Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism / Cheap-Library.com
Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism
Ozzie Zehner
We don’t have an energy crisis. We have a consumption crisis. And this book, which takes aim at cherished assumptions regarding energy, offers refreshingly straight talk about what’s wrong with the way we think and talk about the problem. Though we generally believe we can solve environmental problems with more energy—more solar cells, wind turbines, and biofuels—alternative technologies come with their own side effects and limitations. How, for instance, do solar cells cause harm? Why can’t engineers solve wind power’s biggest obstacle? Why won’t contraception solve the problem of overpopulation lying at the heart of our concerns about energy, and what will?
$6.25 (USD)
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Release date: 2012
Format: PDF
Size: 6.81 MB
Language: English
Pages: 464
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Green Illusions
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Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism (ISBN 978-0-8032-3775-9), by Ozzie Zehner, was published in 2012 by the University of Nebraska Press. It discusses various approaches to "clean energy", and why they do not provide the desired benefits. The author writes: "We don’t have an energy crisis. We have a consumption crisis."[1] Green Illusions argues that perceived solutions to climate change, such as solar cells, wind turbines, and electric cars, are better understood as illusions that people and groups use to convince themselves that they can be sustainable without reducing material consumption and overall human numbers over time, especially in wealthy countries. [2] The book generated significant controversy upon its publication leading to sections being censored in the United State and resulting in death threats to the author. [3] [4] However, the book was chosen by Goodreads users as a top-ten non-fiction book. [5] It also won the Northern California Book Award and Nautilus Award. [6] The author is co-producing a film on the subject entitled, Planet of the Humans.[7]
Green Illusions is broken into two distinct parts. Part I is a current history and investigation into why people believe renewable energy technologies will benefit humanity and the planet, and why that belief system is highly suspect and even detrimental despite the fact that fossil fuels yield negative consequences as well. [8] Part II proposes several dozen first steps as alternatives to alternative energy, which the author sees as holding greater potential for addressing environmental challenges. [9] In successive chapters, it discusses solar cells, wind power, biofuels, nuclear power, hydrogen power, coal power, hydropower, alternative energy, green investment, population control, consumption, architecture, carbon taxes, environmental education.
Writing in the Huffington Post, Tom Zeller Jr. calls the author a provocateur. He cites Chris Meehan, who called his view of photovoltaics "alarmist" and "misleading", and he cites Nick Chambers, who called his view of electric vehicles "ridiculous". However, Zeller writes that Zehner cites a "2010 lifecycle analysis" by the National Academy of Sciences as a basis for evaluating the "aggregate environmental damage" from an electric car.[10]
Writing for The Tyee, Justin Ritchie points to a fundamental question: "in a world of limited decisions, is it really smart to subsidize marginally effective mitigation strategies of our car culture, suburbia and overpopulation without addressing the root causes?"[11]
All copies of the book sold in the United States were self-censored due to food libel laws that enable the food industry to sue journalists and authors who criticize their products.
See also[edit]
Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future (2006 book)
Fossil-fuel phase-out
References[edit]
^ Review by Ozzie Zehner at Goodreads
^ [1] by conscioused.org
^ [2] by University of British Columbia
^ [3] by Wikimedia Commons
^ [4] by Seattle Public Library
^ [5] by KQED
^ [6] by Non-Fiction Film
^ [7] by conscioused.org
^ [8] by conscioused.org
^ Review by Tom Zeller Jr. in the Huffington Post, July 27, 2012
^ Review by Justin Ritchie in The Tyee, September 27, 2012
External links[edit]
Website for the book
Categories:
2012 non-fiction books
Books about energy issues
Non-fiction books about consumerism
Renewable energy
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Review of Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism by Ozzie Zehner
Spring 2013
wiki/AmazonGoordreads RevReview of
Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism
by Ozzie Zehner
Jonathan Hladik Center for Rural Affairs
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch Part of the American Studies Commons, and the Geography Commons This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Hladik, Jonathan, "Review of Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism by Ozzie Zehner" (2013). Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences. 1291. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch/1291 82
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Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism. By Ozzie Zehner. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2012. xx + 437 pp. Illustrations, photographs, tables, notes, index. $29.95 paper.
As we grapple with climate change and pollution, resource scarcity and rising prices, it's clear we need to make difficult choices about our energy consumption. In the opinion of many, the solution begins and ends with increased investment in renewable energy systems, an investment that will help us cut back on emissions and lower prices-while creating economic opportunity here at home.
Ozzie Zehner doesn't share that opinion.
His critique of modem American environmentalism in Green Illusions maintains that many of us could be wrong. Zehner begins by addressing the seductive nature of renewable energy systems, dissecting popularly circulated solutions, and arguing that we are nowhere close to finding a technology capable of moving us past the fossil-fuel-intensive lifestyle we've chosen. From solar panels to wind farms, biofuels to clean coal, he shows that each "solution" isn't a solution at all. In fact, each is part of the problem.
His deconstruction of the industry helps to make sense of our affinity for renewable energy. He points to popular media Great Plains Research Vol. 23 No.1, 2013 and mainstream environmentalism as CUlprits busy selling the renewable energy ideal to an unversed public while ignoring numerous options that could be far more effective in confronting climate change.
He points out that alternative energy production expands energy supplies, placing downward pressure on prices, which spurs demand, entrenches energy-intensive modes ofliving, and finally brings us right back to where we started-high demand and so-called insufficient supply. It takes some time to get there, but Zehner eventually begins to spell out a series of options that help us look at energy in a brand new way.
He touches on energy-efficient lighting, walkable communities, and suburban sprawl. He offers practical solutions readily available to average homeowners seeking to minimize energy use in their day-to-day lives. He then points to some of the many causes of our energy-intensive lifestyle that aren't often discussed. Examples include commercials aimed at children, corporate influence trumping citizen representation, measurements of the nation's health in dollars rather than well being, and media concerned with advertising over insight. Green Illusions commendably illustrates the importance of energy to our everyday lives. Almost every decision we make from where we live to where we work, to what we eat and how we seek entertainment-provides an opportunity to choose between an energy-intensive lifestyle and one more mindful of consequences.
Zehner is right to suggest that this problem won't necessarily be solved by the same productivist mentality that got us here in the first place. But it's fair to argue that he uses this opportunity to dismiss renewable technologies far too quickly. The need to change the way we think about energy doesn't alter the fact that we need at least some energy, both now and in the future. And where will that energy come from? Should we give up on renewable resources simply because they won't by themselves solve our energy problems? It's true we can focus on saving energy, or on better policies that will conserve energy, but we can't pretend that we can quit consumption cold turkey. Our energy has to come from somewhere. Zehner comes dangerously close to implying that as long as we boost efficiency and create policies that lead to less energy use and more conservation, the coal-intensive status quo is acceptable. But continually burning coal to meet our energy needs is not acceptable. The conversation cannot be about replacing conventional resources wholesale; it needs to be about diversification and moving away from those that are most harmful. We may minimize our need for electricity, but we aren't going to eliminate it entirely. Though they may not be perfect, renewable energy technologies will play an important role in providing our minimum energy needs. They can be improved upon, but they can't be dismissed. In the end, Green Illusions asks more questions than it answers, which is a good thing. It's imperative that we spend more time considering the energy issues that really matter, not those being foisted upon us through mainstream media and other Book Reviews facets of popular culture. As a nation, we have hard decisions before us. We need to find actual, tangible solutions that will make a real difference. Our path begins with critical thinking and informed choices. This book helps us get started.
JONATHAN HLADIK Center for Rural Affairs Lyons, Nebraska
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Tom Connor
5.0 out of 5 stars A practical review of green power
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2015
Verified Purchase
I live in MT where wind farms have popped up like weeds. The promises of cheap power have long since given way to higher energy costs. Wind projects in the 300MW range seemed like a great deal until the project managers negotiated with the state public service commission that local power companies - not wind farms - had to pay for the power lines that bring wind power to the grid, and local power companies HAD to include 20% of renewables in their power portfolio. Ironically, hydro is specifically excluded by state law as a renewable 'to encourage new development.' Things like this alienate the locals. After all that, the wind farms haven't lived up to their billing, producing a fraction of the claimed output. We got railroaded.
Ozzie Zehner's book Described perfectly what happened to us: Promoters bragged up the 'data tag' capacity of the project but forgot to tell us about 'capacity factor - CF.' Data tag ratings are for ideal conditions. CF is a running average of the actual output because nature's hand is on the throttle, not the hand of the grid manager. A 1000Mw coal plant usually has a CF 0f 95%. Due to poor siting (too windy, built near migratory bird routes or rest stops) some of the wind projects have a CF in the single digits. So the power company has to maintain 'spinning reserve' to pick up the load when wind can't.
Ozzie points out that replacing a 1000Mw coal plant with wind gets into some seriously strange numbers. Each tower must be spaced 3 blade diameters from it's neighbor. Blades are pushing 300ft, so we are talking 900 ft tower to tower. Build 1000 1Mw towers to produce 1000Mw to replace the coal plant. But wait, CF for a farm is in the single digits - so one needs 10x that many to replace the coal plant. Pretty soon we are looking at 30 square miles of wind towers to replace one coal plant on ten acres. And they will still need the coal plant as backup in spinning reserve. Increase the number even more if they ever get some sort of battery backup, because the batteries will need charging.
Solar projects suffer even more weaknessses because of dirt, heat, sun angle and reduced output with age. It means that the often repeated claim that we could power the whole USA with a small project in the desert is simply untrue.
That is just one example of ozzies's book. He addresses hydrogen, biofuels, nuclear, clean coal et al in a similar fashion.
Highly recommend.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Destroys Some Green Myths
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2019
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Brings new thinking to the environmental scene. Tries to go to the root cause of environmental problems and how the unintended consequences of some policies, when applied, can be detrimental. It is a balanced response to the fanatical climate change activists who seem to have an answer for everything. Well worth reading and thinking about the author's approach to environmental sustainability.
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Jocelyn Mercado
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a life-changing book!
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2014
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I already had some mild opinions about environmentalism, drilling for oil, empty consumerism, the U.S. car culture, etc before reading this book. I bought this book because I was seeking an honest, open analysis of "what can the average person do help with the climate/environmental crisis?" This book has absolutely, 110%, answered my question.
Zehner has provided important information that all Americans (really, all people in industrialized countries) should be exposed to. You'll find out why solar cells, wind power, ethanol, and other "green" energy solutions are not as perfect as they are touted in the popular media. You'll probably be shocked to comprehend exactly how deeply ingrained we are in U.S. culture with the need to drive cars, buy as much as possible, and work overtime. Think about it - what do people really want? More vacation time? More time with the people we love, friends and family? More time outdoors in nature? And yet what do we do everyday? We go to work, go to the store, sit in traffic, eat prepackaged food, and watch TV. Do these activities make us happier? Healthier? More able to enjoy every moment? No. Absolutely not. The book includes realistic ways for real people to start small in reversing the unhealthy, damaging habits we have developed in our society over the past few hundred years, as well as larger, more sweeping suggestions for communities and the government to consider.
If you want to read a book that will make you question your current way of life, and start working toward living a better life right now, read this book. If you're paying any attention at all, it will spur you into action. Let's start taking better care of ourselves and our earth, today, right now. Thanks to the author for a candid and striking discussion of topics that have typically been swept under the rug in our American society. This is an excellent book that I will read and refer back to again and again.
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14 people found this helpful
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Teacher/Photographer
5.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile read
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2013
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I checked this book out of the library but feel it's such an important book, thatI ended up buying a copy on amazon to keep in my permanent book collection. My only regret is that I did not read it before building a "green" home in a rural area. Although some of the author's suggestions are not practical (people like myself who live in extremely rural areas with few people/neighbors cannot logistically be without a car, cannot expect public transportation, cannot have interdependent/cooperative relationships with neighbors if there are no neighbors, cannot have conveniences such as medical clinic, shopping etc. in one "village" (I have to go 30 miles one way to buy food and other supplies)etc. But he does expose the farce that is green energy today (for instance, our house is solar powered with a battery bank - but in 7 years when the batteries wear out, they will be an environmental landfill nightmare). OTOH, his suggestion to use more passive solar is right on - and it's free (just build lots of windows on your southern and western sides). Our house gets to about 65 degrees F even on terribly cold days due to passive solar. I highly recommend that you read this book if you are hoping to live a "greener" lifestyle.
9 people found this helpful
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Philip W. Tatler
4.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding effort put forth by someone with leftist sympathies ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2015
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An outstanding effort put forth by someone with leftist sympathies who truly wishes alternate energy was viable, but is honest enough to come to grips with the current reality of the industry. Many will scan the first half and think Ozzie leans right politically in the debate, only to find with thorough reading of the second half of the book, he actually leans left. Time well spent!
9 people found this helpful
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Green River
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyday illusions clearly debunked
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2014
Verified Purchase
Great and realistic expose of Green Delusions by Ozzie zehner and well worth getting a copy to run through his analyses. Look, I'm a deep green conservation activist and I've long seen the crass nature of the industrialisation of environmental rescue. The two do not mix in any rational manner. Ossie looks at this dichotomy in this book, with excellent exemplars and a good view to the future.
2 people found this helpful
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Cricket
5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book if you really care about environment
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2015
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An essential book that helps those of us who care about environment separate ideology from possible means of preserving our place on this planet. Brave, brilliant, common-sensical.
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P Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2019
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Very good over all view of things. Technology may or may not be moving on since the book was written.
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RF
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2013
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Fascinating and balanced account of all the claptrap we are fed by politicians and biased scientists. No need to be technically minded to understand this book and it makes you want to read on.
5 people found this helpful
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Elvis
4.0 out of 5 stars THE book about green energy
Reviewed in Germany on August 24, 2019
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The author is well red, informed and concious about the things that happen in this world. I enjoyed his observations about the media and our culture as a whole, about the things that are sold to us and about the things we want to buy ( I mean ideas and not items ).
However, this book is not very reader frendly. It seems, that the author just wanted to write everyhting that he could about every topic and it seems that he was not caring too much about the experience of the reader. He just wanted to write "The book about the green energy and environmentalism", and he did it by covering it from a lot of angles. But the books sometimes feels just too much.
The author acknowledged, that in order to improve the situation, you can not just chase after only one thing. He admitted that the society and our structures are connected and do not abide one simple force, however, even though author made smart suggestions, the overall solution still feels like a suggestion from a person who red a lot and thinks that - "this is how it is going to work". From my perspective, the word is more complex than that and you can not really influence the direction in which it is going with your "best" intentions.
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Goodreads Review
Mike
Oct 01, 2012Mike rated it did not like it
Shelves: sociology
I picked this book up at the library hoping it would provide an accurate critique of green technologies and was sorely disappointed. It is very weak on the science and economics of each technology and very biased toward the model of everyone living in dense urban areas and using mass transit - complete with personal references to glorious periods of time lived abroad in energy paradise and fear mongering anecdotes to scare everyone away from each technology.
The errors begin no later than page 7 where the author claims solar photovoltaics would cost $44T to manufacture - a number so outrageously inflated that it is clear the author did not take the same graduate level EE solar cell class that I did in 1991 when I was required to do the same estimate. Dr. Dieter Schroder would have given him an "F" for being orders of magnitude off. Tens of billions - yes. Tens of trillions - nowhere near that. The size of the automotive and semiconductor industries provide common sense reference points for the errors in his estimate and illustrate that it is not the size of the investment that would be required, but rather how little we value the energy we use - i.e. less than our transportation and communication/information connection costs. (less)
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Aaron
May 23, 2012Aaron rated it it was amazing
This is a book both devastatingly honest and realistic about the challenges we face, but also full of reasons to be hopeful. Personally, I think it is the only environmental book that really addresses the inter-connectedness of the many challenges we're confronting as a society, and Zehner does so with searing intelligence and quite a bit of humour. His critiques are forceful without being pedantic or accusatory. And his writing is extremely accessible and engaging. What's particularly impressive is that Zehner grounds his analysis in social science scholarship, yet you never feel like you're reading an academic book. He reminds us that scholarship cannot only show us where we've gone wrong in our thinking and actions, but in piercing through the fog of our own desires, carve out a realistic path forward. This is an impressive book that I believe will become a classic not only in specific studies of energy technologies, but for the environmental movement more broadly. (less)
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Amber
Jul 07, 2013Amber rated it liked it
Shelves: library-vegas, book-club
I want to divide this book into two sections - the first section is awesome. He explains the reality of alternative energies extremely well. I appreciated his point of view and the fact that finally someone is putting into print the realities of the situation. I should have stopped reading there because I would have given it a strong 5 star rating.
My love for this book started to wane with the second half of the book where the author connected everything to our piggish use of energy. Everything; teenage acne, sexuality, obesity, blah blah, its all connected. And the ceaseless comparison - well Europeans do it this way and only if us backwards Americans could be more like those Europeans, well, we might stand a chance. We are Americans, not Europeans, and we need solutions for our cultural and socio-economic context. (less)
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Rebecca McNutt
Dec 23, 2015Rebecca McNutt rated it it was amazing
Shelves: environmental, science, industry, non-fiction, technology
Wouldn't it be nice if the world ran on happiness and flower power and if windmills and sunshine could feed millions and solve all our problems? Unfortunately that's an idea which has recently wormed its way into politics, especially since the Paris Climate Change Conference this year. Here in Canada we don't have the time or money to care about the environment anymore unless we're weed-smoking hippies on welfare or middle-class suburb kids who think that just because they don't use soap they're saving whales. It doesn't mean we don't give a damn, but most over here in Nova Scotia are relying on coal and shipbuilding, and out west it's oil. Hearing politicians stand up and say that electric cars and solar panels are the future is actually very depressing in that respect. Does the government here seriously believe that people can fall back on supposed huge amounts of green technology jobs if coal and oil disappear? Canada is economically-unstable enough already!
This book doesn't shun environmentalism, in fact it's all for it, but in a more reasonable and practical way. It sheds light on hippies and hypocrites and it also discusses what the real bad apple is - overpopulation and corporate greed. How can these things be stopped or at least controlled? How can people make a difference without imposing their beliefs on others who don't share them? How can environmentalism work without taking things away from people? Green Illusions answers all that and more. (less)
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Sonali Daneil
Nov 10, 2012Sonali Daneil rated it it was amazing
Zehner is like us - he does not know the answers, but this book lays out the bigger questions we should be asking and thinking about. The first part of the book exposes a lot of the dirty secrets about clean energy. The latter parts deal with how to move forward. And, the ideas seem a lot more convincing and realistic than a lot of the other ideas floating around out there in green tech la la land.
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Cassie Bennett
Nov 09, 2012Cassie Bennett rated it it was amazing
This has given me insight into how easily we humans are fooled into believing what we want. Going green has become a religion - a notion I have considered but never followed through with research.
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Randall Wallace
Dec 06, 2015Randall Wallace rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
On December 9th, 1949, our US Air Force deliberately secretly contaminated the civilian area around Hanford with radioactive iodine to dispassionately study it’s tragic effects on the local populace and plant life. Wow… Would it surprise you to know that our government didn’t do this criminal act once to it’s own citizens but “has sponsored at least several hundred secret releases of radiation throughout the United States”? Double wow… This amazing book is filled with energy/sustainability related facts that are rarely told in order to keep Americans in the dark: Only 10-15% of the nitrogen in synthetic fertilizer gets into the food we eat, the rest goes into the water systems and creates dead zones like in the Gulf of Mexico. Sure, synthetic fertilizer dramatically increased agricultural yields, but who ever tells you that one must always factor in the resultant whopping 810% increase in energy inputs required against the much smaller 346% Green Revolution increase in production? In the US we built our towns and cities on the best soil (located near waterways) which is now trapped thoughtlessly under asphalt. Most Americans don’t know that the Clean Water Act doesn’t limit coal related pollutants such as arsenic and lead on purpose (thank you lobbyists). The best example of what deregulation in practice looks like is the Niger Delta today. Ozzie exposes the scam behind LEED certification and smartly posits that our energy crisis is cultural rather than technological. What’s our energy future? Years ago, our great-great-grandparents thought petroleum would save the day because now the whales didn’t have to disappear due to demand for whale oil. Today, once again we believe we think we have solved the problem – this time with our false green celebrities: Solar and Wind Power. But beyond the fact that they alone won’t cut it, you just can’t have a sustainable economy without a 90% reduction in energy use and a huge increase in women’s rights, community, re-localization, simplicity, humility, and service. Why not expect solar, wind or technology to save us? Read this great book and find out… (less)
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Henri Hämäläinen
Jul 16, 2013Henri Hämäläinen rated it it was amazing
Latest book I read was Green Illusions by Ozzie Zehner. For once it was a book I have no preconceptions and I didn't really have a clue what was coming. I don't even know how I actually picked it up and ordered it, but I'm glad I did.
Green Illusions is a book explaining what current green initiatives there are ongoing in the world and why many of those will never solve the actual problem of us ruining the globe. It goes through in very detail solar power, wind power and all other electricity based green thinking ventures.
Book is provocative and maybe even exaggerating about some of the things, but it definitely makes people think. Raising thought is the sole purpose of the book, so I at least forgive the colorful and bit overstating way on looking at these things. I don't believe all the things are so black and white as proposed in the book, but I do undersign most of the thoughts from the book.
Book goes beyond normal green thinking philosophies as it talks about women's rights, population growth, cutting consumption and lot more. It is a comprehensive look on what the problems currently are, why the current solutions don't work and what are the best things to start with for the future.
It is an excellent book and really glad I read it. It is bit too much looking the world from American perspective, but that is understandable from the writers background and also because US is big part of the problem and the solution.
I recommend this book to everyone. I don't see who shouldn't read this. I really hope this raises thoughts within everyone's head. Maybe this book gets people to not to buy the second car or from building too big house or even cutting the trees from shadowing houses. It is provocative book and no one should buy everything from the book without thinking, but there's a lot to learn for everyone here. Please read it.
This review was originally published in my blog - here (less)
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Mac Gray
Jan 11, 2013Mac Gray rated it really liked it
If this were just some conservative oil loving blowhard's diatribe about how alternative energy sucks I would have never bothered picking up the book. It isn't though. Instead this book demonstrates how we fail to see the amount of production and consumption of energy as the problem and we instead fantasize about a future with all the energy we need powered by wind turbines, solar panels, and hydrogen fuel cells.
If you are a liberal who loves solar cells you may hate the first seven chapters which point out the shortcomings of alternative energy, however if you stick around for the whole book it is really worthwhile and you may just rethink your stance on how to go about attempting to solve our energy/climate change problem.
Overall i think it is a worthy read. I wouldn't advise getting too caught up with the figures in the early chapters though, the point is alternative energy sources cannot sustain our level of consumption. Just really focus on the main points: increased production will not help our situation, as anyone with basic economic knowledge can see (all increased capacity will do is shift the supply curve and cause market equilibrium to be at a lower price and higher quantity), we need to look to simple cost effective methods to curb consumption (passive solar, smaller housing, walkable and bikeable communities, womens rights, etc.) and the barriers to curbing consumption are primarily social and cultural, not technological. (less)
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Andrew
May 05, 2013Andrew rated it it was amazing
This is a much needed slap in the face to our mainstream environmental movement. The central premise of the book argues that we are focusing far too much on clean energy production to the exclusion of a reduction in energy consumption. For example, we should be promoting more walkable and bikeable urban communities instead of fantasizing about furnishing our suburban McMansion with the latest and greatest electric car, the latter of which is still incredibly resource-intensive and wasteful in its production and disposal phases. There are far more effective methods to protect the planet that already see regular use in other developed nations, but are not flashy enough to sell in our consumerist culture.
The author also informs the reader about the environmental downsides to solar, wind, and other alternative technologies. He cites extensively from government and industry sources to make a rigorous case that is still fair and nuanced enough to be mindful of the benefits and drawbacks to each sector.
Perhaps the book is strongest in its ability to link environmental issues to social ones. The average eco-friendly citizen would probably not suspect that the plight of women or child advertisement have anything to do with carbon emissions. The author makes a cogent case for their relevance to the green movement.
If you read only one book about the environment and the social ills that plague us, make it this one. (less)
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Charlie
May 27, 2012Charlie rated it it was amazing
This is an amazing book that everyone interested in alternative energies should read. In fact I think ALL of our policy makers should have this book as mandatory reading. The book is easily read, fast paced and full of good anecdotes and straight forward thinking on the 'business' of alternative energy sources. Mr. Zehner offers so many practical solutions to our growing energy crisis. Green Illusions will turn your Alternative Energy thinking on it's head. As I said, Green Illusions is a must read for all students, educators and policy makers concerned with the growing energy crisis (less)
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Nyna
Jan 03, 2015Nyna rated it it was amazing
Shelves: non-fiction-science
Everyone should read this book. At first, it seems to have been written by some oil company, as it points out the shortcomings of green alternative sources of energy. It does present some real eye-opening revelations. The second half of the book covers the social engineering that would help to alleviate our over-consumption of energy. Many of those changes, though admittedly something I would like to see implemented, are too pie-in-the-sky grand to accomplish. It's a book that is very provocative. (less)
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Patrick Johnson
Nov 09, 2012Patrick Johnson rated it it was amazing
I bet this book will change your opinion of putting solar cells on buildings for environmental and health benefits. I definitely thought solar energy through photovoltaic cells was great for the environment. I had overlooked other possibilities. Highly recommend for other environmentally-minded people.
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Frank Berg
Jan 27, 2015Frank Berg rated it it was amazing
Zehner, albeit with a confronting voice, attacks pillars of the "Green Revolution" bringing needed scrutiny to a movement that has been politicized and undeveloped in the minds of the general public for some time. Most of it surprised me, some didn't. This is a great lens to look at if you're in the Sustainability or Conservation fields.
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Julia P.
Nov 09, 2012Julia P. rated it it was amazing
This isn't a big oil book. It is a Deep Green book. Prof. Zehner tells some great stories and shows the real facts that are hidden by corporate influences (even those you thought were green).
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Raghu
Sep 13, 2018Raghu rated it it was amazing
There are many holy cows in the environmental debate. The imminent dangers of climate change is one. The imperative to completely switch to renewable energy sources as a solution to global warming is another. The debate, however, is highly polarized. In general, if one is politically conservative or to the Right, he develops a confirmation bias against the alarmist prognosis of climate change and the position that renewable energy solutions are a panacea. On the other hand, if one is on the Left or a liberal, then that person develops a confirmation bias towards the dire consequences of Global warming and opts totally for renewable energy solutions. As things stand, Western governments, mainstream environmental movements, establishment scientists and mainstream media have successfully sold us the ideal of total adoption of renewable energy as the way forward. Ozzie Zehner, in this book, takes a critical and refreshing look at this question. He does not question the arguments on climate change or its consequences. Instead, he questions the simplistic notion that all solutions for the problems of climate change begin and end with our total embrace of renewable energy systems like solar power, wind energy, biofuels, hydrogen, geo-thermal, hydropower etc..
To start with, the book argues that none of the above-mentioned alternative energy sources are as environmentally beneficial or carbon-negative or even carbon-neutral. Over seven substantial chapters, he takes each one of these renewable sources and exposes what he calls ‘their dirty little secrets’. He shows that the life cycle of bio-fuels eventually results in accelerated climate change due to destruction of rainforests, as per the experience in Brazil; manufacture of solar cells result in large emission of toxic greenhouse gases like hexafluoroethane C2F6, Nitrogen trifluoride NF3 and sulphur hexafluoride SF6 , which are twelve to seventeen thousand times more potent than CO2. ; the life cycle of wind turbines, their production, transport, maintenance and final disposal result in wind power becoming carbon negative. As for hydrogen fuel cells, the production of hydrogen requires more energy than the cell eventually provides. One can use solar power to produce hydrogen but an experiment in California in 1994 showed that it took ten hours to produce one kg of hydrogen, which is equivalet to just a gallon of gasoline. What about other ideas like ‘it takes only 2.6% of the area of the Sahara desert to produce all the power the world needs using solar cells’? With today’s solar cell technology, the author says that it is possible if only we can find $123 trillion to make it happen as well as provide for another $694 billion annually for its maintenance.
With all these dampeners on renewable energy solutions, is Zehner saying that we must simply burn coal as usual? No, he says that environmentalists have got it wrong by looking at solutions for ‘clean energy’. He points out that more and more energy availability will only lower costs of energy, thereby generating even more demand for energy. Instead, we need to curb our rampant consumerism without asking the scientists and engineers to solve the problem for us,. To do this, Zehner says it is important that taxation in society must shift focus away from income to consumption. The pricing of goods and services must be recalibrated to reflect their negative effects on the environment in their production. The other thing is to take a good look at packaging in the US as one-third of all garbage generated in the US is packaging material. Other suggestions include moving away from living in the suburbs to cities, which can make communities more walkable and friendly to public transit and allow use of more bicycles and so on.
There may be many critiques of Zehner’s position on renewable energy. It is not easily possible for the average person to conclusively determine as to which side is telling the truth. However, when I read about past and present experience in Europe and on proposed plans in California, I am inclined to give credence to many of Zehner’s statements of caution on clean energy. Let us look at some of them.
European countries have decades-long experience on Green energy expansion through subsidies. But, recent reports in this decade have concluded that Spain, Germany, UK and France are rolling back subsidies for clean energy because they are unaffordable and unsustainable. Denmark, a clean-energy giant, with more than two decades’ pursuit of wind power, has not seen any reduction in half its energy output still coming from coal. Development of wind power is said to cause loss of jobs in the economy, grid stability problems, high subsidization, higher retail electricity rates, and usage issues. Consumers feel zapped because they have to pay twice for power, once for the renewable power and then again for the back-up system. The subsidies seem to have been too good to last long and make renewable energy viable on this model. All this has happened in spite of wind and solar-generated electricity enjoying subsidies nearly 50 times higher per unit of energy output than ordinary coal and 100 times higher than natural gas.
What about our own experience in California? In 2015, a group of scientists, activists and celebrities, led by Mark Jacobson, the director of the Atmosphere and Energy Program at Stanford, released a report called ‘50 States 50 Plans’ in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that lays out individual plans for all 50 states to reach 100 percent renewable energy for all purposes: electricity, transportation, heating and cooling, and industry. It has political support from people like Bernie Sanders. The state of CA seems to be considering a 100% shift to renewable energy by 2045. However, there are others who have questioned the viability of the proposal. In 2017, a rebuttal appeared from a team of prominent researchers in the same journal, saying that the ‘50 states 50 plans’ paper used invalid modeling tools, contained modeling errors, and made implausible and inadequately supported assumptions. Naturally, Mark Jacobson et al defended their paper and accused the critics of allegiance to fossil fuels or nuclear power lobbies. The rebuttal researchers are affiliated with prominent institutions like Carnegie Mellon, the Carnegie Institution for Science, the Brookings Institution, and Stanford University. Their rebuttal includes data on conflict of interest. They caution that incorrect assumptions or miscalculations can lead to spending public resources on the wrong technologies, underestimating the research and development still required, or abandoning sources that might ultimately be necessary to reach the stated goals. As an example, Georgia, which has a coastline of about 100 miles long and a total area of more than 59,000 square miles, is proposed to get 35 percent of its energy from offshore wind—none of which has been developed to date. Alaska, which has a fragmented power system due to its immensity and the remoteness of many communities, is slated to get 70 percent of its energy from wind, both offshore and onshore. These projections are deemed eyebrow-raising and in an era of political gridlock and bitter arguments over climate change, the political barriers also need to be considered as formidable.
The other issue which often crops up is battery storage technology. High profile efforts by Elon Musk on his Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada and a 100-MW battery array in South Australia have raised hopes of lithium ion batteries as the solution to balance fluctuating wind and solar energy on the grid. California is mulling four giant lithium-ion storage facilities of 300 MW each, starting by 2020. California is already slated to get 50 percent of its electricity from clean sources by 2020, and the legislature is considering a bill that would require it to reach 100 percent by 2045. A detailed article in a reputed MIT journal by James Temple analyses these issues and says that batteries as backup is likely an unaffordable solution. CA currently has 150,000 megawatt-hours of energy storage in total, mainly pumped hydroelectric storage, with a small share of batteries. Assuming lithium-ion batteries will cost only a third of what they do now, building the level of renewable generation and storage necessary to reach the state’s goals would drive up costs exponentially, from $49 per megawatt-hour of generation at 50 percent to $1,612 at 100 percent. Extending it further, meeting 80 percent of US electricity demand with wind and solar would require either a nationwide high-speed transmission system, which can balance renewable generation over hundreds of miles or 12 hours of electricity storage for the whole system. At current prices, the cost would be above $2.5 trillion. In addition, experts say that it takes anywhere from six to ten years to bring a battery technology that works in the lab to the marketplace. These are cautionary notes in the head-long rush towards renewable sources.
Given the polarized atmosphere of the debate, it is likely that all of Zehner’s arguments on renewable sources may be dismissed as polemic. But the book asks us to keep an open mind above all the hype and look at cheaper, simpler alternatives through lifestyles. Even if substantial lifestyle changes don’t happen, as has always been the case, it is important for Californians to consider the lessons from the European experience in moving to a 100% renewable future by 2045. The same should be the case before buying into Elon Musk’s vision of batteries as a storage solution for our states and cities. (less)
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blakeR
Jul 14, 2013blakeR rated it really liked it
Shelves: favorites, political-science
I was surprised by how much I liked this. Just scanning some reviews I was prepared for a very polemical and contentious take on alternative energy, possibly from a conservative-in-disguise standpoint, and while it may arguably have been that (except for the conservative part) I also found myself pretty easily agreeing with everything Zehner wrote.
The subject is too broad to go over every point here, but the main gist of the book is Zehner's assertion that focusing on alternative methods of energy production is a dangerous and oftentimes deceitful distraction from the only viable solution to our looming environmental cataclysm.
The solution is energy reduction. He states it many times: we need to focus on reduction and not production. In this way he is able to identify any poor, irrelevant or misguided proposal for what it is; if at root it's working toward a status quo of continued or increased energy production it is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
The most original idea he brings to the debate is his insistence that you can't separate environmentalism from other issues like women's rights (reproductive rights and sex education --> birth control --> population control), military spending (arms production is one of the largest users of fossil fuels and producers of environmental pollutants), city zoning and walkable communities (well-planned communities reduce energy consumption) and income inequality and consumer culture (the wealthy feel entitled to consume and waste in mind-boggling quantities). The section on child advertising is shockingly relevant and eye-opening.
I had never thought of environmentalism as inextricably linked to all of these other issues and I appreciate the new perspective. At the same time, linking them together makes "saving the planet" feel like an even more daunting task, because outside of women's rights and local zoning ordinances it essentially depends on defeating Big Oil and other mega-corporations that will literally kill before giving up their profit margins.
And that's where Zehner comes off as either naive or disingenuous: offering solutions such as voting and campaign finance reform, carbon taxing and other regulations, the creation of a "Department of Efficiency," and decoupling energy profit and production. He is clearly intelligent enough to recognize that all of these ideas are utter pipe dreams in our current political and cultural context. It's hard to envision a scenario short of revolution in which the entrenched monied interests would cede this kind of territory, and an obvious first step would appear to be the revocation of corporate personhood, a virtually impossible task that he never mentions. So I'm a little confused as to how realistic he actually considers his "solutions."
Other than that the problems with the book were minor. He gets somewhat repetitive toward the end and there is some bloat in the middle chapters on women's rights and the "Architecture of Community" where he veers off into fairly tangential territory (the need for bicycle insurance is one of his more bizarre and thankfully short sections). Otherwise, besides some ill-advised pretentions toward lyricism and metaphors, the book was highly readable.
More than readable, however, is that this book is capital-i-Important. It's the 2nd Important book I've read in a month after the devastating must-read The New Jim Crow (see my review). This one is not quite as pressing for me because it doesn't directly deal with issues of justice and civil rights, but it's a necessary read nonetheless.
Oh, and not to attack another Goodreader, but I'll just say it's rather curious that the top-rated review of this book by a healthy margin is LITERALLY the only one-star review in two pages of ratings -- it's even the only rating of less than three stars. I'm not saying he may not make a good point (although he never responded when asked to back it up), but it's certainly not representative of the overwhelming consensus on this book. I'm not sure how it could have gotten liked so much unless there are certain interests invested in making it more visible. . .
But enough conspiracy for the day! Speaking of which, I was way off on my suspicion that Zehner could be some sort of conservative or tea party shill; he's really so far left that he is post-environmentalist (in a good way). And I'm optimistic that this book could become a bible of sorts for post-environmentalism, that it could help reframe the movement so that it becomes more -- ahem -- efficient.
Not Bad Reviews
@blakerosser1 (less)
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Larry
Feb 11, 2013Larry rated it really liked it
Shelves: environment
This is a book directed towards Americans about their energy usage and how best to obtain it and use it. As such, it accomplishes its task, but it does so in a very uneven way. The beginning chapters are about the alternatives to fossil fuels. Clearly, it is aimed at the "soft" environmentalists who think that being an environmentalist is as simple as just opposing what the Republicans want. (No diehard Republican would be caught dead reading this book.) In short, the book quite effectively tears down all the popular "green" solutions, for a variety of reasons: too costly, too "dirty", too difficult, too inadequate, etc. Moreover, the author points out how getting more "green" energy, assuming it was easy to get, would simply increase the demand for energy, rather than replace "dirty" energy. At this point, the book shifts gears. Frankly, the author handles the adjustment very poorly. Imagine your high school math teacher being Sir Laurence Olivier dressed as Hamlet. It just was too much "eloquence" and not enough rationale. Also, it was sort of like trying to figure out what someone, who is mumbling to themselves, is really talking about. Yet, eventually, after a rather odd section on how a lack of women's rights is a big reason why we use so much energy, only some of which relates to what I, at least, think of as women's rights issues, the author goes into a series of chapters on using less energy and why it would work well, especially since it works elsewhere in the world so well. This is not a perfect book for its purpose, but it is definitely worth reading for what it does accomplish. Read it and be enlightened. (less)
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Ravi Warrier
Jan 30, 2016Ravi Warrier rated it liked it
Shelves: non-fiction, ecology
Before reading the book, I, like many others, was under the impression that alternative energy solutions was the answer to our growing environmental problems. This book is the proverbial other-side-of-the-coin.
As an uneducated (at least in the field of alternative energy) the arguments presented make a lot of sense and plausible, though a sceptic might find it to be an anti-greenwash campaign - my mind just cannot fathom that green technologies are not that green, perhaps in my naivety and optimism. Nevertheless, Ozzie manages to clear a lot of myths around and addresses the misconceptions regarding alternative energy. At least now, I can consider myself to be "informed" about what my (and the world's) possible options are.
Like I mentioned above, the book can open the eyes of many diehard believers (such as me) that perhaps our dreams aren't as rosy as we'd like it to be. However, Ozzie does provide a solution - one that requires an overhauling of human mentalities and tendencies (read - almost impossible today), but it's a start that is being seen in many small pockets of the world today.
Good book with good insights and arguments. 3/5 stars. (less)
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Rohan
Mar 25, 2013Rohan rated it really liked it
Shelves: economics, urbanism
The alternative energy movement/industry has been co-opted by Big Oil and is a massive ruse to get subsidies. Solar power is inefficient. Wind power suffers from unpredictable supply issues and adverse environmental side effects. The risk of nuclear(fission) power is too high. Fusion is unfeasible. Hybrid cars are a red herring and a PR gimmick by the oil and car industries. So where do we go from here?
The author's basic premise is that technology is not a panacea and we need to completely revise our way of thinking about energy. "Jevon's paradox arises again and again in the various incarnations throughout the history of energy use: Increases in energy efficiency make energy services relatively cheaper, encouraging greater consumption". In other words, correcting energy consumption should be our focus, rather than increasing energy production. Basically, "Alternative-energy techs are only as durable as the contexts we create for them". (less)
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Brendan Holly
Jan 04, 2015Brendan Holly rated it really liked it
Recommended to Brendan by: Emma Anderson
Shelves: leftist-politics, environmental-studies
This book is important. For anyone with any interest in the planet, our society, and sustainability, Green Illusions is a must. Anyone lacking an interest in the aforementioned topics should quickly read up on climate change and environmental degradation. These "phenomena" are continually being worsened by our ridiculously excessive consumption.
This book shattered the "alternative energy" dream that most environmentalists are clinging to for the much less sexy strategy of conservation. Zehner makes the incredibly good point that alternative energy only succeeds when we compare it with fossil fuels. Furthermore, cheaper energy and more energy always result in... more energy usage! Societies need huge doses of social justice, regulation, and conservation before alternative energy should logically be embraced. This book is pivotal as the environmental movement evaluates its options. (less)
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DavidO
Mar 14, 2013DavidO rated it really liked it
Shelves: 4-or-5-stars
Let me summarize this book for you and save you a great deal of time.
The beginning of the book (7 chapters) is about how alternative sources of energy won't produce much energy and how all sources of energy create pollution of one kind or another.
The second half of the book is about how we can reduce energy usage, both through using less energy without significantly reducing quality of life and reducing the population. He does offer clear specific (and ethical) examples of how to do these things.
The book simply gives the details of these ideas, with a lot of detail especially on why solar cells and wind power aren't terribly amazing. So if you want the details, get this book right away it offers a lot of details.
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Jason Smith
Nov 09, 2012Jason Smith rated it it was amazing
We had to read this for class and write a response paper. I wrote about the section on carbon taxes vs energy taxes. The author argues that carbon taxes allow other side effects of energy production like radiation, groundwater pollution, and deforestation to go ahead without the same tax penalty. So, energy production would shift to those technologies and leave us with different problems. He argues for ENERGY tax instead, which brings down all energy consumption, not just the carbon based types.
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Mark Donovan
Jul 10, 2014Mark Donovan rated it it was amazing
I'm not sure if it's confirmation bias, but this book echoes many of the concerns I have with going green. The first half was excellent factually describing the shortfalls of existing energy sources. The second half was thought provoking presenting many energy conservation solutions and wins I had never considered.
I would recommend to anyone who thinks they care about the environment.
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