Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism (Our Sustainable Future)

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? This practical, environmentally informed, and lucid book persuasively argues for a change of perspective. If consumption is the problem, as Ozzie Zehner suggests, then we need to shift our focus from suspect alternative energies to improving social and political fundamentals: walkable communities, improved consumption, enlightened governance, and, most notably, women’s rights. The dozens of first steps he offers are surprisingly straightforward. For instance, he introduces a simple sticker that promises a greater impact than all of the nation’s solar cells. He uncovers why carbon taxes won’t solve our energy challenges (and presents two taxes that could). Finally, he explores how future environmentalists will focus on similarly fresh alternatives that are affordable, clean, and can actually improve our well-being. Watch a book trailer. "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? This practical, environmentally informed, and lucid book persuasively argues for a change of perspective. If consumption is the problem, as Ozzie Zehner suggests, then we need to shift our focus from suspect alternative energies to improving social and political fundamentals: walkable communities, improved consumption, enlightened governance, and, most notably, women's rights. The dozens of first steps he offers are surprisingly straightforward. For instance, he introduces a simple sticker that promises a greater impact than all of the nation's solar cells. He uncovers why carbon taxes won't solve our energy challenges (and presents two taxes that could). Finally, he explores how future environmentalists will focus on similarly fresh alternatives that are affordable, clean, and can actually improve our well-being."--Page 4 of cover. Cover ......Page 1 Title Page ......Page 6 Copyright Page ......Page 7 Contents ......Page 10 List of Illustrations......Page 11 List of Figures......Page 12 Acknowledgments......Page 14 Introduction: Unraveling the Spectacle......Page 18 Part I: Seductive Futures......Page 24 1. Solar Cells and Other Fairy Tales......Page 26 2. Wind Power’s Flurry of Limitations......Page 54 3. Biofuels and the Politics of Big Corn......Page 84 4. The Nuclear-Military-Industrial Risk Complex......Page 104 5. The Hydrogen Zombie......Page 128 6. Conjuring Clean Coal......Page 144 7. Hydropower, Hybrids, and Other Hydras......Page 156 Part II: From Here to There......Page 170 8. The Alternative-Energy Fetish......Page 172 9. The First Step......Page 194 Part III: The Future of Environmentalism......Page 208 10. Women’s Rights......Page 210 11. Improving Consumption......Page 246 12. The Architecture of Community......Page 286 13. Efficiency Culture......Page 324 14. Asking Questions......Page 354 Epilogue: A Grander Narrative?......Page 366 Resources for Future Environmentalists......Page 372 Notes......Page 378 Index......Page 438