Energy independence: the individual pursuit of energy freedom: the individual pursuit of energy freedom

I have a favor to ask you. What I am asking may seem strange but, bear with me.Take a look around where you are right at this moment. What do you see? The book in your hand, the chair on which you are sitting ... look harder. Take a minute to notice some object around you or even a tangible characteristic of your environment that you would might otherwise overlook. Find something you might never consider. Find something that you might not notice that brings some value to you. Now, take some time to study it. What are its characteristics, its functions, its value? Next, make an appraisal of how that thing came to be. What had to happen to it such that became whatever it is that brings you value now. Don't just look at the surface. Dig deep. Take the object in your mind and devolve it. Devolve it through each degree of its development, working backward, until there is nothing left but the rawest of things. Challenge yourself to go as far as you know to go. Keep going down the rabbit hole until you arrive at things that have no known origin.What you probably realize is that even the simplest thing didn't just appear here. That object that brings you value suffered an exhaustive journey through many silent transformations and improvements, some occurring naturally and some catalyzed by man, before becoming the ignorable aspect of your current environment. Now, there's no need to put this thing on a pedestal. But this will help explain the purpose of this book and, ultimately, help you to take advantage of a great opportunity. This opportunity only exists by first solving a problem you may not even be aware of, one that we ignore in the same way you might seldom notice the thing you just finished analyzing.But, before we get there, we should recognize a commonality in each step in the developmental process of the thing you have just studied. Can you guess which one single factor was present and contributing to each degree of the evolution of that thing? It is the same single factor present and contributing to the being of any one thing you can think of.That factor is energy. The 20th century is known to the entire world as a century of American greatness. Innovations in energy drove that American superiority; innovations such as oil pipelines, petroleum-based fuel, the light bulb, electricity, and the power grid. However, our legacy energy economy leaves us wanting in the 21st century. Centralized vulnerability, wasted generation capacity, dependence on foreign fuel, and climate change are financed by every one of us at the pump and in our monthly utility bill. However, "Energy Independence" is not about what is wrong with our current energy economy; rather it describes a bright future that is waiting to be unlocked. It presents a plan where the average homeowner can not only achieve energy freedom for their household, but usher in the new energy economy. The 20th century is known to the entire world as a century of American greatness. Innovations in energy drove that American superiority; innovations such as oil pipelines, petroleum-based fuel, the light bulb, electricity, and the power grid. However, our legacy energy economy leaves us wanting in the 21st century. Centralized vulnerability, wasted generation capacity, dependence on foreign fuel, and climate change are financed by every one of us at the pump and in our monthly utility bill. However, "Energy Freedom" is not about what is wrong with our current energy economy; rather it describes a bright future that is waiting to be unlocked. It presents a plan where the average homeowner can not only achieve Energy Freedom for their household, but usher in the new energy economy Cover 1 Energy Independence:The Individual Pursuit ofEnergy Freedom 2 RIVER PUBLISHERS SERIES IN ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY AND EFFICIENCY 3 Energy Independence:The Individual Pursuit ofEnergy Freedom 4 Copyrights 5 Contents 6 Preface 8 List of Figures 12 1 An Opportunity 14 2 The Cost of the Status Quo 26 3 The Energy Freedom Fund 38 4 Low Hanging Fruit 48 5 Finding More Savings 58 6 Driving for Free 68 7 Own Your Energy 76 8 What is the Value of Energy? 88 9 The “Why Not” Mindset 96 10 The New Energy Economy 106 Epilogue 114 Index 118 About the Authors 122 BackCover 124