasted together images of wind turbines, solar cells, biofuels, and electric cars When they couldn’t find clippings, they asked to sketch Dams, tidal and wave-power systems, even animal power They eagerly cobbled together fantastic totems to a gleaming future of power production As a society, we have done the same The seductive tales of wind turbines, solar cells, and biofuels foster the impression... interrogate the very idea of being for or against energy technologies at all Many energy debates arise from special interests as they posture to stake flags on the future flags adorned with the emblems of their favorite pet projects These iridescent displays have become spectacles in their own right And oh, how we do delight in a spectacle with our morning coffee Needless to say, these spectacles influence the. .. statistic, shiny teeth and all, into the limelight of government studies, textbooks, official reports, environmental statements, and into the psyches of millions of people It has become an especially powerful rhetorical device despite its misleading flaw While it’s certainly accurate to state that the quantity of solar energy hitting that small part of the desert is equivalent to the amount of energy we consume,... and others have eagerly ushered a fantasmatic array of solar devices into the spotlight, reported on their spectacular journeys into space, featured their dedicated entrepreneurs and inventors, celebrated their triumphs over dirty fossil fuels, and dared to envisage a glorious solar future for humanity The sheer magnitude of literature on the subject overwhelms— not just in newspapers, magazines, and. .. alternative to candles, disposable batteries, and kerosene lanterns, which are expensive, dirty, unreliable, and dangerous Given the appropriate socioeconomic context, solar energy can help villages raise their standards of living Radios enable Seductive Futures farmers to monitor the weather and connect families with news and cultural events Youth who grow up with evening lighting, and thus a better... conditions from which our energy crises arise.3 As we shall discover in the chapxvi Introduction ters to follow, these fancy energy technologies are not without side effects and limitations of their own When I speak on energy, the most frequent questions I receive are variants of “What energy technology is best?”—as if there is a straightforward answer Every energy technology causes aches and pains; shifting... special interests, and make aggressive investments in clean and renewable energy, like Google’s done with solar here in Mountain View, then we can end our addiction to oil, create millions of jobs and save the planet in the bargain –Barack Obama textbooks, Photovoltaic power generation is reliable, involves no moving parts, and the operation and maintenance costs are very low The operation of a photovoltaic... boost as the environmental and social costs of power generation are included fully in the picture –From the textbook, Solar Electricity environmentalists, Solar power is a proven and cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels and an important part of the solution to end global warming The sun showers the earth with more usable energy in one minute than people use globally in one year –Greenpeace and even... provide clean, renewable energy that save you money –bp2 We ordinarily encounter the dissimilar views of these groups bound up in a tangle of conflict, but solar energy forms a smooth ground of commonality where environmentalists, corporations, politicians, and scientists can all agree The notion of solar energy is flexible enough to allow diverse interest groups to take up solar energy for their own... that twisted down into the dark crypt where I would work out the day I remember the weight of silence that lay upon my eardrums and how my scraping would chop it into rhythms, then tunes I learned the length of eight hours down there I haven’t forgotten the lunchtime when we gossiped about our supervisor’s affair, or the day my breathing filter didn’t seal properly, or the pain of the rosy mucus I coughed . ways, and Zehner is especially good at untangling sloppy thinking. Yet Green Illusions is not a litany of despair. It’s full of hope—which is different. Toxic Love Story “There is no obvious competing or comparable book. . . . Green Illusions has the same potential to sound a wake-up call in the energy arena