$20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better

Not only is this an on-target analysis of the energy crunch to come, Steiner tells us what we can do about it before we get clobbered by it. Simply brilliant. Tell all of your elected officials and friends about this book. John Wasik, author, "The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome"

With global economies predicated on the ready availability and low cost of the frequently volatile commodity of oil it's a wonder policy makers pay so little attention to addressing the issue. "$20 Per Gallon" seeks to get readers to thinking about the volatility of oil prices and what those increases mean to them in the macroeconomic sense. But rather than being a dryly written treatise of interest only to economists Steiner takes a unique approach that makes the consequences of higher gas prices quite clear to readers: each chapter is broken out by the price of a gallon of gas and lays out the consequences of what that means to individual consumers and the broader economy. As a senior editor at Forbes magazine Steiner is used to making economics comprehensible to lay people and he does so here to a devastating effect with writing that is crisp, clear and cogent. A great example is when gas hits $6 per gallon. At that point Steiner posits that consumers will make a permanent shift away from SUVs and much of our current commuter culture will start to buckle as parents no longer are willing or able to shuttle children to an endless round of athletic events and practices, tutoring, and the like. Exurban areas will start to see a loss of population back to city cores that will only accelerate when the prices continue further upwards. By the time you reach $12 per gallon the sustainability of our "just-in-time" method of stocking retail and factories is unsustainable. Big box retailers will have to rethink how to do business. Suburbanites will have to rethink living away from their jobs. But there are many other less obvious areas of our economy that would be affected by such an increase that Steiner points out. At times it is tempting to think of Steiner as Robert Malthus reborn, and "$20 Per Gallon" at times has a ring of prior authors who predicted doom such as "The Population Explosion" back in the 1960s. But in that case the Green Revolution in agriculture staved off disaster. Given the volatility in oil prices it's hard to expect a time where $12 per gallon would be a condition of stasis but certainly not out of the question. The supply shocks of the 1970s were short living and produced some beneficial changes to individual economies, but the supply shortage following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 pointed out how vulnerable supplies can be and the harm that came as a result. The global economic slowdown kept prices low but an economic recovery may quickly snuff out that upturn if oil prices spike too high too quickly. What Steiner hopes to prompt is spurring federal officials, policy makers, business leaders and political economics to take action to avert potential problems before they arise. The same applies to consumers in their everyday lives as a spike in oil prices certainly jeopardizes the foundation of the economy and society we enjoy. "$20 Per Gallon" is certainly a provocative book and it is intended to be so. Steiner's po

I picked up Steiner's book the other day and began reading through it. I bounced between the chapters for a while, but finally settled in and took my time to pick through his chapters in order. Instead of writing about whether or not I agree with each of his points, I'd like to make a general statement about Steiner's approach with this book. To begin with, it is too easy and common to capitalize on fear. You can always come up with myriad ways in which something that is happening right now is going to make the future worse. It is easy to write, it is easy to sell, it is easy to gain an audience. In short, it is easy to sell fear. However, what do we really learn from fear? The answer is easy. We learn nothing. It hinders us from making rational and intelligent choices, it keeps us from planning appropriately, and it hinders tolerance and development. Steiner decided to take the more difficult path with this book and focusses on rational thought for our future as fuel prices continue to rise. Steiner gathered up information, made an informed decision, and presented ideas for discussion. Furthermore, he took a more positive approach with it. That is what really sets this book apart. Instead of looking for an easy fear story to sell, the author points out the benefits. Steiner did not take the easy route with this book. He went after a difficult topic to open it up for discussion. Whether or not you agree with the author's ideas and conclusions, you will come away from this book thinking more in depth about our fossil fuel usage.

Finally, a well-tempered antidote to American consumerism, and a refreshing break from doomsday peak-oil prophets. In this well-guided and engaging book, Steiner, a senior writer at Forbes magazine, walks us through a more hopeful future of high oil prices, where, as he demonstrates, all facets of our globalized economy will be impacted. Oil economics is a sensitive issue for Americans (see other reviewers comments herein) and Steiner navigates this treacherous terrain with deft and natural ability. I will say what I liked most about Steiner's approach is that it's hands-on and contains real-life anecdotes from businesses and professionals who are, right now (and in some instances, have been - prior to the peak in '08) preparing for life in a world of higher oil prices. This gives me, and should give everyone else, hope. As the price of oil starts to rise again, some businesses are prepared and have actually been taking pre-emptive measures to give themselves a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Yes, adaptability, as Steiner notes - not inefficiency, glut, and consumption - is the true hallmark of the American economy and is what fundamentally gives this book life, and I hope for the future. Great read.

The book's structure - chapters going up with the price of gas - is elegant and clever. It's a fascinating breakdown of how gas prices affect our world and how, in a world of higher and higher prices, how we'll adjust. The relationship between gas prices and car fatalities - wow. The relationship between gas prices and obesity? That's simply amazing. But when you think about, it makes perfect sense, as the supporting research shows. There are so many great characters throughout the book, from the farmer in Chapter $16 to the driver of the electric UPS truck in Chapter $10. The commerical carp fishermen have to take the cake, though! I've read about Shai Agassi before, but his mission always amazes me. I almost think there could have been an additional chapter on the psychology of Americans regarding gas prices. There almost seems to be a sense of entitlement with many people, a sense that they're owed low gas prices and it's the government's job to keep them low. We treat gasoline, for some reason, differently than anything else. But oil is a wild, wild market. Don't think that because prices are down next week that they'll be down in a year. They could go completely bonkers. And they likely will. And the New York chapter of this book simply rules. Excellent read.