Power Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells---Our Ride to the Renewable Future [Hardcover]

Amanda Little (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0061353256 | ISBN-13: 978-0061353253 | Edition: 1

In the tradition of Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and Thomas L. Friedmam's Hot, Flat, and Crowded, prominent journalist Amanda Little maps out the history and future of America's energy addiction in a wonk-free, big-picture, solutions-oriented adventure story.

After covering the environment and energy beat for more than a decade, Amanda Little decided that the only way to really understand America's energy crisis was to travel into the heart of it. She embarks on a daring cross-country power trip, and describes in vivid, fast-paced prose the most extreme and exciting frontiers of our energy landscape.

At her side we visit an offshore oil rig, the cornfields of Kansas, the Pentagon's fuel-logistics division, the Talladega Superspeedway, New York City's electrical grid, and laboratories creating the innovations of a clean-energy future. As Little explains, energy is everything: It grows our crops, fights our wars, makes our plastics and medicines, warms our homes, moves our products and vehicles, and animates our cities.

How did we develop this insatiable appetite for fossil fuels? Little travels through history to track the evolution of America's energy addiction: the 1897 installation of the world's first power plant (a Thomas Edison–J. P. Morgan venture); the 1901 Spindletop gusher that threw open the era of cheap American fuel; FDR's encounter with a Saudi king that set the stage for our dependence on Middle Eastern oil; General Motors' early decision to sell big guzzlers rather than small, efficient cars.

Little illustrates how abundant oil and coal built the American superpower—even as they posed political and environmental dangers to the nation and the world. More important, we learn how the same American ingenuity that got us into this mess can get us out of it. With next-generation candor and optimism, Little explores the most promising clean-energy solutions on the horizon, arguing that everything we know about our past teaches us that we can solve the problems of our future.

Hard-hitting yet forward-thinking, Power Trip is a lively and impassioned travel guide for all readers trying to navigate our shifting landscape and a clear-eyed manifesto for the younger generations who are inheriting the earth.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The inscription on a granite obelisk in Beaumont, Tex., claims: On this spot on the tenth day of the twentieth century, a new era in civilization began. On that scrubby mound of dirt gushed a fountain of oil that sprayed for days, tripled U.S. oil production overnight and set off a frenzy that revolutionized the industrial age. Previously, crude oil and its derivative, kerosene, held little more value than cheap ways to heat and light homes, but as wildcatters, engineers and investors began to conjure how the new fuel could power—and liberate—people, oil grew integral to modern life. Environmental journalist Little picks up during the summer blackout of 2003, when a massive line of electrical cable shorted, leaving six major metropolitan areas without power for days. Reflecting on the impact of the power outage, Little examines the role fossil fuels plays in her own life, and out of her self-examination emerges a thoughtful—if occasionally self-conscious—book that gives energy neophytes an accessible way to learn about fossil fuels and their fallacies. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Energy is the most important story in the world bar none, and no one has ever told it with more verve than Amanda Little. If you want to know how the world works, and why it may not work much longer, this is the book you need.” (Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future )

“Lively, engaging and most thought-provoking. . . . Little answers the questions that perplex many-and, so importantly, identifies the key questions that only the future will answer.” (Daniel Yergin, Pulitizer Prize-winning author of The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power )

“Ambitious and highly readable. . . . [Little] expertly ties together disparate strains of history to make her case. . . . Jargon-free and written with a fine eye for detail-one of the best books on America’s energy crisis to emerge in recent years.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )

“Power Trip offers a panoramic view of our energy crisis, exploring past, present, and future with hope, passion and humor. Whether you are liberal or conservative, expert or novice, young or old, you’ll find adventure and insight in this book.” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., co-author of Not a Drop to Drink: America's Water Crisis )

“A wonderfully illuminating voyage. Little charts a fresh path outside the usual doctrinaire accounts on energy. Her intelligence and enthusiasm will change the way you think about the future.” (Steven Johnson, bestselling author of The Ghost Map and The Invention of Air )

“Charming, fun, and deeply informed, Power Trip is a great way to get a handle on our energy and environmental future. Little talks to the key players across America, digs into the reasons we have so many problems, and finds hope for a better world ahead.” (Congressman Jim Cooper, Nashville, TN )

“Power Trip takes a most timely and complicated issue and weaves a fast, fun, and gripping story—one that’s both candid and unflinching in its approach. Amanda represents the best of a new young perspective, a new voice of green.” (Robert Redford )

“Combine the historical intrigue of Jared Diamond, the journalistic flare of Tom Wolfe, and the passionate advocacy of Rachel Carson-and you get Power Trip. Amanda Little’s multifaceted approach makes this the one book about our energy past and future that everyone should read and all will enjoy.” (Andrew Shapiro, founder and president of GreenOrder )

“It’s hard to imagine a book about energy that would appeal as much to a business executive as it would to an eco-activist-or, for that matter, to a soccer mom, a farmer, a politician or a student. Here it is . . . a must-read for everyone.” (Jim Rogers, Chairman and CEO of Duke Energy )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061353256
• ISBN-13: 978-0061353253
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #760,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Amanda Little has published widely on energy, technology, and the environment. Her columns on green politics and innovation have appeared in Grist.org, Salon.com, and Outside magazine. Her articles have been published in the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Wired, New York Magazine, In Style, Men's Journal, and the Washington Post. She is the recipient of the Jane Bagley Lehman Award for excellence in environmental journalism. She lives with her husband and daughter in Nashville, Tennessee.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FINALLY, October 22, 2009

By 

Elizabeth L. Workman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Power Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells---Our Ride to the Renewable Future (Hardcover)

In the vast miasma of bi-partisan, post-Orwellian, 24-hour-newsadelic opinions about the state of our energy dependence, POWER TRIP is a solar-powered beacon of truth. Amanda Little hits the sweet spot between James Kunstler and Freeman Dyson with authority, brio and humor. What could have been another dire list of shortcomings and impossibilities turns out to be the feel-good read of the year. Grease your bike chains and put on your Wellies, kids; the future looks bright. Thanks, Mrs. Little.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How We Got Here, Where "Here" Is and Where We're Going, January 26, 2010

By 

Terry Sunday (El Paso, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Power Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells---Our Ride to the Renewable Future (Hardcover)

"Power Trip" is quite a rarity among books about the environment. It is, perhaps alone in the genre, a sober, balanced weighing of the positives and negatives of mankind's dependence on fossil fuels. It is well-researched, factual, comprehensive, non-hysterical and apolitical. Author Amanda Little has no apparent hidden agendas, no obvious axes to grind, and no perceivable motivations beyond presenting the facts behind today's acrimonious debates about petroleum and its byproducts. She does this very well. "Power Trip" is a significant, detailed, entertaining and highly readable book that everyone with an opinion about America's energy past, present or future should read.

I especially like the organization and structure of "Power Trip." The first part, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Oil," contains seven chapters covering how the world got to where it is today in its dependence on oil and petroleum products. Each chapter is roughly 30 pages long. For example, Chapter 1, "Over a Barrel," describes the history of American and international oil industries from the first well in Pennsylvania to the latest deep-water drilling techniques. Chapter 3, "Road Hogs," takes a nonjudgmental (despite its title) look at the cars we drive, the roads we drive them on, and even at NASCAR racing. Chapter 4, "Plastic Explosive," is a fascinating survey of the literally tens of thousands of plastic products, all derived from petroleum, that fill every aspect of our lives today. This chapter is especially eye-opening for those who think we can quickly and easily wean ourselves from dependence on oil. It's not that easy...

The second part, "Greener Pastures," contains four chapters that present visions of some possible energy futures. Chapter 8, "Earth, Wind and Fire," covers how various renewable, less-polluting energy sources may supplant petroleum in the future. Chapter 9, "Autopia," covers the trials, tribulations and promise of electric cars. As is all of "Power Trip," these chapters are interesting, informative, detailed and factual--there's no shrillness, political ideology or arm-waving, just sober facts presented in a most readable and engaging manner.

In an ideal world, both tree-hugging libs and "drill, baby, drill" neocons would read "Power Trip." If they did, they would learn countless facts about petrochemicals and their environmental effects, and about the incredibly, staggeringly complicated issues, with no easy answers, that attend the world's addiction to oil. If they did, they would perhaps realize that the only rational, sane way forward is for both sides of the debate to accept that there are valid arguments on the other side, and that "all or nothing" solutions, on either side, are recipes for global disaster. If they did, they might even become more willing to listen to all viewpoints, and maybe even to consider compromises for their mutual benefit and for the future of the Earth. The answers are out there. "Power Trip" is required reading for anyone interested in finding out how we got to where we are and where we may go from here. I recommend it highly to every thoughtful, open-minded and concerned reader.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, Knowledgeable, Inspired! THRILLING!, October 26, 2009

By 

Betty Rocker "http://www.bettyrocker.net" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Power Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells---Our Ride to the Renewable Future (Hardcover)

I didn't think a book about such a potentially dry and depressing topic could be such a magical journey -- Ms. Little takes us down the rabbit-hole of energy sourcing, generation and consumption, pulling together engrossing and occasionally hilarious anecdotes with impressively assembled data and well-balanced analysis. This is not a partisan screed, but rather, an exceedingly well-informed and forward-thinking vision of how we can prioritize our use of petrochemicals and leverage new technologies to mitigate climate change. This book is required reading, and Ms. Little a national treasure -- the next generation of American ingenuity.