Rating: 
Summary: a terrific book
Review: a terrific book, engrossing, a must read....
Rating:
Summary: The triumph of market environmentalism
Review: Debates about the environment, more so than other topics, tend to be hijacked by political agendas and ideological entrenchments, leaving laymen with no clear understanding of where we are or where we are headed. "Power to the People" is an exception to that rule. Vijay Vaitheeswaran, a mechanical engineer and the energy and environment correspondent for The Economist, brings a sensible and interdisciplinary perspective and looks clearly into the future of energy.According to Mr. Vaitheeswaran, there are two trends that are transforming the energy world: the decentralization of supply and the liberalization of markets. The former signals the move away from the grid and other economies-of-scale type power generators that place a premium on big size. The future of energy will be towards micropower, which is flexible and produced as close to the point of consumption as possible. Even more important is the liberalization of the energy market. Carbon taxes, for example, are necessary to account for the environmental effects of carbon-based energy sources. But this liberalization cannot be half-hearted as it was in California, Mr. Vaitheeswaran warns; not only is it important to "get prices right," but it is also vital to dispel the notion that energy is too important to be left to the markets. Once these two conditions are in place, it is very likely that we can reach some zero emissions utopia. Mr. Vaitheeswaran places his money on hydrogen and for good reason. But there is no hope, he cautions, of getting there unless we understand that the energy market behaves just like any other market, where correct pricing and innovation are the only way to provide people with the kind of energy they want.
Rating:
Summary: Energy is more interesting than you think.
Review: Energy is one of those subjects that you don't think about until you have to.
Until that lousy day last summer. As a technology guy, I've always been somewhat intrigued with the idea of networks (like Distributed / grid computing). So I was intrigued when I heard the author this summer speak about his "energy grid" (which he calls it the Energy Internet). Granted his terminology seemed a little....1990s, but his point made sense: if we were all sharing off the same energy grid, the market would reward those who used less energy and extract from those who use more. And like the internet, the "energy internet" can reroute itself around a problem. (Take that, Ohio!) What I loved most about this book is that it's not aimed at granola crunchy people. It's also not aimed at the NPR / anti-SUV crowd. I think It's written for the "armchair skeptic" like myself. I'm not stupid enough to think that BP wants to save the world. But I think those ads are meant to influence how we think about energy providers. We all know that many of the real energy costs aren't being addressed in today's pump prices-- the environment, Enron, Iraq, etc. But the author explains that it's because the real market price ISN'T being represented that we're in such a sorry state. Well, lots of right-wing books contain the "market will solve all of our problems" premise and I would have expected as much from someone who writes for the Economist. But this book doesn't always give the answers that you'd expect. In fact, it was pretty harsh on a few companies who would have probably liked to use him as a poster boy. Granted, his book title makes it seem like Energy will solve many of the world's problems-- that's just the title. But i'm pretty impressed how well he supported his "save the planet" / environmental stance-- it seemed a bit far-fetched at first. But what he's really talking about is pollution credits and developed / developing world stuff. With India and China's rapid economic growth, the environment took a big hit and it affects all of us. If I have a small complaint about the book, it's that the author sometimes seems a little too "rah rah" about the "new revolution". (the book title alone makes me cringe a bit). I don't disagree that cheap and efficient hydrogen energy may change the world, I just think that real revolutions are fairly incremental intially and we only realize how incredible they are after we start to reap the benefits. Proclaiming the energy "revolution" and talking about the "energy internet" may have gotten people excited in the New Economy, but we're in the Old New Economy now. I give this book 5 stars because I'm not the kind of person who would read books on energy and I actually enjoyed it.
Rating: 
Summary: Sure Is Sunny In Here
Review: For an overview of up-and-coming sources of energy for the new millennium you can't do much better than this book, but beware of its very optimistic and not always realistic examinations of the politics and economics of energy. As a policy expert, Vaitheeswaran certainly has keen insights into what is going on in energy today, from actual vs. perceived shortages in fossil fuels to the latest cutting-edge research into new technologies such as fuel cells. Here you will get great insights into how the current market works, with some in-depth debunking of popular assumptions concerning issues like the California crisis in 2000-01, or the true political machinations and motivations of OPEC. Vaitheeswaran ably documents how humans will continue to have access to reliable energy, in whatever form, and that world society is hardly on the brink of a major catastrophic shortage. However, this book loses steam significantly when Vaitheeswaran starts to analyze the possible political and economic tools that will be necessary to keep the future energy market healthy. Basically, he is dangerously close to the dogma of the free market and free trade as the cure for all ills. Yes, as Americans we know that intelligently managed markets are essential. However, after fruitfully explaining how current energy markets are distorted by cronyism, tax breaks, subsidies, corporate welfare, and other inequitable political shenanigans, the possibility of such distortions is strangely missing from Vaitheeswaran's analyses of future trends. It's as if the free market, once allowed to roll, would suddenly create a perfect world devoid of human corruption, and not just in market-savvy America. This is the unrealistic message overall - a corrupt present shall be replaced by an unrealistic free market utopia around the world. And generally, in attempting to cover all sides of these issues from the point of view of everyone from radical environmentalists to fossil fuel plutocrats, Vaitheeswaran ultimately fails to land squarely in any camp, which saps the power from many of his conclusions. While much of this book is quite useful in describing exciting new technologies, sunny optimism often blinds the reader from dirtier realities. [~doomsdayer520~]
Rating:
Summary: Sure Is Sunny In Here
Review: For an overview of up-and-coming sources of energy for the new millennium you can't do much better that this book, but beware of its very optimistic and not always realistic examinations of the politics and economics of energy. As a policy expert, Vaitheeswaran certainly has keen insights into what is going on in energy today, from actual vs. perceived shortages in fossil fuels to the latest cutting-edge research into new technologies such as fuel cells. Here you will get great insights into how the current market works, with some in-depth debunking of popular assumptions concerning issues like the California crisis in 2000-01, or the true political machinations and motivations of OPEC. Vaitheeswaran ably documents how humans will continue to have access to reliable energy, in whatever form, and that world society is hardly on the brink of a major catastrophic shortage. However, this book loses steam significantly when Vaitheeswaran starts to analyze the possible political and economic tools that will be necessary to keep the future energy market healthy. Basically, he is dangerously close to the dogma of the free market and free trade as the cure for all ills. Yes, as Americans we know that intelligently managed markets are essential. However, after fruitfully explaining how current energy markets are distorted by cronyism, tax breaks, subsidies, corporate welfare, and other inequitable political shenanigans, the possibility of such distortions is strangely missing from Vaitheeswaran's analyses of future trends. It's as if the free market, once allowed to roll, would suddenly create a perfect world devoid of human corruption, and not just in market-savvy America. This is the unrealistic message overall - a corrupt present shall be replaced by an unrealistic free market utopia around the world. And generally, in attempting to cover all sides of these issues from the point of view of everyone from radical environmentalists to fossil fuel plutocrats, Vaitheeswaran ultimately fails to land squarely in any camp, which saps the power from many of his conclusions. While much of this book is quite useful in describing exciting new technologies, sunny optimism often blinds the reader from dirtier realities. [~doomsdayer520~]
Rating:
Summary: Something to look forward to
Review: I almost didn't read this because of the title. In this day and age with many seemingly on the edge of reason I thought it was somewhat of an incendiary title.
I'm glad I did check it out - I loved it. This man is a seriously talented writer. The material is dense. Very dense. Lots of dates, places, people, times and tragic, infuriating, maddening events. It is rendered readable with Mr. Vaitheeswarans method of inserting ironic humor into the text just when your eyes start crossing.
I enjoyed the way he presented all of the sides that he perceives and the pros and cons for each one. Talking about the environment is a very emotional issue for some and I thought that he covered all of the bases well without making it sound like one particular answer is written in stone.
We have, at our fingertips such wonderful scientific advances. The trick will be to put them to use to solve the problems, not create more down the line from here. I think he pointed that out very well.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing:
Review: I bought the book hoping to get a book filled with serious and reliable facts catered in a manner, which was portrayed by reviewers as highly entertaining and educational. Instead the book presents well-known facts and rehashes numerous assumptions, which were either proven wrong by other authors or caused other scientists to arrive at entirely different conclusion. The author should know better. I give the author credit of trying to convey an upbeat message that the human spirit and economic forces will prevail in "saving the planet". I appreciate the authors respect when speaking about our political leaders and his objection about ideological bashing of corporations and politicians. The author however turns around and ridicules groups of oil experts and calls them a "gang" which advocates that the undiminished availability of oil is a stake in the very foreseeable future. The author himself does not discuss the issue of oil depletion other than saying "if true" it would cause a very serious problem. With his background in engineering the author should have reviewed and discussed, in earnest, the work by the experts he ridicules and such experts as Hubbert, Simmons, Goodstein, etc.. The author should know that even respectable industry leaders and scientists with high credential present the oil depletion issue in a more rational way - instead he suggests only one source which comes from the same academic background as he does. There are a lot of books published at this time, which address the issue of the energy future in a better and more concise way. The reader who wants to be educated more than entertained might look for another book.
Rating:
Summary: Energetic Tour of a Huge Topic
Review: I read this book because I wanted an introduction to energy issues and because Vaitheeswaran writes for The Economist, my favorite news periodical. I loved it. The author conducts a fact-filled tour of old energy (oil), new energy (hydrogen) and many of the characters, companies and countries working in the biggest industry of them all. If you like the journalistic style of The Economist, then you will surely enjoy this book. It is densely factual, tempered in presentation, and very credible. As a bonus, unlike the Economist (which doesn't seem to promote individual journalists), the author introduces himself into the story on precious few occasions and it's usually in a hilarious and self-deprecating way; e.g., one day while visiting Los Angeles, he keeps missing appointments because his electric vehicle can't keep a charge. The book is perceived as optimistic because the author hopes that liberalized markets (first section) combined with environmentalism (second section) will promote technologies (third section) that inexorably but gradually shift us from carbon-based fossil fuels to cleaner, more efficient fuels. And he's placing his bets on a portable hydrogen fuel cell that can plug into both your house and your car, and whose only byproduct is water vapor. But the author does not euphorically see this future as necessarily destiny; you just know the publisher slapped the marketing sub-title on the cover. If entrepreneurial technologists are the heroes of his drama, then governments are the closest thing to villains. In the case of markets, he shows that California's failed electricity experiment was the wrong kind of deregulation (because regulators unwisely capped retail rates and saddled consumers and new entrants with the cost of so-called stranded investments). He reminds us that competitive markets require a "vigilant regulator and proper price signals" (i.e., deregulation does not mean "no regulation"). In the case of environment, the author seems more worried. He makes a case that global warming is a real issue worthy of action. After he expertly presents the facts (e.g., concentrations of CO2 are increasing), he concludes with a historical parallel-concerning climate phenomenon that are not fully understood but potentially devastating-that is positively chilling: new scientific evidence now shows that we previously underestimated the effects of ozone layer depletion, and if not for the flexible Montreal protocol signed almost two decades ago, the effects would have been much deadlier. Here again, interestingly, he sees myopic politics as the culprit (as global warming is a reverse public good without current, individual constituents) and prefers to put his faith in market economics. He claims that truly free markets will somehow tend to promote more efficient, less polluting companies. The technology section is, believe it or not, entertaining. I doubt he can satisfy everybody here and I am not qualified to question his virtual neglect of solar power and his uncharacteristically decisive, cynical verdict concerning the future of nuclear power. His big theme for the future is "small is beautiful"-specifically, miniature fuel cells, small distributed power producers, and even he says, small hydro-projects instead of large destructive dams. I totally agree with someone's idea that he could have helped with some charts, but not because the book lacks quantitative data. It does not. But some of the data could have been rendered more memorable in chart form; e.g., oil reserves by country, fuel efficiency statistics. Also, he doesn't really cover the stalled Bush energy bill or the Clean Skies Initiative, which is disappointing but I guess he finished the book before these were introduced. Mere quibbles for an otherwise outstanding book.
Rating:
Summary: Clean air and competitive markets
Review: I was thrilled with this book! Vijay Vaitheeswaran offers an inspiring, pragmatic and intelligent voice, cutting through the rhetoric that seems to run amok on the topics of energy and environment. If you are a fan of clean air and competitive markets (and even if you're not), this book will grab you in the first few pages. In addition to an engaging and informative telling of the state of the energy sector - its development, its current technologies, and its surprisingly near-term, brilliant potential - Vaitheeswaran offers pragmatic policy rules of thumb for enabling the free markets to get us solidly to the clean-air future we all want. This is a book with vision - I would highly recommend it for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: the next wave
Review: i'm not an energy junkie, but i LOVED this book!!! the author takes on a very important subject--the juice on which our society runs and the future of our planet, and creates a terrific and absorbing book. he takes a broad perspective, looking at energy in terms of markets and the environment and technology, and this is the only book that i know of that looks at all three. i liked the relish that he has he seems to enjoy poking holes in conventional wisdom coming from all parties, whether its old energy oil industry dinosaurs or environmentalist-sky-is-falling pessimists. i also liked the previews of what's coming down the pipe. like his columns in the Economist, he's sure to piss a lot of people off, but his arguments seem, to this general reader, to be well grounded. its a fun read, as he's a good writer, and i particularly enjoyed the fun stuff about the futuristic hydrogen economy. very highly recommended.
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