What do you think?
Rate this book
Power Trip: The Story of Energy
A global tour of energy--the builder of human civilization and also its greatest threat.
Energy is humanity's single most important resource. In fact, as energy expert Michael E. Webber argues in Power Trip, the story of how societies rise can be told largely as the story of how they manage energy sources through time. In 2019, as we face down growing demand for and accumulating environmental impacts from energy, we are at a crossroads and the stakes are high. But history shows us that energy's great value is that it allows societies to reinvent themselves.
Power Trip explores how energy has transformed societies of the past and offers wisdom for today's looming energy crisis. There is no magic bullet; energy advances always come with costs. Scientific innovation needs public support. Energy initiatives need to be tailored to individual societies. We must look for long-term solutions. Our current energy crisis is real, but it is solvable. We have the power.
Energy is humanity's single most important resource. In fact, as energy expert Michael E. Webber argues in Power Trip, the story of how societies rise can be told largely as the story of how they manage energy sources through time. In 2019, as we face down growing demand for and accumulating environmental impacts from energy, we are at a crossroads and the stakes are high. But history shows us that energy's great value is that it allows societies to reinvent themselves.
Power Trip explores how energy has transformed societies of the past and offers wisdom for today's looming energy crisis. There is no magic bullet; energy advances always come with costs. Scientific innovation needs public support. Energy initiatives need to be tailored to individual societies. We must look for long-term solutions. Our current energy crisis is real, but it is solvable. We have the power.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2019
59 people are currently reading
674 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 - 30 of 34 reviews
July 8, 2019
The author wrote an introductory book about why energy matters. If you're interested in reading a book about why energy matters, you probably already think that energy matters and want something deeper than a basic introduction.
Hence my issue with this book: it's written at a very basic level and doesn't add much insight for people who are already somewhat familiar with the subject. I recommend skipping this one and reading The Grid instead.
Hence my issue with this book: it's written at a very basic level and doesn't add much insight for people who are already somewhat familiar with the subject. I recommend skipping this one and reading The Grid instead.
January 25, 2020
Although I count myself as an energy expert, I didn't have the comprehensive understanding of energy which the book provides me with. It provides a through historic timeline of energy and how it changed habits and lifestyles, led to the formation of entire cities, was the factor of winning and losing wars, and shifted societies geographically and demographically.
I do have a comment; most of the examples are from the USA. I know that the USA is probably the all-time leading company on innovation, technology, and energy, but the book heavily leans towards the USA to the extent that the author sometimes refer to it as "we"...
Another comment would be that the book lacks the use of figures... Although they're not essential, but they would've been very useful in delivering the ideas.
I do have a comment; most of the examples are from the USA. I know that the USA is probably the all-time leading company on innovation, technology, and energy, but the book heavily leans towards the USA to the extent that the author sometimes refer to it as "we"...
Another comment would be that the book lacks the use of figures... Although they're not essential, but they would've been very useful in delivering the ideas.
July 22, 2022
This was a good book on the history of power/energy. I love these types of history of stuff type books.
It covers history of and challenges of present energy options, also covering food, transportation, and household issues. Also good discussion on renewable:climate change issues but it got a little too political which those issues are.
Overall good book.
It covers history of and challenges of present energy options, also covering food, transportation, and household issues. Also good discussion on renewable:climate change issues but it got a little too political which those issues are.
Overall good book.
Read
October 17, 2023i read this for grad school
September 9, 2021
I highly recommend the reading of Power Trip: The Story of Energy by Michael Webber. His descriptive and prescriptive story was published in 2019, just before the pandemic and while American energy policies showed continued reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while ensuring independence from foreign oil. In fact, America had become a net exporter of fossil fuels. As Webber points out, “History makes one thing clear: energy can break societies just as easily as it makes them.” America was on a solid trajectory through 2020– reduced GHG emissions and energy dependence.
But elections can alter trajectories. Indeed, the Biden administration during 2021 appears to be breaking American society by his and his team’s stated war on fossil fuels and endless declarations of crises. This doom and gloom approach is not what Webber recommends either: “Energy is a key enabler of entrepreneurship and innovation, the economic engines for society. Energy holds much promise for humanity, but a lack of energy can doom populations to incredible suffering.”
Webber provides some excellent historical perspective on the rise of fossil fuels and how it led to the industrial revolution powered by steam engines, the rise of personal mobility with gasoline, and eventually widespread electrification to allow enjoyment of increasing leisure time as well as round the clock workplaces. Webber succinctly summarizes, “Whale oil was a popular illuminant that displaced dirtier, dimmer candles and torches. Despite that, whale oil was eventually displaced by kerosene for indoor lighting, which was cheaper and brighter and didn’t smell pungent like burning blubber. Coal, which was even higher energy density, burns hotter, and produces less smoke than wood or cow dung, became a preferred fuel for indoor heating and industry. That means oil saved whales and coal saved the forests.”
He adds, “But with the steam engine, burning a fuel could give the energy needed to boil water to create steam that would drive pistons to create motion.” This engine was suited for massive vehicles like steamships and locomotives, but “they were awkwardly sized for vehicles at the scale of an individual or a family. Gasoline-powered engines . . . were a good fit for transportation, enabling a revolution of personal mobility. The impact of individualized, motorized transportation is hard to fathom. In total, it created some of the world’s largest industries: automotive manufacturing (using steel made from coal and tires made from petroleum at factories operating on electricity), oil production for automotive fuels, and road construction (using asphalt from petroleum and cement made with coal). These breakthroughs changed where and how we lived, as transportation encouraged far-flung yet interconnected societies and electricity enabled urban living that reached to the sky.”
Besides creating the suburbs, automobiles enabled tourism to thrive. Up until then, Webber writes, “long-haul travel had been prohibitively expensive, but personal automobiles lowered the cost and time required for travel. Thus the great American road trip was born.” He adds, “By the twenty-first century, Americans were driving more than 3 trillion miles annually in cars alone.”
One of the major benefits of fossil fuels was the high energy density and heat generation that enabled a myriad of home conveniences, including electricity for lighting, refrigeration, and air conditioning, as well as natural gas for heating living spaces (furnaces) and water (hot water heaters), cooking, and drying clothes, to name a few. Harnessing the fossil fuel area created jobs, wealth, and convenience for Americans and many other societies. Webber notes, “For people in poverty, access to energy improves their educational opportunities, but it can also be used to operate a business, build a factory, and make goods. More energy means more economic opportunity.”
Labor Savings
“The movement from labor-intensive to energy-intensive farming moved the burden from human or animal muscles to fossil fuels,” Webber explains. “To produce 1 hectare of corn or other grains requires over 1,000 hours of human labor in nonindustrial parts to the world and about 10 hours of human labor in the United States and industrialized areas. That means we have reduced the labor requirements to one-hundredth of what they would be otherwise. One human can do the work of about 100 other humans with energy resources at his or her disposal making up the difference.” (p.59)
This is a topic I explored in my first book, A World Perspective through 21st Century Eyes (2004), which addressed surplus energy as well as the rise and fall of a number of civilizations related to energy use and more.
The additional spare time that energy “bought” for the working class “could be spent on cultural or frivolous delights such as listening to the opera or watching movies, improving quality of life.”
Webber argues that energy is a more fundamental marker of progress than either scientific discovery or modern medicine. He writes, “Medical professionals would have trouble saving lives without scalpels and other instruments made from metal forged with fossil fuels, lighting to allow surgeons to see clearly, medicines made from petrochemicals, plastic devices made from natural gas, and electricity to heat water for disinfection.”
Fossil fuels are not all bad. They produce water during combustion and that’s good news. Webber reports, “Hydrocarbons are composed of different chains of hydrogen (H) and carbon (C) atoms attached to each other. For example, the chemical formula for methane is CH4, propane is C3H8, and gasoline can be approximated as C8H15. When these hydrocarbon fuels react with the oxygen (O2) in the air, tow major combustion products result: carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O). Because carbon dioxide traps infrared radiation, hydrocarbon combustion unavoidably produces green house gases unless scrubbers are included to avoid emissions. But that water vapor is also created and added to the hydrologic cycle.”
On another area of the economy, maybe the focus should be on the food system instead of targeting residents with bad public policy. Webber tells us, “In total, the energy consumption for the food system in the United States is nearly 10 percent of annual national consumption. That means energy embedded in food . . . warrants attention. Energy consumption for food is about two to three times bigger than the energy consumed for lighting nationwide.”
Like him, he’s perplexed as to why this issue isn’t being aggressively addressed. He continues, “Think of all the innovations in light bulb design to reduce their costs and improve brightness over time. Innovation to improve the efficiency of the food system is still lacking, because it has not traditionally been considered a starting point for energy savings by policymakers, who have instead focused on light bulb and appliance standards and fuel economy for automobiles [since individual American consumers are much easy targets to force change and compliance].”
Once Webber becomes prescriptive in his book, however, a number of his arguments falter. His experience leads him to focus on large metropolitan areas: He advocates for walking and mass transit, cycling, and electric vehicles or, preferably, rideshare services for mobility. He believes connections with other large cities should be done with high-speed rail and truckers should be replaced with a restart of freight delivered by rail. Webber also advocates for more bike lanes, added fees for miles driven in a car plus congestion fees for entering “downtown,” and carbon taxes in order to pay for his suggestions.
Webber’s nirvana includes a bold declaration: “Using a mobility service is the best economic option for over a quarter of the population using standard conditions from 2017. As the prices drop for mobility-as-a-service, then that will be the economic option for a much larger fraction of society. Professionals who live in suburbs would benefit from using mobility services: instead of wasting their time driving, commuters can rest, read emails, place phone calls, or conduct other business. That work can create economic value – and reduce workers’ office hours so they can get home earlier for dinner.”
What about the other 75 percent of the population? In fact, with the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been migrations away from downtown to the suburbs, something that Webber couldn’t have foreseen. Higher density living isn’t for everyone, especially for the very group he is trying to court with bike lanes, mass transit, and ridesharing services. Much of his thinking in this area is associated with how Europeans live, with much of its historical buildup around structures requiring compact, dense housing arrangements. Maybe that’s because Webber lives in Paris where there is a subway and little urban parking.
Webber is best when he applies common senses and abandons the green agenda prescriptions: “Modern wealth is enabled through access to some form of energy, and those without energy remain poor.” In fact, energy is equivalent to a higher quality of life. He adds, “If water is life, energy is quality of life. Modern energy – electricity, natural gas, or propane, instead of cow dung, straw, peat or firewood – lets households get out of the cold and cook their food in a way that produces less smoke, soot, and ash. Importantly, access to energy enables access to education. And education is one of the most important pathways to affluence.”
Very well stated. And as he observes, “Keeping the hydrocarbons flowing is a top strategic priority because energy is such a critical economic and political concern for the United States and its allies.”
But elections can alter trajectories. Indeed, the Biden administration during 2021 appears to be breaking American society by his and his team’s stated war on fossil fuels and endless declarations of crises. This doom and gloom approach is not what Webber recommends either: “Energy is a key enabler of entrepreneurship and innovation, the economic engines for society. Energy holds much promise for humanity, but a lack of energy can doom populations to incredible suffering.”
Webber provides some excellent historical perspective on the rise of fossil fuels and how it led to the industrial revolution powered by steam engines, the rise of personal mobility with gasoline, and eventually widespread electrification to allow enjoyment of increasing leisure time as well as round the clock workplaces. Webber succinctly summarizes, “Whale oil was a popular illuminant that displaced dirtier, dimmer candles and torches. Despite that, whale oil was eventually displaced by kerosene for indoor lighting, which was cheaper and brighter and didn’t smell pungent like burning blubber. Coal, which was even higher energy density, burns hotter, and produces less smoke than wood or cow dung, became a preferred fuel for indoor heating and industry. That means oil saved whales and coal saved the forests.”
He adds, “But with the steam engine, burning a fuel could give the energy needed to boil water to create steam that would drive pistons to create motion.” This engine was suited for massive vehicles like steamships and locomotives, but “they were awkwardly sized for vehicles at the scale of an individual or a family. Gasoline-powered engines . . . were a good fit for transportation, enabling a revolution of personal mobility. The impact of individualized, motorized transportation is hard to fathom. In total, it created some of the world’s largest industries: automotive manufacturing (using steel made from coal and tires made from petroleum at factories operating on electricity), oil production for automotive fuels, and road construction (using asphalt from petroleum and cement made with coal). These breakthroughs changed where and how we lived, as transportation encouraged far-flung yet interconnected societies and electricity enabled urban living that reached to the sky.”
Besides creating the suburbs, automobiles enabled tourism to thrive. Up until then, Webber writes, “long-haul travel had been prohibitively expensive, but personal automobiles lowered the cost and time required for travel. Thus the great American road trip was born.” He adds, “By the twenty-first century, Americans were driving more than 3 trillion miles annually in cars alone.”
One of the major benefits of fossil fuels was the high energy density and heat generation that enabled a myriad of home conveniences, including electricity for lighting, refrigeration, and air conditioning, as well as natural gas for heating living spaces (furnaces) and water (hot water heaters), cooking, and drying clothes, to name a few. Harnessing the fossil fuel area created jobs, wealth, and convenience for Americans and many other societies. Webber notes, “For people in poverty, access to energy improves their educational opportunities, but it can also be used to operate a business, build a factory, and make goods. More energy means more economic opportunity.”
Labor Savings
“The movement from labor-intensive to energy-intensive farming moved the burden from human or animal muscles to fossil fuels,” Webber explains. “To produce 1 hectare of corn or other grains requires over 1,000 hours of human labor in nonindustrial parts to the world and about 10 hours of human labor in the United States and industrialized areas. That means we have reduced the labor requirements to one-hundredth of what they would be otherwise. One human can do the work of about 100 other humans with energy resources at his or her disposal making up the difference.” (p.59)
This is a topic I explored in my first book, A World Perspective through 21st Century Eyes (2004), which addressed surplus energy as well as the rise and fall of a number of civilizations related to energy use and more.
The additional spare time that energy “bought” for the working class “could be spent on cultural or frivolous delights such as listening to the opera or watching movies, improving quality of life.”
Webber argues that energy is a more fundamental marker of progress than either scientific discovery or modern medicine. He writes, “Medical professionals would have trouble saving lives without scalpels and other instruments made from metal forged with fossil fuels, lighting to allow surgeons to see clearly, medicines made from petrochemicals, plastic devices made from natural gas, and electricity to heat water for disinfection.”
Fossil fuels are not all bad. They produce water during combustion and that’s good news. Webber reports, “Hydrocarbons are composed of different chains of hydrogen (H) and carbon (C) atoms attached to each other. For example, the chemical formula for methane is CH4, propane is C3H8, and gasoline can be approximated as C8H15. When these hydrocarbon fuels react with the oxygen (O2) in the air, tow major combustion products result: carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O). Because carbon dioxide traps infrared radiation, hydrocarbon combustion unavoidably produces green house gases unless scrubbers are included to avoid emissions. But that water vapor is also created and added to the hydrologic cycle.”
On another area of the economy, maybe the focus should be on the food system instead of targeting residents with bad public policy. Webber tells us, “In total, the energy consumption for the food system in the United States is nearly 10 percent of annual national consumption. That means energy embedded in food . . . warrants attention. Energy consumption for food is about two to three times bigger than the energy consumed for lighting nationwide.”
Like him, he’s perplexed as to why this issue isn’t being aggressively addressed. He continues, “Think of all the innovations in light bulb design to reduce their costs and improve brightness over time. Innovation to improve the efficiency of the food system is still lacking, because it has not traditionally been considered a starting point for energy savings by policymakers, who have instead focused on light bulb and appliance standards and fuel economy for automobiles [since individual American consumers are much easy targets to force change and compliance].”
Once Webber becomes prescriptive in his book, however, a number of his arguments falter. His experience leads him to focus on large metropolitan areas: He advocates for walking and mass transit, cycling, and electric vehicles or, preferably, rideshare services for mobility. He believes connections with other large cities should be done with high-speed rail and truckers should be replaced with a restart of freight delivered by rail. Webber also advocates for more bike lanes, added fees for miles driven in a car plus congestion fees for entering “downtown,” and carbon taxes in order to pay for his suggestions.
Webber’s nirvana includes a bold declaration: “Using a mobility service is the best economic option for over a quarter of the population using standard conditions from 2017. As the prices drop for mobility-as-a-service, then that will be the economic option for a much larger fraction of society. Professionals who live in suburbs would benefit from using mobility services: instead of wasting their time driving, commuters can rest, read emails, place phone calls, or conduct other business. That work can create economic value – and reduce workers’ office hours so they can get home earlier for dinner.”
What about the other 75 percent of the population? In fact, with the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been migrations away from downtown to the suburbs, something that Webber couldn’t have foreseen. Higher density living isn’t for everyone, especially for the very group he is trying to court with bike lanes, mass transit, and ridesharing services. Much of his thinking in this area is associated with how Europeans live, with much of its historical buildup around structures requiring compact, dense housing arrangements. Maybe that’s because Webber lives in Paris where there is a subway and little urban parking.
Webber is best when he applies common senses and abandons the green agenda prescriptions: “Modern wealth is enabled through access to some form of energy, and those without energy remain poor.” In fact, energy is equivalent to a higher quality of life. He adds, “If water is life, energy is quality of life. Modern energy – electricity, natural gas, or propane, instead of cow dung, straw, peat or firewood – lets households get out of the cold and cook their food in a way that produces less smoke, soot, and ash. Importantly, access to energy enables access to education. And education is one of the most important pathways to affluence.”
Very well stated. And as he observes, “Keeping the hydrocarbons flowing is a top strategic priority because energy is such a critical economic and political concern for the United States and its allies.”
October 12, 2020
concise, inspiring and full of facts. If you want to know how the world works and where we are headed and our biggest challenges it is a must read.
July 25, 2023
Very easy to read and provided a lot of invaluable insights. Wish it had more info on the security and geopolitical implications of energy.
January 23, 2022
Very US-centric in scope and philosophy.
Spends an entire chapter concerning US Energy Security and less than three paragraphs on solar and wind combined. A couple pages max on nuclear. Shrugs them off as important but not solutions in of themselves.
Felt almost like pro-oil propaganda in a time where we need to be moving away from fossil fuels.
Very simplistic, most people interested in this topic likely have more nuisance and educated views than this book will leave you with.
Spends an entire chapter concerning US Energy Security and less than three paragraphs on solar and wind combined. A couple pages max on nuclear. Shrugs them off as important but not solutions in of themselves.
Felt almost like pro-oil propaganda in a time where we need to be moving away from fossil fuels.
Very simplistic, most people interested in this topic likely have more nuisance and educated views than this book will leave you with.
August 7, 2019
My mechanical engineering masters degree (2000) focused on energy management and I maintain a more than passing interest in the subject, both professionally and personally. I requested an advance review copy of this book last year and was approved, but a glitch linked the wrong book and the publisher wasn’t able to resolve it, so the offering site removed, well, the offer. I finally cleared some room and got a chance to read it. Quite glad I did. Dr. Webber is an academic, but he doesn't write like an academic can tend write. This is an engaging narrative, filled with history, data, details, trivia, problems...and solutions. BLUF (bottom line up front)...an excellent read.
Webber says in his prologue that
Water. Everywhere, nor any drop to drink. The relationship of energy to water is as old as civilization, intensifying in recent centuries. Water provides mechanical power (mills, textiles, saws, etc.) and later electrical. Dams are built to harness gravity and the motive force of water to drive electric generators. But water also becomes steam to drive mechanical equipment. Energy is need to move water to where it is not (presumably where it is needed.) Water is used for food, but also biofuels. And water has been a historic waste stream. Webber shares
On Food, energy is required to raise crops and livestock, create fertilizers to increase feed production. For all of the increase in agricultural production, energy is also required for processing, packaging, preparing, preserving. Illustrating packaging costs, Webber talks about milk deliveries in the early 1970s:
Webber's chapter on Transportation covers human history: water power to steam rail to internal combustion cars and trucks, and jet engines for air travel . And he notes to the challenges associated with our rapidly deployed carbon emissions. He proposes a return to rail instead of trucks for freight, and to disincentivise the smaller, more costly and more polluting means...
Wealth is tied to energy in a cyclical manner - poverty is improved with access to energy; "more energy means more economic opportunity," And as energy creates wealth, the wealthy consume more energy. Cities are intensive energy consumers, waste concentrators. Smart cities might have some mitigating effect, but they are few and are struggling to figure out how to be "smart" (My observations from working in a progressive municipality.) Wars are fought over energy. Energy (oil) is used as a threat to security and to manipulate economies.
There is, as you can imagine, a lot more depth and breadth than my cherry-picked notes illustrate. Webber concludes with his position that the "grand challenge" is responsibly improving access to the creative potential of energy. Affecting the energy system, there are "six overarching demographic trends— population growth, economic growth, urbanization, motorization, industrialization, and electrification" driving energy demand. On top of the demographic trends, there are three technological trends: society is becoming more efficient, everything is becoming more information-intensive, and the rise of decentralization. The environmental trend overarching all of that is our emissions, which are dropping despite population and technologies increasing, but not enough.
Webber says in his prologue that
For thousands of years the story of energy was slow-moving and incremental, but in the last few hundred years in the developed world, the energy story has become more interesting.This is true for most technologies, but as he observes, "energy is unique: no other physical factor in society has such a wide-ranging impact on public health, ecosystems, the global economy, and personal liberties." Webber talks about what energy has done and can do, and what the impacts of lack of sufficient energy are. Webber lists Nobel laureate Richard Smalley's top ten problems for humanity: 1) energy, 2) water, 3) food, 4) environment, 5) poverty, 6) terrorism and war, 7) disease, 8) education, 9) democracy, and 10) population. Energy comes out on top because it is integral to cracking the other nine. Webber addresses those challenges from his perspective of energy availability and impact, and breaks them out into six chapters of Water, Food, Transportation, Wealth, Cities, and Security. Details, data, and more details, but written in such an engaging way that even the detail averse should like this. Some highlights...
Water. Everywhere, nor any drop to drink. The relationship of energy to water is as old as civilization, intensifying in recent centuries. Water provides mechanical power (mills, textiles, saws, etc.) and later electrical. Dams are built to harness gravity and the motive force of water to drive electric generators. But water also becomes steam to drive mechanical equipment. Energy is need to move water to where it is not (presumably where it is needed.) Water is used for food, but also biofuels. And water has been a historic waste stream. Webber shares
In the mid-1800s, Londoners could solve their water problems by simply flushing waste farther along the Thames. But today, with a higher global population and bigger cities, there is no “away.”This is true of trash as well - there is no "away" when we "throw things away." And when we pollute, energy is needed to help clean water. When hydropower is a source of energy, and there are problems with the source (drought), there are can be interesting social implications:
early 2016, Venezuela was suffering a significant drought. Because the country gets a large fraction of its power from hydroelectric facilities, the drought raised the risk of power shortages. To help forestall a national crisis, President Nicolás Maduro “urged women to stop using hairdryers and offered alternative styling tips as the country’s energy crisis continues.” He even went on to say, “I think a woman looks better when she runs her fingers through her hair and lets it dry naturally.” That a president found it reasonable to give hairstyle suggestions to women is remarkable on many fronts, but that heThere is also a curious folk prohibition in parts of South Korea about not sleeping with a fan blowing on you (and sometimes no air conditioning)...something about it being bad for the health. I didn't investigate the origins, but I had a theory that back when their post-war electric grid was less than stable, propagating that might help relieve some of the demand. Anyway, that ties to energy security as well as water.
did so for reasons related to energy reliability is striking.
On Food, energy is required to raise crops and livestock, create fertilizers to increase feed production. For all of the increase in agricultural production, energy is also required for processing, packaging, preparing, preserving. Illustrating packaging costs, Webber talks about milk deliveries in the early 1970s:
The milk was delivered in reusable glass containers. When we were done, we would set the empty containers on the porch for the milkman to take with him after making a fresh delivery. That half-gallon, reusable glass milk container has about 4,500 kilocalories of energy embedded in the manufacturing of the bottle itself. 10 The half gallon of whole milk contained inside has less than 1,300 kilocalories of energy. That means the container has more than three times as much energy in its materials as the liquid it carries. Scale that up across all types of packaging at a national level, and the embedded energy is significant, which shows how valuable it is to reuse materials whenever possible.Good contrast. And good point. Another good illustrative point, Webber considers lamb that the English like to eat. It comes from New Zealand, which at 10,000 miles away seems to fly in the face of reason as to why not locally sourced lamb. Factoring in the local transportation costs vs mass ocean transport, with grains instead of grass feed (and the commensurate water and other resources), the life-cycle energy makes the NZ lamb more cost effective.
As a consequence, even though the lamb from New Zealand is a world away, it requires less energy overall.Webber talks about overabundance, waste, food security, food for energy. Biofuels too often some at the expense of people fuel, food. Corn is a good source of ethanol, and with eventual depletion of fossil oils, might be the primary source of liquid fuel in the future.
Webber's chapter on Transportation covers human history: water power to steam rail to internal combustion cars and trucks, and jet engines for air travel . And he notes to the challenges associated with our rapidly deployed carbon emissions. He proposes a return to rail instead of trucks for freight, and to disincentivise the smaller, more costly and more polluting means...
A carbon price and update to our gas tax model would likely encourage a lot of switching to rail for freight, but increasing throughput (ton-miles) on rail without other improvements could degrade other key performance metrics such as delivery time and reliability. Since many freight customers are very sensitive to those factors, commensurate investments have to be made in optimizing performance, double-tracking where possible, adding new tracks, and alleviating bottlenecks.Smart idea, and probably right, but the corporate "citizens" and wrongwing will never agree. Mobility is a problem in rural and urban environments; particularly in a large country. Too far apart for mass transport in rural and too dependent on individual transport that densifies urban.
Wealth is tied to energy in a cyclical manner - poverty is improved with access to energy; "more energy means more economic opportunity," And as energy creates wealth, the wealthy consume more energy. Cities are intensive energy consumers, waste concentrators. Smart cities might have some mitigating effect, but they are few and are struggling to figure out how to be "smart" (My observations from working in a progressive municipality.) Wars are fought over energy. Energy (oil) is used as a threat to security and to manipulate economies.
The oil wars in Iraq in the early 1990s and early 2000s were defining military missions for Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, but the idea that oil is worth fighting for is actually known as the Carter Doctrine. In his 1980 State of the Union speech, President Carter announced that the nation was willing to use military force to protect its interests in the Persian Gulf, at the heart of the Middle East’s most active oil-producing region. As an expression of the Carter Doctrine, the US military projects force around the world, deploying the navy to keep sea lanes open so that oil tankers can move freely to their destinations.Piracy is now shifting to energy sources - tankers taken hostage, ransoming their contents. Russia plays at strong-arming Europe with its oil supply, threatening (shooting missiles near but not hitting) a pipeline through Georgia in order to get support for another pipeline, the NordStream 2. And then T helps his buddy at the expense of Europe allies:
A decade later, at a famous summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, President Trump recommended the NordStream 2 pipeline as a way for Europe to improve its energy security, finally helping Russia achieve that goal.
There is, as you can imagine, a lot more depth and breadth than my cherry-picked notes illustrate. Webber concludes with his position that the "grand challenge" is responsibly improving access to the creative potential of energy. Affecting the energy system, there are "six overarching demographic trends— population growth, economic growth, urbanization, motorization, industrialization, and electrification" driving energy demand. On top of the demographic trends, there are three technological trends: society is becoming more efficient, everything is becoming more information-intensive, and the rise of decentralization. The environmental trend overarching all of that is our emissions, which are dropping despite population and technologies increasing, but not enough.
October 20, 2023
This book was written by an engineer who seemingly has read two Gates Foundation op-eds.
He has a limited understanding of political and social factors, is very much bought into capitalist hegemony, and wants to convince a handful of rich people that it makes logical sense to care about climate chaos while billionaires are actually building bunkers and hiring private security during emergencies.
He seems willfully american-dream-ifed. For example, he notes an instance where a pilot was shot down over Soviet airspace as a spy and the subsequent scandal. He indicates this was a total surprise that couldn't have been predicated or prevented, when in reality pilot Powers had a wealth of documents identifying himself as an American spy on his person. Furthermore, Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers were busy plotting coups in other countries at the same time. America was sloppy and incredibly interventionist in ways that have had long term consequences. His rosy-image of America also shows up when he talks about the American Military complex preparing for climate chaos, not even acknowledging the potential ethical ramifications of such a situation.
I think the moment I truly gave up on this book was when he was extolling the technology of laser guided missles that can hit a target "within a few miles" while also acknowledging how most people now live in cities. Terrifying lack of forethought in how that 'precision' is simply not precise enough when considering human lives, even if you assume, like he does, we are targeting "bad guys".
He understands technology has helped improve the plight of women, but manages to make it seem like technology has solved the issue of sexism and will continue to do so. I don't even know where to begin with that one.
The blurb promised a lot and the book did not live up to it. I found the section on water to be the most interesting, but unfortunately it went downhill from there. His movie references were fine at first, but there were far too many and they did little to add to his points.
Frankly, for a book on *energy* published in 2019, his passing comments in response to climate change feel almost criminally negligent to me. It's difficult to take any of this work seriously when most of his recommendations boil down to a carbon tax and making biofuels from waste.
He has a limited understanding of political and social factors, is very much bought into capitalist hegemony, and wants to convince a handful of rich people that it makes logical sense to care about climate chaos while billionaires are actually building bunkers and hiring private security during emergencies.
He seems willfully american-dream-ifed. For example, he notes an instance where a pilot was shot down over Soviet airspace as a spy and the subsequent scandal. He indicates this was a total surprise that couldn't have been predicated or prevented, when in reality pilot Powers had a wealth of documents identifying himself as an American spy on his person. Furthermore, Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers were busy plotting coups in other countries at the same time. America was sloppy and incredibly interventionist in ways that have had long term consequences. His rosy-image of America also shows up when he talks about the American Military complex preparing for climate chaos, not even acknowledging the potential ethical ramifications of such a situation.
I think the moment I truly gave up on this book was when he was extolling the technology of laser guided missles that can hit a target "within a few miles" while also acknowledging how most people now live in cities. Terrifying lack of forethought in how that 'precision' is simply not precise enough when considering human lives, even if you assume, like he does, we are targeting "bad guys".
He understands technology has helped improve the plight of women, but manages to make it seem like technology has solved the issue of sexism and will continue to do so. I don't even know where to begin with that one.
The blurb promised a lot and the book did not live up to it. I found the section on water to be the most interesting, but unfortunately it went downhill from there. His movie references were fine at first, but there were far too many and they did little to add to his points.
Frankly, for a book on *energy* published in 2019, his passing comments in response to climate change feel almost criminally negligent to me. It's difficult to take any of this work seriously when most of his recommendations boil down to a carbon tax and making biofuels from waste.
June 23, 2022
This was good review of the development and impact of power in our society and individual lives. There is a great deal of information and Webber explains complex concepts well. The book is divided up logically by chapters devoted to water, food, transportation, wealth, cities, and security which makes it easier for the reader to follow the historical progression of going from human and animal power to gigantic power generating stations. It is well researched and Webber tells an interesting story. This really is a critical issue for all humanity to be informed on and this is a good place to start. Although it covers very technical issues, it is actually a light read and written for the general public.
May 30, 2023
In one sentence, the big idea of this book is to provide a history of energy and provide several ideas about how to improve our world’s future via sustainable energy practices. As an engineer working in the energy industry, I thought this book was phenomenally fun and informative. Michael Webber did a great job describing how energy impacts all aspects of our lives and how energy is responsible for everything including transportation, health, wealth, wars, and safety.
Since there were a lot of numbers, figures, and engineering concepts in this book, I would recommend this book to an engineer, scientist, or other person highly interested in energy. For folks not scientifically oriented, I would not recommend.
Since there were a lot of numbers, figures, and engineering concepts in this book, I would recommend this book to an engineer, scientist, or other person highly interested in energy. For folks not scientifically oriented, I would not recommend.
July 22, 2024
Very much skimmed
“And as I hope this book has shown, life as we know it is also about energy”
Excerpt From
Power Trip
Webber, Michael E.;
This is exactly what the book is - should have read blurb better as thought I would get more of an insight into current state of power generation and future - it is more a book about how energy is important for many things - which is interesting but not what I was looking for
“ Backers of renewables point to the cleanliness of wind or solar, diminishing their expansive land requirements or variability.”
Excerpt From
Power Trip
Webber, Michael E.;
- Land point is important. Makes me want to calculate the maximum useful land that solar can occupy and power that would provide - assuming 100% or hyper efficient cells
“And as I hope this book has shown, life as we know it is also about energy”
Excerpt From
Power Trip
Webber, Michael E.;
This is exactly what the book is - should have read blurb better as thought I would get more of an insight into current state of power generation and future - it is more a book about how energy is important for many things - which is interesting but not what I was looking for
“ Backers of renewables point to the cleanliness of wind or solar, diminishing their expansive land requirements or variability.”
Excerpt From
Power Trip
Webber, Michael E.;
- Land point is important. Makes me want to calculate the maximum useful land that solar can occupy and power that would provide - assuming 100% or hyper efficient cells
August 6, 2024
I read this at the same time I was reading Energy: a human history. The latter was a superior book in my opinion. This book was not as detailed or thoughtful, provoking some irritation for me. Most notably was a part early on in the book when desalinization was presented as a method of improving water availability. However, earlier in the water chapter the author was decrying energy wasted in producing bottles and in fashion. Desalinization is extremely energy intensive and it should have been subject to the same level of scrutiny as those other consumption activities.
It was not a bad book, and would seemingly have some good excerpts for a freshman taking a nonmajors introductory course on energy/climate change. A low four star book.
It was not a bad book, and would seemingly have some good excerpts for a freshman taking a nonmajors introductory course on energy/climate change. A low four star book.
December 26, 2019
I am obsessed with this book. It's relateable and easy to follow but covers critical analysis of our infrastructure. And bonus, he's from Austin so there's lots of tidbits about the moontowers and our biogas reactor.
It's fed into a lot of musing about our transportation, water resources and future of our cities. Just finishing up the chapter on national security and oil now. I plan to give to my dad when I'm done.
It's fed into a lot of musing about our transportation, water resources and future of our cities. Just finishing up the chapter on national security and oil now. I plan to give to my dad when I'm done.
May 1, 2024
Didn’t actually finish this book. It felt like the author was cruising through oversimplifications in order to make points in every paragraph.
I stopped reading this book in the first chapter when the author claimed that dams were used to refine uranium in WA and TN in WW2. While he is correct more or less, plutonium was actually the refined material at the Hanford site in WA. This felt like a lazy mistake and was enough to stop me reading the book.
I stopped reading this book in the first chapter when the author claimed that dams were used to refine uranium in WA and TN in WW2. While he is correct more or less, plutonium was actually the refined material at the Hanford site in WA. This felt like a lazy mistake and was enough to stop me reading the book.
January 28, 2025
Okay, I suppose...
While it's not a horrific read, it really does (just like other reviews have said) read like a high school/college student that waited until the last minute to write a paper for a homework assignment. Scattered, incohesive, and not really a linear read. Meh... As interesting as the subject is, I wouldn't given up on it if I didn't have to read it for a class I'm taking.
While it's not a horrific read, it really does (just like other reviews have said) read like a high school/college student that waited until the last minute to write a paper for a homework assignment. Scattered, incohesive, and not really a linear read. Meh... As interesting as the subject is, I wouldn't given up on it if I didn't have to read it for a class I'm taking.
December 24, 2022
The perfect lean, dense but beginner-friendly book for those interested in energy, the energy industry, or climate change. Webber’s thematic chapters are richly woven with historical insights and pragmatic views that move the debate from zero-sum handwringing to more expansive and thoughtful commentary.
July 7, 2024
I found this to be a very interesting read and the author seems to know this subject well. One of the first points that Webber makes is just how prevalent power is across society, our lives, the food we eat, the healthcare we have available, ... The availability of power really is one of the core enablers of cities and much of our "advancement". This book is delight for a nerd engineer.
June 16, 2019
As a former student of Dr. Webber’s, I know him to be an effective communicator of complex subjects (especially one as important as energy). This book is well done and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
January 21, 2020
Este libro para los amantes del tema energético, puede ser enriquecedor. Habla de la evolución de la energía y el impacto de esta en la sociedad, además de las transformaciones que ha ido causando. Es enriquecedora, y tiene un alto contenido de cultura general.
December 31, 2020
A concise treatise on the upsides and the downsides of energy production and usages past, present and future. The book is upbeat and hopeful and should be required reading for students of all ages and for those with political pull.
Wonderfully read by actor L J Ganser — bravo!
Wonderfully read by actor L J Ganser — bravo!
Read
September 29, 2019Reviewed by Si Dunn for Lone Star Literary Life.
March 28, 2020
Un recorrido por la evolución del uso de la energía. Como se fue transformando el uso de esta y como fue impactando en la sociedad. Es impresionante y te invito a leerlo.
June 7, 2020
Informative, well paced
October 26, 2020
Nice overview, but it was a little simplistic. I felt like I was back in Jr. High or High School.
January 5, 2021
A must read for anyone interested in the future of climate.
January 27, 2021
Loved it. A very comprehensive view of Energy and the Grid.
March 28, 2021
Disappointing. Written at high-school level.
I felt like the author was trying for a Greta Thunberg award.
Is this what passes as UT Austin scholarship?
I felt like the author was trying for a Greta Thunberg award.
Is this what passes as UT Austin scholarship?
September 5, 2022
Probably closer to 4. Loved the history of energy and the build up of its value and importance.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews