The end of energy : the unmaking of America's environment, security, and independence /

Americans take for granted that when we flip a switch the light will go on, and when we pull up to the pump gas will be plentiful and relatively cheap. Here, Michael Graetz shows us that we have been living an energy delusion for forty years. Until the 1970s, we produced domestically all the oil we...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Graetz, Michael J.
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, [2011]
Subjects:
Description
Summary:Americans take for granted that when we flip a switch the light will go on, and when we pull up to the pump gas will be plentiful and relatively cheap. Here, Michael Graetz shows us that we have been living an energy delusion for forty years. Until the 1970s, we produced domestically all the oil we needed. Since then, we have had to import most of the oil we use, and we rely on an even dirtier fuel, coal, to produce half of our electricity. Graetz describes decades of energy policy incompetence, fom the Nixon administration's fumbled response to the OPEC oil embargo to the current political standoff over "cap and trade," Graetz argues that we must make better decisions for our energy future. Until Americans face the facts about price, our energy incompetence will continue, and along with it the unraveling of our environment, security and independence.
Physical Description:x, 369 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references (pages [279]-353) and index.
ISBN:9780262015677 (hbk. : alk. paper)
0262015676 (hbk. : alk. paper)