Customer Reviews

The Dirty Energy Dilemma: What's Blocking Clean Power in the United States

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Those anxious about the environmental consequences of renewable energy should read Benjamin Sovacool's book, "The Dirty Energy Dilemma."

It clarifies abstract environmental notions, demystifies, fosters understanding and forges relationships in powerful and convincing ways using concrete examples. Sovacool's book is a tour de force exposition of the myriad advantages of renewable energy and enormous hidden costs of fossil fuels.

It contains a synthesis of ideas which makes hitherto difficult decision-making easy, even compelling!

Students of global warming should read this book carefully, as it portends the complexities of transitional energy analysis, the life-cycle cost of various renewable energy technologies, and clarifies what might otherwise remain mysterious about a basic in our society: energy systems.

I highly recommend this book, though only to those who really want to understand energy policy and choices, those willing to dig into facts, numbers and analysis. It is well suited for experts in energy and environmental regulation, policy and legislation.

As an attorney and chemical engineer with many years experience in various environmental and regulatory fields, this book spoke to me directly. It was utterly refreshing in its clarity and breadth.

This text is a must read for advocates of green power, or anyone interested in how the US will adapt its vast electric utility system in response to climate change. It is carefully researched and adroitly combines policy analysis with a sociocultural analysis of the factors that have helped to keep renewable energy sources from becoming a significant element of the US grid. It is also very well written and is a delight to read--though full of facts and figures the author wisely quotes a wide variety of other sources with keen insights about what energy is, how and why we use it, and how challenging it is for people to change their energy habits.