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

"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

Power Trip is 21st century journalism at it's very best. What makes Power Trip a pleasure to read is what makes it important to read--Little seeks and finds the technologies, the people, and the companies who are day by day making it more possible for the good life and the green life to sustain each other. In a field where bias abounds,a field frequently defined by polar oppositions of environment and economics, Little has written a book that constructs a path beyond that divisiveness, a path, she effectively argues, will lead to economic and ecological success. Little's willingness to examine how her own passions for consumption and impulses towards conservation tangle and resolve work together to create a tender and adventurous tone, that underscore an informed optimism that is never naive, an informed politics that is never shrill, and a narrative thread that is taunt, paragraph by paragraph, that place Power Trip at the top of the Energy Book list. Wonder what it is about Nashville that it has produced the two most significant environmental writers of the last decade-- Al Gore and now Amanda Little.

Like a great documentary, this book tells a story we should all understand-- and sweetens the medicine so it goes down easy. It is fast paced, character-heavy, and packed with information you'll find yourself sharing in passing conversations. Little has taken the massive scope of this issue and made it a story about people - one about all of us. Her depth of knowledge is intense, her humor is surprising, and her optimism is contagious.

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.

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.