Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction

Terry Tamminen points out the stupendous costs of America's oil addiction. I certainly recommend the book, if only as a starting point for discussion. I found the section on hydrogen particularly interesting. I had been under the impression that hydrogen was more of a boondoggle pushed by the oil and gas companies than a serious transportation technology. I can't say that I'm convinced that hydrogen will play the large role that Tamminen thinks it will, but maybe there's some value there. Tamminen misses entirely one of the largest contributors to the costs of our oil addiction: parking. Parking sounds harmless enough, but free and subsidized parking costs the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Most U.S. localities have parking requirements that require businesses and residences to provide a certain number of parking spaces. Everybody pays for providing and maintaining these spaces, even people who don't own a car. The result is that enormous amounts of land and money are wasted on parking lots and parking structures. Free parking works like a fertility drug for cars. For a more thorough discussion of this issue, I would suggest pairing Tamminen's book with Donald Shoup's "The High Cost of Free Parking."

Terry Tamminen has put together a monumental expose' of the true cost of our fossil fuel addiction and the U.S auto industry collusion to mislead both consumers and government alike on the health hazards of fossil fuel exhaust- not much different than tobacco smoke and that industry's playing-down the health risks of their products. The history of oil use is well covered including wars and potential wars over it's control, government subsidies, fossil fuel contribution to global warming and the global crisis we face when the oil reserves run out. After reading about the multiple ways that fossil fuel consumption has polluted air, water and land, one is left with a feeling that the world oil supply will hopefully run out sooner than later. Tamminen paints a bleak picture of the corruption and pollution of fossil fuel use, but he also gives positive coverage of the emerging clean/green ZEV (zero emission vehicles) technology such as electric, hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell propulsion and electric generating systems coupled with solar, wind, and photovoltaic systems to replace the out-dated fossil fuel systems. Also covered are the many things individuals can do on their own to reduce their personal energy consumption footprint, i.e., use low-watt bulbs, drive a hybrid or electric car and boycott wasteful products- buy green. Collectively, these actions add up and make a huge difference in total energy consumption while sending a strong message to the merchants of toxic products that their products are no longer desired.

I just finished Lives Per Gallon and am both stunned and inspired. Not only does this book reveal the shocking horrors of our reliance on oil...but it made me want to do something about it. This is a page-turner that kept me riveted. A Must Read.

This book reads like a mystery novel but weaves together a compelling mountain of facts that illustrate what President Bush has referred to as America's "addiction to oil." Tamminen's book explores in depth the severity of the consequences of that addiction, from demonstrable public health impacts to dependence on regimes that don't like us. But more importantly, this book identifies a number of solutions to move us away from our dependence on oil. Too many well-written books do a thorough job of outlining the problem, but few authors take the time to discuss solutions. Reasonable people will disagree about what are the best solutions to our addiction, but Tamminen's book offers a menu of tools that can begin the discussion.

If only there were a twelve step program for America's oil addiction. Of course, we'd all drive to meetings in our SUVs. This book is so much more than a chronicle of how the infernal combustion engine and the petroleum industry have made billions riding roughshod over the planet. It's a call to action. If you've ever done an intervention (or wanted to do one) for a friend who was hooked on something and killing himself/herself, then read this book and realize that your friend is the earth and everyone on it. Terry Tamminen's book makes us see that we're all caught in an oil spill.