The Crooked Mile: Through peak oil, biofuels, hybrid cars, and global climate change to reach a brighter future

A fellow car enthusiast sent me The Crooked Mile as a gift, and so I had to read it. This was a good gift, worth the reading. While the ideas are developed based on cars, fossil fuel and climate weirdness, The Crooked Mile is a very readable introduction to the much bigger problem of how we (globally) move to a sustainable future. It offers one of the best assessments of the challenges we face in replacing fossil fuels as our cheap energy supply. Kevin Clemens clearly introduces the idea that we need a multiplicity of solutions - both for energy sources and for transportation. As a student of sustainable practices, I find that this is easily the most readable, and least preachy, book I've read to date. While focused on the car and transportation, most the the major issues are raised in the context of why the car poses a problem. As a nitpicker, I'll note that there are a few bloopers - Double check numbers before you cite them. A minor negative in an otherwise very good exposition of the the issues.

The Crooked Mile: Through peak oil, biofuels, hybrid cars, and global climate change to reach a brighter future by Kevin Clemens Have you ever worried that one day the fossil-fuel spigot will run dry? Or that motor fuel will become so expensive that you will need to drastically change your lifestyle in order to provide life's basic necessities for yourself and your family? As car enthusiasts, we more than anyone should be tuned in to the ramifications of our nation's dependence on fossil fuel and should be keenly aware of the fact that people have been working on alternative fuel solutions since the dawn of the automobile age, often with limited success. This is more or less the approach automotive journalist Kevin Clemens takes in his latest book, The Crooked Mile, an exploration of the past, present and future of energy and the automobile. Clemens opens his book with an introductory mea culpa about his own fossil fuel addiction: "My own case of oil addiction has been chronic. For much of my professional career I have written about cars. I've driven cars in all 50 states, in more than 50 countries and on five continents." He goes onto explain that his reason for writing the book was to: "find out for myself and write about what is coming next in the world of transportation and to put a human face on the technologies that we will use to meet the future challenges of personal mobility." "Unfortunately," he concludes in the intro, "the deeper I got into it, the more I discovered that finding a way out of this mess, caused in part by 100 years of cheap energy, is not going to be easy." Clemens touches on all of the hot button issues: peak oil, climate change, biofuels, the viability of hybrid cars, the promise of lithium ion batteries in electric cars as well as the question of where electricity to power electric cars (and the lithium for the batteries) will come from. It's a well-researched, topical and timely book that car enthusiasts owe it to themselves to read if for no other reason than that we might be better prepared to intelligently discuss and defend our favorite topic from ill-informed critics. Copyright 2009 Mike McNessor (Hemmings Motor News - September 2009- used with permission) (Reviewer McNessor is an Editor at Hemmings Motor News)

Kevin Clemens tells the facts about how fuels relate to climate change without bias. He gives the history, pros and cons of each type of fuel,and ideas for change all in terms that the everyday person can understand. This is a crisis of our making, and Mr. Clemens not only acknowledges that fact, he gives some wonderful alternatives and things for every citizen to think about. The planet belongs to all of us, all of us should read this book.

Cars, more than anything, are vital to society. But they can also be the cause of its destruction. "The Crooked Mile: Through Peak Oil, Biofuels, Hybrid Cars, and Global Climate Change to Reach a Brighter Future" is a discussion of the automobile and everything that fuels it, and the resulting implications on society as a whole, with a focus on the ongoing oil and energy crises. Author Kevin Clemens breaks down the debate and offers his own opinions, discussing how there is hope for the future. "The Crooked Mile" is intriguing and full of invaluable information.

Kevin Clemens, a self-avowed "car guy", has filled this book with original research, history, and facts on virtually every aspect of the alternative energy debate. Are we running out of oil? When will we be driving fuel-cell cars? How did we get into this mess? Should I buy a hybrid or electric car? Although the break-neck pace can be overwhelming, it attests to the thoroughness of the details and the timeliness of the information. The last two chapters provide a good review and compelling conclusions for the complex issues addressed previously. Clemens has wrapped it all in his story, filled with experiences as a driver and automotive writer whose work and passions have taken him around the world. This book will help you understand the complexities of our relationship with energy and transportation, and more thoughtful about the decisions you make every day.