What do you think?
Rate this book
Freedom From Oil: How the Next President Can End the United States' Oil Addiction
“I plan to deliver an address from the Oval Office one month from today. The topic will be oil dependence.” With these opening words, Freedom from Oil takes the reader to the highest levels of government, as Cabinet members and White House aides debate how to break our addiction to oil. In a fast-moving narrative, David Sandalow shows how to solve this problem while offering a unique window into the White House at work. A White House veteran, Sandalow explores what would happen if the next President made breaking the United States' addiction to oil a top priority. In crisp and clear prose, Sandalow explains the size of the challenge and then offers a powerful message of hope. “This issue unites Americans,” he writes. “Game-changing technologies are at hand.” Plug-in cars, biofuels and measures to improve traffic are all part of the solution. Throughout the book, profiles of fascinating individuals help bring serious policy dialogue to life. From the commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq to a grandmother in northern Alaska to an electric car entrepreneur to the winner of the Indianapolis 500, Freedom from Oil is filled with stories of people whose lives have been touched by oil dependence-and are working to find solutions. Drawing on both his government experience and energy expertise, Sandalow depicts the President's top advisers as they explore options, shape solutions and create national policy, culminating in an inspiring speech by the President to the nation.
- GenresPolitics
272 pages, Hardcover
First published September 13, 2007
2 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 11, 2010
I had to read this for a class and here is my response essay. Feel free to plagiarize me, I really do not care.
“Freedom from Oil” is an important introduction to understanding political interest group’s persuasive techniques. It has little weight in actually offering advice to reduce our nations “dependence” on energy. Mr. Sandalow has done a terrific job rubbing the backs of a bunch of people that could potentially profit from shifting away from oil. This is an important technique to utilize, however the underlying problem of our nation’s addiction to energy is superficially mentioned.
Out of the 215 pages of this book, 7 pages are dedicated to the built environment. I laughed through all 7 of the pages about “smart growth” and I would enjoy reiterating what I sardonically digested. I have been researching about “smart growth” for about 2 years. I cringe at the mention of term because it is transformed into a dichotomy of walkable urbanism versus drivable sub-urbanism. Walkable urbanism is so commonly, that it is almost sad, mentioned in stark opposition to the suburbs. The problem with making things black and white is everything is either suburbs or “smart growth.” I am not a fan of the jargon of “smart growth” or of the development practices that are commonly referenced as examples of “smart growth” but there are very important concepts that are couched within this title. These concepts are age old. They stretch back to the way humans have built since they started building things. They only strayed away from this model 60 years ago when the federal government supported a single pattern of development.
The text reinforces the uselessness of building intelligently. Sandalow makes blanket statements explaining how smart growth is ineffectual. “Policies often take many years to implement, during which time other variables (such as oil prices and characteristics of the vehicle fleet) change substantially” (Sandalow, 152). Also, “To reduce traffic congestion, congestion pricing is a far more effective tool,” (Sandalow, 153). He gives 7 pages to explain about “smart growth” and spends most of the text explaining how it is ineffectual. As I sit in the wee hours of the night and contemplate why a man who is the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy and International Affairs and was a senior fellow at Brookings Institute from 2004 to 2009 cannot find anything better to say about building differently then the patterns that have put us in this energy crisis I cannot fathom why.
The icing on the cake in this book is always the key points “From the Desk of the President.” The points mentioned, in a nut shell, are “Americans drive more and enjoy it less”, “more roads don’t cure traffic congestion”, “federal policies favor road building over mass transit,” and “telecommuting can cut oil use while improving productivity and quality of life.” (Sandalow, 157) All of these are points that can be deduced from the essay, however the one solution gathered from the text is telecommuting, at least go with the increase mass transit! I am a huge supporter of telecommuting, but this does not even address the fact that people have (this is a perspective/paradigm) to drive everywhere they go. Making all cars run on ethanol and batteries does not solve the issue. We can not sustain traveling huge distances to get what we need. It does not fit into the model we have to live in, reality.
“Freedom from Oil” is an important introduction to understanding political interest group’s persuasive techniques. It has little weight in actually offering advice to reduce our nations “dependence” on energy. Mr. Sandalow has done a terrific job rubbing the backs of a bunch of people that could potentially profit from shifting away from oil. This is an important technique to utilize, however the underlying problem of our nation’s addiction to energy is superficially mentioned.
Out of the 215 pages of this book, 7 pages are dedicated to the built environment. I laughed through all 7 of the pages about “smart growth” and I would enjoy reiterating what I sardonically digested. I have been researching about “smart growth” for about 2 years. I cringe at the mention of term because it is transformed into a dichotomy of walkable urbanism versus drivable sub-urbanism. Walkable urbanism is so commonly, that it is almost sad, mentioned in stark opposition to the suburbs. The problem with making things black and white is everything is either suburbs or “smart growth.” I am not a fan of the jargon of “smart growth” or of the development practices that are commonly referenced as examples of “smart growth” but there are very important concepts that are couched within this title. These concepts are age old. They stretch back to the way humans have built since they started building things. They only strayed away from this model 60 years ago when the federal government supported a single pattern of development.
The text reinforces the uselessness of building intelligently. Sandalow makes blanket statements explaining how smart growth is ineffectual. “Policies often take many years to implement, during which time other variables (such as oil prices and characteristics of the vehicle fleet) change substantially” (Sandalow, 152). Also, “To reduce traffic congestion, congestion pricing is a far more effective tool,” (Sandalow, 153). He gives 7 pages to explain about “smart growth” and spends most of the text explaining how it is ineffectual. As I sit in the wee hours of the night and contemplate why a man who is the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy and International Affairs and was a senior fellow at Brookings Institute from 2004 to 2009 cannot find anything better to say about building differently then the patterns that have put us in this energy crisis I cannot fathom why.
The icing on the cake in this book is always the key points “From the Desk of the President.” The points mentioned, in a nut shell, are “Americans drive more and enjoy it less”, “more roads don’t cure traffic congestion”, “federal policies favor road building over mass transit,” and “telecommuting can cut oil use while improving productivity and quality of life.” (Sandalow, 157) All of these are points that can be deduced from the essay, however the one solution gathered from the text is telecommuting, at least go with the increase mass transit! I am a huge supporter of telecommuting, but this does not even address the fact that people have (this is a perspective/paradigm) to drive everywhere they go. Making all cars run on ethanol and batteries does not solve the issue. We can not sustain traveling huge distances to get what we need. It does not fit into the model we have to live in, reality.
May 6, 2008
“I plan to deliver an address from the Oval Office one month from today. The topic will be oil dependence.”
I tend to steer clear and far away from any type of political book. My disinterest stems from the obvious bias and propaganda that these types of political figures tend to bring into their views and writing. The viewpoint and rambling on and on bores my racing mind. “Freedom From Oil” was written from a completely different perspective and point of view that it took me by surprise. I was fully engrossed throughout the entire book and often referenced previous views and opinions as I read through Sandalow’s ideas.
The format of this book was written as fairly short, but highly detailed documents written to the next President of the United States by the various Directors and Secretaries within the President’s office. Each perspective detailed the pros and cons of how to eliminate the United States’ addiction to oil. The forward thinking approach brings in thinking from all factors which would affect the people and corporations of the US.
These views facing the problem of oil addiction include memorandums from the President, his Counselor, the Secretary of Energy, the National Security Advisor, the Council on Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Economic Council, with several articles profiling American viewpoints.
Solutions to the oil addition problems are presented by the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Agriculture, the US Trade Representative, the Council of Economic Advisors, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of State. Additional viewpoints include profiles and ideas presented by American citizens. The range of solutions presented include Biofuels, Plug-in Cars, Fuel Efficiency, Coal, Hydrogen, Smart Growth, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and Diplomatic Strategy.
Finally, a compilation of all the problems, solutions and discussion is provided via a press release and “The President’s Speech to the Nation.” The format presented in this book not only held my attention but strengthened my belief that all Americans should work toward finding solutions to our current energy crisis and work toward using cleaner fuels and be willing to sacrifice convenience for what is best for not only the United States, but also the world.
I tend to steer clear and far away from any type of political book. My disinterest stems from the obvious bias and propaganda that these types of political figures tend to bring into their views and writing. The viewpoint and rambling on and on bores my racing mind. “Freedom From Oil” was written from a completely different perspective and point of view that it took me by surprise. I was fully engrossed throughout the entire book and often referenced previous views and opinions as I read through Sandalow’s ideas.
The format of this book was written as fairly short, but highly detailed documents written to the next President of the United States by the various Directors and Secretaries within the President’s office. Each perspective detailed the pros and cons of how to eliminate the United States’ addiction to oil. The forward thinking approach brings in thinking from all factors which would affect the people and corporations of the US.
These views facing the problem of oil addiction include memorandums from the President, his Counselor, the Secretary of Energy, the National Security Advisor, the Council on Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Economic Council, with several articles profiling American viewpoints.
Solutions to the oil addition problems are presented by the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Agriculture, the US Trade Representative, the Council of Economic Advisors, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of State. Additional viewpoints include profiles and ideas presented by American citizens. The range of solutions presented include Biofuels, Plug-in Cars, Fuel Efficiency, Coal, Hydrogen, Smart Growth, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and Diplomatic Strategy.
Finally, a compilation of all the problems, solutions and discussion is provided via a press release and “The President’s Speech to the Nation.” The format presented in this book not only held my attention but strengthened my belief that all Americans should work toward finding solutions to our current energy crisis and work toward using cleaner fuels and be willing to sacrifice convenience for what is best for not only the United States, but also the world.
Currently reading
January 14, 2008Every Country must be free from Oil, and Mr. Sandalow shows us there are many ways to be free from Oil, namely the three Es, Ethanol, Electricity, and Efficiency. This book provides alot of new information for unaware public, that actually we can and will survive without oil, the world will be a better place without fossil fuels. Oil dependent USA has created many enemies in foreign countries. because of USA dependence on oil, USA has to tolerate the undemocratic treatment of many of its allies. not to mention the disastrous effect oil contribute to the climate change and global warming, Al Gore's simple illustration in the an inconvenient truth, that there will be no economic prosperity and wealth without planet earth, is so simple but so striking, theses days planet earth is dying and one of the way to save our beloved planet is to stop burning fossil fuels. so please do what you can to spread the knowledge and information from this book and pray that there will be political will from the government of all countries.
May 6, 2011
This book is TEDIOUS, though it has a lot of great stats.
I picked up this book on a blog post recommendation from Shai Agassi whose plan for putting swappable batteries into electric cars will rapidly eliminate the internal combustion engine. The book has some major celebrity/establishment endorsements: Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Wes Clark, Jim Woolsey, etc.
While he covers the issues decently, you'll get MUCH more out of reading James Howard Kunstler's "The Long Emergency", Jeff Rubins' "Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization", or Robert Bryce's "Power Hungry".
I picked up this book on a blog post recommendation from Shai Agassi whose plan for putting swappable batteries into electric cars will rapidly eliminate the internal combustion engine. The book has some major celebrity/establishment endorsements: Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Wes Clark, Jim Woolsey, etc.
While he covers the issues decently, you'll get MUCH more out of reading James Howard Kunstler's "The Long Emergency", Jeff Rubins' "Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization", or Robert Bryce's "Power Hungry".
January 6, 2009
While the look and title struck me as a little 'Colbert Report', the book actually contains a well researched account of America's relationship with oil and a realistic plan for the next president to kick the nasty habit. The kicker-- it's actually a good read! The government-memo style provides a quick pace as senior cabinet members counsel the president on a bold new off-oil plan. I recommend to eco- and political geeks alike.
January 3, 2008
A quick and straightforward read - Sandalow basically highlights the various arenas where policy changes might impact our over-consumption of oil in both the short and long term. Nothing ground-breaking or mind-shattering per se, but worth seeing the various governmental departments that would need to have a hand in any substantial effort to move the U.S., and the world, away from oil.
January 9, 2008
A quick and straightforward read - Sandalow basically highlights the various arenas where policy changes might impact our over-consumption of oil in both the short and long term. Nothing ground-breaking or mind-shattering per se, but worth seeing the various governmental departments that would need to have a hand in any substantial effort to move the U.S., and the world, away from oil.
September 11, 2008
A quick and straightforward read - Sandalow basically highlights the various arenas where policy changes might impact our over-consumption of oil in both the short and long term. Nothing ground-breaking or mind-shattering per se, but worth seeing the various governmental departments that would need to have a hand in any substantial effort to move the U.S., and the world, away from oil.
March 9, 2008
Not very complex or technical, but somewhat inspirational in that it presents a lot of good policy proposals that could actually be implimented if we had an administration at all interested in the most pressing issue of our time.
May 19, 2013
At times difficult to read because the book shows how it could be done. It is a little dated and new technologies have developed, but it still shows that it is possible and that makes me hopeful. Fairly dry read, but definitely interesting information and insight to the process.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews