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Robert Bryce

Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of "Energy Independence" Hardcover – March 4, 2008

by Robert Bryce (Author)

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Everybody is talking about "energy independence." But is it really achievable? Is it actually even desirable? In this controversial, meticulously researched book, Robert Bryce exposes the false promises behind the rhetoric while blasting nearly everybody— Republicans, Democrats, environmentalists, and war-mongering neoconservatives—for misleading voters about our energy needs.

Gusher of Lies explains why the idea of energy independence appeals to voters while also showing that renewable sources like wind and solar cannot meet America's growing energy demand. Along the way, Bryce eviscerates the ethanol scam. Whether the issue is cost, water consumption, or food prices, corn ethanol is one of the longest-running robberies ever perpetrated on American taxpayers.

Consumers concerned about peak oil and the future of global energy supplies need to understand that energy security depends on embracing free markets and the realities of interdependence. Gusher of Lies is illuminating, vital reading.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Bryce does a fantastic job of helping people understand the sheer magnitude of energy flows that would have to be replaced to attain energy independence, and conclusively makes his case that pursuing energy interdependence is a superior objective." -- New York Post, March 9, 2008

"In Gusher of Lies, Mr. Bryce mounts a savage attack on the concept of energy independence. [He] begins coolly, then heats up and eventually approaches core meltdown. . . . Land[ing] one telling blow after another.... Mr. Bryce gets to work demolishing cherished green beliefs about alternative energy sources ... but he is an equal-opportunity smiter.... He [too] goes after the political right. Fortunately, Mr. Bryce suggests that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. In the end, the hard-nosed Mr. Bryce reveals himself as something of a visionary and perhaps even a revolutionary. Power to the people." -- The New York Times, March 7, 2008

"Meticulously researched with copious facts-nearly all footnoted-this illuminating and sometimes witty work offers another view of the current state of energy." -- Library Journal

"[Bryce] carefully, gleefully throttles the meaningless rhetoric driving the cry for energy independence.... High-order muckraking and an excellent primer for addressing the real question: How are we going to handle energy interdependence?" -- Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Robert Bryce is one of America's foremost energy journalists. He is currently the managing editor of Energy Tribune and a contributing writer for the Texas Observer. The author of Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron and Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate, he lives in Austin with his wife, Lorin, their three children, and a hyperactive bird dog named Biscuit.

Product details

Publisher : PublicAffairs; 1st edition (March 4, 2008)
Language: : English
Hardcover : 371 pages
ISBN-10 : 1586483218
ISBN-13 : 978-1586483210
Item Weight : 1.6 pounds
Dimensions : 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,048,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #895 in Alternative & Renewable Energy
- #964 in Fossil Fuels
- #1,248 in Oil & Energy Industry (Books)

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69 ratings

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HR Wolfe

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great book filled with FACTS not wishful thinking. Things you can base policy on, the thing is it was written long ago, had it been heeded we as a nation would have saved a bundle and electricity would not be so expensive.

Helpful

peter h. frorer

worth reading if you have not read anything by Bryce yet.

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

A good primer, plenty of observations regarding energy issues.

Helpful

Kindle Customer

A Gusher of Energy Information

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2009

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed and learned from this book. Many others have made insightful
comments. The author was balanced in his approach. The main point about
energy interdependence instead of the USA being an island of energy
independence was made with conviction. The political comments near the
end were not as persuasive. Wind and solar do not appear currently to be
major sources of energy in the near-term future.

Geothermal, wave power and coal liquefaction may offer more promise than
portrayed in the book. Technological advancement could enhance and modify
any of these energy resources in the future. The electrical power grid is
aging (in some ways a 1940's type of operation) and needs substantial
upgrading and modification. This book is well worth reading.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Scrutinizing Consumer

Energy Independence, Alchemy and Perpetual Motion

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2008

Verified Purchase

"A Gusher of Lies" is a must-read for those wanting the cold, hard facts on the current state and future prospects of worldwide energy dynamics. Written by Robert Bryce, a fellow at the Institute for Energy Research and energy journalist and author for the past twenty years, "Gusher of Lies" is meticulously researched and footnoted (60+ pages of bibliography and references). It relies on numerical facts, realistic forecasts and opinions of key members of the scientific community to dispel any notion that the United States will ever achieve "energy independence" until another energy source/application, that does not currently exist, is invented. The alarming truth is the United States, along with every other developed country on the planet, are inexorably dependent on fossil fuels and will be for the foreseeable future.

While looking at the numbers, one should ask how "energy independence" has become such a dominant theme. Is it because the Middle East is evil and wants Westerners dead? Perhaps. Perhaps not. The oil behemoths of the Middle East need the West as much as, if not more than, we need them. Oil makes up ~7% of total U.S. imports but accounts for between 65 and 95 percent of Persian Gulf exports, depending on the nation. In the long term, economics tend to supplant all other factors. To claim energy independence will significantly reduce terrorism is a contrivance. While there is no denying that some Middle Eastern players have been linked to Islamic fundamentalists, most terrorist organizations are low-tech in nature and don't need oil dollars. Their financing has been found to come from drugs, human trafficking, weapons trading and other criminal activities. The cost to finance terrorist operations is a rounding error compared to the $5 trillion in annual energy revenues. Not to mention other, rapidly expanding economies will happily buy up much of what the U.S. doesn't in their laser-focused goal to enjoy what the U.S. has for many decades.

Why aren't politicians and special interests clamoring for semi-conductor independence? Semiconductors are also a vital commodity, yet the U.S. imports ~80% of its total semiconductor needs compared to ~60% for oil. The U.S. is also dependent on others for many other crucial commodities - manganese for making steel (100% imported), bauxite for making aluminum (100%), graphite (100%), platinum (91%), tin (88%), titanium (85%)... The list of dependencies goes on and on. So why have so many people latched on to "energy independence" when a brief examination of worldwide energy sources and demand would reveal the absurdity of such a goal in a globally interdependent world? The answer might be found in the term, "energy independence" itself. In the year 2000, a news data base, Factivia, that tracks the use of terms and phrases in major periodicals counted 449 total stories using the phrase. Since 9/11, the use of the term has risen exponentially. In 2006 the term was used in 8,069 stories. Power misers (no pun intended) and others seeking to influence behavior of the masses are always looking for issues that will appeal to, and even manipulate, people's emotions. It is worth mentioning that since "Gusher of Lies" was published in March 2008 the use of the phrase "Energy Independence" has dwindled and been altered. If one listens closely, phrases like "CLOSER to energy independence" and similar semantically adjusted phrases have become more common.

ETHANOL

In an effort to supplement energy needs with renewable and alternative energy, ethanol has garnered much attention in recent years. The current U.S. ethanol strategy uses taxpayer dollars to subsidize (at $0.51/gallon) fuel manufactured from the most subsidized ($51.3 billion between 1995 and 2005) crop in America - corn. What follows are the independently, peer reviewed claims of the scientific community and independent sources, which of course vary significantly from those of the likes of Archer Daniels Midland (the world's largest agribusiness), political recipients of its $7.9 million in campaign contributions and its Washington lobbyists:

1. To completely replace the U.S. consumption of gasoline, which accounts for less than half of our total current oil consumption, with corn ethanol would require 546 million acres dedicated specifically for its production. To put this in perspective, all farmland for every crop grown in America currently occupies 440 million acres.
2. The energy derived from gasoline, as measured in BTUs, is between 600 and 700% more than that required to extract, transport and refine the required crude oil to produce it. The energy available from corn ethanol is 71% of that required to grow, transport and process it from the required feedstock. This means the production of corn ethanol results in a net energy loss of 29%. Put another way, this is like investing a dollar and getting a 71 cent return. Cellulosic ethanol produced from switch grass and wood biomass is even worse with net energy losses of 50 and 57% respectively.
3. Ethanol is not the answer to global warming. It makes it worse. Taking the energy required to produce corn ethanol into account, the carbon dioxide emissions from corn ethanol fuel is on the order of 50% higher than those of traditional fossil fuels.
4. Ethanol-based fuel has less energy content and results in lower fuel economy. "Consumer Reports" magazine compared the fuel economy of a new Chevy Tahoe running on regular gasoline to E85 (85% ethanol blend). It's fuel economy dropped by 27% with E85.
5. Ethanol emits more pollutants than gasoline. In April 2007, Stephen L. Johnson of the Environmental Protection Agency issued a statement that the use of ethanol will result in major increases in the release of two of the worst air pollutants: volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides - 4 and 7% respectively. Using the ethanol mandates set by the government, this translates to up to 83,000 tons of additional annual air pollutants in the U.S.
6. It requires 880 gallons of water to produce one gallon of corn ethanol. Figuring 15% irrigation and 85% rain water, this translates to 132 gallons of water for one gallon of ethanol compared to 5 gallons for gasoline.

NATURAL GAS

The U.S. reached "peak gas" production in 1973. Peak gas is the point at which maximum extraction of known reserves has been reached and begins to decline, sometimes exponentially. The U.S. has been a net importer of natural gas for decades and, over the coming decades, those imports are expected to increase dramatically.

NUCLEAR POWER

While the U.S. produces ~4.7 million pounds of the uranium required for nuclear power generation each year, we are currently importing ~83% of the uranium required to power existing plants, a significant portion coming from Russia. Meanwhile ours and the world's demand for uranium continue to grow.

COAL

The U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of coal. At our current rate of consumption, we have more than 200 years of reserves left. But because of emission standards, we still have to import "cleaner" coal from other countries. While we are currently a net exporter of coal, it is estimated we will become a net importer by 2015. In an effort to offset oil requirements, coal is being converted to motor fuel (coal-to-liquid) via the Fischer-Tropsch process. However a study conducted by Toyota of 23 different fuels found coal-to-liquid fuel to have the highest carbon dioxide footprint - ~50% higher compared to gasoline.

SOLAR

Residential solar power currently costs ~$0.37 per kilowatt hour. This takes into account the current cost of solar panels minus the offsets of government incentives and utility sell-backs (where utilities are required to buy back excess power generated by the homeowner) without which, the cost would be higher. The average cost of electricity from utilities is ~$0.10 per kW hour. If worldwide solar capacity increased at a rate of 25% a year, thereby reducing manufacturing and purchase costs, in the year 2020 solar power would account for 1% of global energy demand at a cost of ~ $0.22 per kW hour.

WIND POWER

1. Wind generated power, like solar, is dependent on the weather. And the cruel irony is that on the hottest days, when electricity demand is the highest, the wind doesn't blow.
2. Wind power must always have a backup energy source ready for when the air is stagnant. This means keeping a power plant running at a lower capacity called "spinning reserve" which burns fuel without creating electricity.
3. As a power plant's output varies, in order to meet the volatile demand caused by fluctuating wind patterns, it becomes significantly less efficient, using more fuel and costing more to operate.
4. A study conducted by the British Royal Academy of Engineering determined that the combined cost of wind power is more than twice that of Coal, natural gas or nuclear. Even taking into account proposed emissions trading scenarios, conventional methods of producing energy are still cheaper than wind.
5. In 2004, total energy produced by existing U.S. wind turbines was 14 billion kW hours. An aggressive campaign to add wind energy capacity has resulted in over 20,000 wind turbines installed by 2007. The Energy Information Administration predicts a four-fold increase to 64.5 billion kW hours by 2030. This means wind energy will be providing little more than 1% of America's anticipated electricity needs.

Calling for "Energy Independence" violates the second law of goal setting - the goal must be achievable. The phrase "Energy Independence" boils down to another gimmick employed to invoke mass emotion in pursuit of goals that frequently have little to do with energy. Only the ignorant or deceitful use the phrase with a straight face. The fact is the world is becoming increasingly interdependent and energy independence won't be possible until some great discovery or invention, to which no one is currently known to be close, presents itself. China's and India's populations are over 1.3 and 1.1 billion, respectively. Both economies are growing at a voracious rate and will continue to do so. There are currently 6.7 billion people on this planet and there are expected to be over two billion MORE in the next 40 years. A significant percentage of this growth will be in the middle class - people who like to use energy. Do the math.

This is a grim message indeed. There is no pleasure in its dissemination. But ignorance and futility are even more painful. Stephen Hawking may have been right when he said the only way the human race will survive will be if we figure out how to colonize other planets. Growth cannot continue in a confined space. Something has to give. If we can't figure out how to travel across space and terraform, we better figure out how to stabilize the population on this planet. Otherwise the ever increasing struggle for resources will trigger an "event" that will undoubtedly reduce our numbers to a level this planet can support... at least until an asteroid hits us or our sun burns out. I hope that invention comes in time or I'm wrong about the rest.

Carpe Diem!

37 people found this helpful

Helpful

Captain Ron

Required reading for all politicians and alternative energy pundits.

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2014

Verified Purchase

No one lives alone on this planet and this book defines clearly why we, and everyone else on this planet are dependent on other country's resources. Keeping the trading channels open is the only way to stabilize energy prices.

Helpful

ACEMAN

Gusher of Lies

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2009

Verified Purchase

This is an important book in mny ways: one, it is a full-blown understanding of the current oil crisis that the US is confused about and , two, it is a logical fill-in the places where Mathew Simmons book, Twilight in the Desert leaves off. what is truly remarkable is the excellent integration of facts and opinion. The book is not profound, but it settles easy into the greatest lie of the past thirty-five years when it comes to the rhetoric of politics, namely the term: "energy independence." Once one understands that this is impossible and have the underpinning of the facts and reports (see Mathews), then reality must sink in. This book offers little by way of solutions, but definitely lays out the history of the rhetoric and the politics of the wishfull thinking.
M-J Perlman PhD

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Great Read

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2014

Verified Purchase

The author takes us through the blind alleys of green energy and other programs doomed to fail. The tough question is if this is stupidity, corruption ( donors and politicians are major beneficiaries of many of the green programs) or a deliberate effort to crash the economy . With 90 million out of work, billions in the pockets of insiders it is apparent that they are not stupid, only selfish and obsessed with power.

Few people understand that Tesla's "profit" comes from the $35,000 per car subsidy that they receive from other car makers and the additional subsidies us taxpayers dole out to the purchasers and the taxpayer loan guarantees which protect the bankers and give
Tesla hundreds of millions of nearly free debt.

Helpful

Richard Kozlovich

Interesting and thought provoking

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2008

Verified Purchase

If you wish to understand an issue, you must understand the history of that issue. His information is interesting because it has the type of in-depth historical information that is needed to understand this issue. However, there were some areas that I felt he didn't fully explain and some of his conclusions may be questioned. I highly recommend this book, if for no other reason, it gives a different perspective than you have been used to. It clarifies so much of what has gone on in the last 50 years. After reading this book you will feel that you have a much better grasp of this issue and will unlikely to be fooled easily.

9 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Laura O'Reilly

Learning to live interdependent .... Amazing book ... Must read by Everyone you know

Reviewed in Canada on July 25, 2014

Verified Purchase

Everyone should read this book. There is no such thing as energy independence, no matter how much America wants to be. America is sad that it's not longer on top of the energy producing country.
Their angry that Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran are the on top. Their more interested in trying to beat these countries out of their energy games then, trying to help and play their games.
He makes rational arguments on why Solar and Wind wont work or they wont be able to handle all of America's energy needs.
The neoconservatives want America to build a "WALL" around America to protect them for the scary outside world - saying that buying foreign oil is helping fund terrorism. America get's its oil first from Canada then Mexico, then Kuwait which is America's closet allies in the Persian Gulf, then Dubai there's also Bahrain and Qatar - but Bahrain and Qatar don't supply Oil to the U.S market.
The America government and Environmental Groups say that Ethanol in gasoline is worse for the environment but still the government give the Ethanol groups huge subsides. That's the reason why food prices are going up, is because farmers are growing corn for Ethanol for gasoline instead of growing food for hungry people.
This is an amazing book - I've talking about it to everyone I know - Trying to get everyone to read it - To understand to complexity's of the energy crisis were living in and how complex the energy future will be if we don't learn to live interdependent.

Hempman

Reality Check

Reviewed in Canada on October 3, 2017

Verified Purchase

So you think the greenies have all the answers? Well they don't. This book will open your eyes to the reality of the energy question. There is nothing wrong with fossil fuels with the exception of the green movement. Solar and wind ARE NOT THE ANSWER!

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