Domestic Fuel

Peak Oil has been a topic of interest since the infamous M. King Hubbert predicted when both the U.S and the world would see peak oil. Yet, there are still millions of people in denial, says Michael C. Ruppert and these people need to “get angry” so they can move to the step of acceptance that we’re running out of oil. Do I foresee a 12 step program for oil addiction coming our way? This is just the beginning of what Ruppert writes about in his new book, A Presidential Energy Policy: Twenty-five Points Addressing the Siamese Twins of Energy and Money. Just in case you’re unclear, this book was written for President Obama to help guide him in making energy decisions on behalf of the country.

As the country attempts to push forward legislation that would spur alternative energy and reduce global climate change, this statement becomes apropos: “Before we instantly accept alternative energy lifeboats that will allegedly let us keep our current lifestyles, don’t you think it wise to see if they float?” A valid point and one in which Ruppert answers yes, and here is the criteria:

• 1.    Does the energy source have a positive net energy balance?
• 2.    Is the energy regime a substitute or just scavenging?
• 3.    Have the Claims Been Verified by an independent third party?
• 4.    Is the energy available 24/7 as needed?
• 5.    Is the energy transportable over distance?
• 6.    Is the energy source applicable for the region?
• 7.    Does the inventor claim ZERO ollution?
• 8.    How destructive of the environment is this energy source?

Ruppert is a man on a mission with nothing to lose. He takes the readers through a critique of everything that’s wrong with America.
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Coal. Under the surface we seem to have a lot of it. It’s fairly inexpensive but this is changing as demand rises to meet increased energy needs especially in countries like China. So we have a lot, its cheap, let’s use it, what’s the problem? Right? Wrong!

Author Richard Heinberg writes in Blackout: Coal, Climate and the Last Energy Crisis, “In short: two of the defining trends of the emerging century–the development of the Asian economies and climate change–both center on coal. But coal is finite non-renewable resource. Thus, a discussion of the future of coal must also intersect with a third great trend of the new century: resource depletion.”

In the first part of the book, Heinberg takes the reader through a deep analysis of just how much coal is available throughout the world. Keep in mind, forecasts assume that current energy use stays the same, but it is increasing each year, making coal available for a shorter amount of time. Best estimates are that the world will see Peak Coal by 2025 and many believe that the world has already witnessed Peak Oil.

Now, you’re just waiting for me to say there is no such thing as clean coal. So there, it’s out in the open. In the second section of the book, Heinberg talks about the link between coal and greenhouse gas emissions and discusses the technologies to create “clean coal”. They are all challenged to say the least.

At the end of Blackout, Heinberg details three scenarios that involve coal, climate and energy. They are all very disturbing, but Heinberg has a way of tackling issues head on.

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The world’s energy paradigm is shifting and this shift is going to affect every company, CEO, and person in the world. But how? It’s a question I’ve often wondered about so this week I read, “Energy Shift: Game-Changing Options for Fueling the Future.” This book was unique in that it targets business leaders and helps them understand the major forces that are changing how business is being done today. The authors Eric Spiegel and Neil McArthur both work for Booz & Company.

Although the authors cover off on a lot of topics, I wanted to highlight one thing in particular. The authors point out that meeting the world’s growing demand for electric power while limiting the emissions of greenhouse gases is the most urgent imperative for energy policy in the twenty-first century. Developing alternatives to coal has been much talked about as has how to store electricity. However, what you don’t hear as often and that the authors stated quite succinctly as it relates to handling the increase in global demand for electricity is this.

“One additional factor that may push demand even higher in the future is the advent of electricity as an alternative energy source for transportation: the the extent that plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles succeed in the marketplace, they will increase the demand for electricity in proportion to the decrease in demand for petroleum that they create.”

Despite all the attention to the world’s energy situation, the authors note that there has not been sufficient change in the reality of energy production to significantly shorten the timetable for the energy shift. How fast this will happen, they say, depends on how the three major areas of uncertainty are resolved.

1. 1.  The future of greenhouse gas regulations.
2. 2.  Energy Security.
3. 3.  The pace of technological innovation.

So what happens when you mesh these three challenges together? No one knows. But the authors do make suggestions on how this transition can be smoother, faster and more effective, but you’re going to have to read the book to find out.

Click here to buy “Energy Shift”.

“Where has all the water gone?” Asks author Maude Barlow in her book, “Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle For the Right to Water“. Living in America, many people may not realize that water shortages are already occurring throughout the country and more are expected if we don’t modify our water footprint.

Barlow lays out three scenarios that “collude toward disaster”. Scenario one: The world is running our of freshwater. Scenario two: Every day more and more people are living without access to clean water. Scenario three: A powerful corporate water cartel has emerged to seize control of every aspect of water for its own profit.

Considering that water is essential to life, the realization that water is becoming a scare resource is quite disturbing. Barlow discusses water apartheid, which we’re seeing in third world countries; water wars which are happening throughout the world and even here in the states; virtual water trade, which describes the water used in the production of crops or manufactured goods that are then exported; and maybe most appalling, discusses whether water is a right to life. Most countries have determined that water is not a right to life but fortunately through grassroots activism, this is changing.

“Every day, the failure of our political leaders to address the global water crisis becomes more evident. Every day, the need for a comprehensive water crisis plan becomes more urgent.” says Barlow. The answer, she writes, is a Blue Covenant.
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Come Clean America! This week I read “Coming Clean: Breaking America’s Addiction to Oil and Coal by Micheal Brune. I’m going to come clean for a moment and let you know that Brune is the Executive Director of the Rainforest Action Network and the book was published by Sierra Club Books. Ironically, last week I read Green Inc., and many organizations mentioned in this book, including Brune’s own, were called out by MacDonald for ethical and moral issues.

As controversy is a great prerequisite for fodder, I’ll point out that Brune is a huge advocate of global warming. He writes, “Let me be blunt: if we only take individual action and do nothing else to save our climate, we’re probably cooked. We need to aim higher by changing corporate America and challenging our political leaders.”

Brune highlights several issues in the book including Big Oil; King Coal; how banks are funding global climate change; how to jump-start Detroit; wind and solar; and as always one of my favorites, biofuels, which Brune calls agrofuels. I rarely read an energy book where the author is truly up to speed on biofuels and Brune is no exception. Like most everyone, he hates corn ethanol and writes that biofuels may have an important role to play if they meet five criteria. They must:

1. 1. reduce greenhouse gases
2. 2. not displace food crops and threaten food security for the world’s poor
3. 3. uphold the integrity of critical ecosystems, particularly in tropical forests
4. 4. strengthen the human rights of community farmers and indigenous people
5. 5. should be developed only as part of a broader strategy to reduce fuel consumption and redesign mobility

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With the tidal wave rushing in a new green economy, companies are attempting to ride the waves. But many are being pulled under by the tow, including many of the very groups who are supposed to be the top surfers. “Green Inc,” is an expose about how the world of conversation and those who swim in it, are crashing.

Green, Inc. was written by author Christine MacDonald, who left her job as a journalist to join the public relations team with one of the largest environmental groups in the world, Conservation International (CI). It was during this time she discovered that something was “deeply wrong” in the world of conservationism. MacDonald was disturbed so much so that when laid off, she wrote a book about the serious issues embedded in environmental groups.

One of the biggest conundrums she tackles is whether it is morally and ethically wrong for an environmental organization to take money from the groups that it is trying to police. Some environmental groups argue that taking money from companies like Exxon Mobil, Bunge, International Paper, and others, is a way to “influence corporate leaders to change their polluting ways”.

Yet these environmental offenders believe that donating money to groups like CI, World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense, Natural Resources Defense Council, and others, will give them “reputation insurance” or a “get out of jail free card” on their environmental rap sheet. Oftentimes, MacDonald cites, these groups actually give these environmental offenders awards for their “sustainability” programs.  Now that’s an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one.
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I was traveling last week and had the opportunity to rent a Toyota Prius. I jumped at the chance since I was reading, “Plug-In Electric Vehicles: What Roll for Washington,” a book authored by dozens of experts and published by The Brookings Institute. This was my first Toyota hybrid experience. However, I had driven a Ford Escape Flex-Fuel Hybrid two years ago but it has yet to come to market. It took me a bit to figure out how to actually drive the Prius, but once I did, it was an enjoyable ride and the gas mileage was great! 

So why don’t more people drive hybrids? And why aren’t there any hybrid options with a flex-fuel component (the back up for a hybrid is gas) that are actually mass produced? Or should we move to develop and adopt electric vehicles (EVs) or is the best option a plug-in electric vehicle (PEVs). Why isn’t there more government support? All of these questions are asked and answered in the this book.

While the many authors have varying ideas and opinions on the best way to bring EVs to market, there are a few points that most agree.

There needs to be more research done on the batteries (the most expensive component of hybrids and electric cars) and there needs to be an after market for these batteries.  Several authors cited an idea that was first raised by David Sandalow in his book, “Freedom from Oil,” which is the creation the “Federal Battery Guarantee Corporation”. This federal organization would, “underwrite insurance on battery life for the duration of the vehicle warranty…and gaurantee a secondary market for used battery assemblies.”
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When people are discussing energy, how many conversations revolve around physics and its role in developing better renewable energy? I’d venture a guess and say for most people, the answer is never. Until now. This week I read, “Everyone’s Guide to Atoms, Einstein and the Universe” by Robert Piccioni. Had I had Piccioni for my Physics 101 class, I would have had a much better grade.  

Although I enjoyed the entire book, I’m going to focus on two chapters, “Energy, Mass and E=mc²”and “Smart Energy”. Einstein brought to the world its understanding of mass and energy and demonstrated that the two are united and that mass can be converted to different forms of energy. But what exactly is energy? “…energy is the currency of existence….Energy cannot be created nor destroyed; it can only be converted from one form to another.”

The definition above is very apropos considering we are entering into a new energy economy that will have its own currency (hopefully one that is less expensive than our fossil fuel based energy currency we now have).  But what is the best way to convert mass to energy?

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I went back in time this week (if you can call five years ago back in time) and read Richard Heinberg’s, “The Party’s Over“.  I was curious to see how the thinking about our addiction to fossil fuels and the need to adopt renewable energy has changed. Well, it really hasn’t.

Like many other authors who wrote books about oil during this time frame, Heinberg talked a lot about America’s (and the world’s) love affair with oil and discussed, at length, when America and the world would succumb to peak oil. Since most people have come to terms with the theory that we’ve already seen peak oil, most authors don’t focus on this issue any longer. From there he focused on the current and future technologies of renewable energy sources.

It’s interesting to note that Heinberg is a follower of population reduction, a concept that is mentioned in several occasions in the book I reviewed last week, “Green Hell”. Heinberg argues that the ideal population level is around two billion people. This would be a reduction of nearly four billion people. Based on the fact that the world has limited resources (he disagrees with the fact that we can keep saving ourselves with technology) he lists five things our leaders should logically and morally be compelled to do.

1. Adopt the ethic of sustainability in all aspects of thinking.
2. Institute systematic efforts to improve efficiency in the use of efforts.
3. Encourage the rapid development and deployment of all varieties of renewable energy.
4. Systematically discourage (through taxes) the consumption of nonrenewable resources.
5. Find humane ways to encourage a reduction in human fertility in all countries, so as to reduce the population over time.
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Today’s Earth Day Celebration is brought to you in part by the book, “Green Hell” written by Steve Milloy. I’ve never met or spoken to the man, but I can presume that he is not a celebrator of Earth Day since his entire book is dedicated to stopping the “greens.” The premise of his book is to educate the public on how environmentalists are trying to control our lives and what we can do to stop them. He writes, “While it is beyond the scope of this book to debunk the scientific claims of global warmists, we’ll take a brief moment here to note the fatal flaw of global warming alarmism: there is no scientific evidence indicating that carbon dioxide, much less man made carbon dioxide emissions, control or even measurably impact global climate.”

Milloy demonstrates the evils of the environmental movement by highlighting the extreme environmental “wackos” such as biologist Paul Ehrlich who has “railed against consumption virtually as a crime against humanity.” Even as a self-proclaimed lazy environmentalist, I think Ehrlich and some of his pals have gone off the deep end. But that being said, Milloy does have some valid points, especially when he talks about next generation transportation fuels. He speaks about how environmentalists are promoting “biofuels” but at the same time are lobbying against them. “Looking closer, we find that greens display their typical schizophrenic attitude towards ethanol. Even while touting is supposed superiority to gasoline, greens denounce ethanol for the environmental damage it causes.”

One of two things will happen if you read this book, you’re either going to agree wholeheartedly with him (many do) or you’re going to become even more passionate about saving the planet. But I think the real lesson to be learned is that moderation (nothing is perfect) is the key – we shouldn’t have to ruin our lives and those things we hold dear while still “doing right” for the planet.

You can buy “Green Hell” or any book I review here, and Happy Earth Day to everyone.

As we head into the weekend, some of you may be planning a trip to an auto mile to buy a new car. When you drive away in your new vehicle, you’ll be helping the world get one car closer to the two billion mark. Today there are one billion cars on the road and within the next 20 years, there will be two billion cars on the road. And this is the premise of this week’s book, “Two Billion Cars” written by Daniel Sperling and Deborah Gordon.

“Two Billion Cars” details America’s love affair with cars, the rise and fall of the American auto industry and the rise of foreign auto makers, and discusses how the world will survive the environmental impact of two billion cars. According to the authors, “Cars are arguably one of the greatest man-made threats to human society.”  Using past and current California legislation as a guide and current and future technologies, the authors make suggestions on how the world can develop a sustainable transportation industry through “eco-cars”.

Today the typical American household, which owns and drives two cars, is spending over $15,000 per year (and this number was calculated before last summer’s very high gas prices). “…cars are multiplying faster than people in America and almost everywhere else. In the United States, the increase is vehicle registration has outpaced U.S. population growth by more than 50 percent since 1970.” Houston, we have a problem. 
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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 and International Affairs. It appears that the president has adopted a few policy considerations from this book.

“Freedom From Oil” begins with a memo from the “President of the United States” to his heads of various departments letting them know that in one month he will be giving a speech on oil dependence. During this speech, the memo states, “I hope to present the nation with a plan for ending our dependence on oil.” The memo continues with a call to action and deliverable materials and the various aspects that will affect this plan. The president ends by asking his team to keep this quote in mind when responding, “Make no small plans, for they have no power to stir the soul.”

From there, the departments then submit memos back to the president who then summarizes the “pros and cons” of each issue. In addition, there are articles of interest included with the memos that highlight people who are working day-to-day to help solve America’s energy issues. For those of you who are fans of the IndyCar Series, one article focuses on its use of 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol.

In the end, a strategic plan is offered and the finale: the president’s national address regarding the country’s dependence on oil. Sandalow presents ideas that many others have written about (because he says all ideas must be considered) and he offers new policies as well. I’ve not read a more balanced presentation of the pros and cons of potential energy policies and solutions. “Freedom From Oil” is a must read.

To buy this book or any book I review, click here.

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 opinion was too long in being recognized.

“…if Americans and a new, broader environmental and climate movement are to be successful, we will need to find more successful ways to think and talk about—or frame—global climate change and its serious impacts already becoming visible around the country.” One way to reframe this conversation, says Musil, is show people that the environment is not just around us but inside us. “It is us.”

Musil is a strong proponent of the development of alternative energy but he cautions us not to rely on the government to make this happen. “Now that we have entered a new, audacious era of hope with President Barack Obama, I should warn you and give away my ending. President Obama alone will not save us from the destruction of the planet, nor will the new 111th Congress.” 
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“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 caused, its role as an “energy savior,” the worldwide frenzy to develop nuclear bombs, and the “nuclear renaissance” on the horizon.

In the 40s and 50s nuclear energy was going to save the world. People couldn’t get the word “atomic” into their lives fast enough incorporating “atomic” into the names of towns, businesses and sandwiches. The Atlantic Monthly wrote in the article, “The Control of Energy,” in 1955, “Reactors to produce electric power from nuclear fuels are now being built both here and abroad, and some soon to be designed should give enough power to fill the needs of the largest city. All of the electrical power now used in the United States could in theory be produced from 60 tons of uranium.”

Well, uranium has not saved the world. In fact, many would argue that its wrecked more hell than help. The US government conspired for decades to deny that nuclear fallout caused life-threatening health issues, and environmentalists can’t agree on whether nuclear energy is “green”. “One of the manifest ironies of the “nuclear renaissance,” though, is that it relies on image of atomic power as a green technology,” writes Zoellner.

Many thought the debate over nuclear energy was cooled but in fact its as heated as ever. There is a vocal worldwide debate about the fate of nuclear energy and its role as a green alternative to coal. Uranium is one of the most abundant elements in the world and ours for the taking. The United States is working on bringing several new nuclear facilities online, the first in more than two decades, and while France is adding more nuclear plants Germany is shutting all their nuclear facilities down citing environmental issues. Yet a handful of countries trying to build nuclear facilities are being denied access to the technology citing “terrorism” concerns.

No one knows how this story is going to end, but I’m certain of two things. First, the movement to clean, domestic renewable energy is not an option. Second, you must read this book.

You can buy Uranium or any other book I’ve reviewed by clicking here.

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 little about the “Green Grid“. However, the book was actually about, “the state of technology…their maturity to the marketplace, reliability, financial feasibility, interoperability with incumbent utility, and ecological impact.” His energy alternatives include: wave, solar, biomass, biowaste, geothermal, tidal, wind, and fuel cell (hydrogen). He also spends time on coal and nuclear energy.

Electric energy usage is projected to go up 50% by 2031 and 100% by 2050. With the current pace of increasing energy needs and slow adoption of renewables to the marketplace, Bowman argues that we won’t have enough power to meet our demands in 2031. Like most others, he believes that there needs to be more tax credits and incentives to spur the growth of alternative energy to market. I know, I know, everyone hates energy subsidies, right? Well, apparently people don’t hate oil subsidies. Just subsidies that are designed to make our country a cleaner, greener place powered by domestically produced renewable energy.

• Federal subsidies for ethanol in 2006 – $6 billion
• Federal subsidies for coal in 2006 – $8 billion
• Federal subsidies for oil and gas in 2006 – $39 billion

Bowman touches on the carbon caps and carbon trading –it won’t work the way it is currently set up (I agree) and like most uniformed people, hates ethanol. BTW in case you can’t hear, see or read, the food versus fuel debate was a complete sham. Overall, he does a decent job of assessing feasiblity of the renewable energy options. Want to learn more?  Buy the book or any book that I review on DomesticFuel.