Scott Bittle - Who Turned Out the Lights?: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis

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Who Turned Out the Lights?

Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis

Scott Bittle & Jean Johnson

For Susan

Everybodys talkin at me.

I dont hear a word theyre saying

Fred Neil, soundtrack to Midnight Cowboy

Contents

Where Were Coming From

Six Reasons the United States Needs to Get Its Energy Act Together

Groundhog Day, or Havent We Seen This Movie Before?

Giving the Voters What They Want

Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, or How Three Flawed Ideas Could Get Us Off Track

The Basics: Ten Facts You Need to Know

Double, Double, Oil, and Trouble

Are Evil Speculators to Blame?

You Load Sixteen Tons and What Do You Get?

The Ad Wars

Its All Right Now (In Fact, Its a Gas)

Time for the Nuclear Option?

Twice-Told Tales

As Long as the Wind Blows and the Sun Shines

Hydroelectric Power

Geothermal Power

Why the United States Needs a New Electricity Grid

No Place Like [an Energy-Efficient] Home

Why More Efficiency Doesnt Always Save Energy

Driven to Distraction

Food or Fuel?

Looking for Mr. Wizard

Sitting on Top of the World

How to Tell if Were Really Making Progress on Climate Change

So Now What? Ideas from the Left, Right, and Center

The Reality Show

WHERE WERE COMING FROM

I n the last couple of years, just about everyone whos anyone has gone on TV to tell Americans what the United States should do to solve its energy problems: John McCain, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Al Gore, T. Boone Pickens, Sheryl Crow. In the midst of the 2008 presidential campaign, none other than Paris Hilton paused poolside to share her views on energy, reassuring us that she is like totally ready to lead should the need arise. (Good to know, Paris. Well get back to you on that one.)

Yet despite being inundated with information about the countrys energy troubles, many Americans admit that theyre pretty confused.1 Its a perfectly understandable condition. In the past four decades, the country has taken the same approach to energy that Homer Simpson takes to, well, everything. Theres near panic when energy prices go up (doh!) and complacency when they head downward (woo-hoo!). Experts spar with each other over hugely important questions such as whether the world will start running out of oil in our lifetimes and whether global warming will cause crop failure and famine. But the debate is just as ferocious on matters that are closer to home: does eating local produce and using cloth diapers really save energy or not, and is it enough to matter?

For many of us, the nations energy debate has become an incomprehensible jumble, so the purpose of Who Turned Out the Lights? is to stop, take a deep breath, back up a bit, and go back to basics. Weve written this book because were convinced that there are millions of Americans who are concerned about the energy issue and want to understand it better. Our aim is to explain the nuts and bolts in plain, solid, nonscientific, nontechnical English. We also believe that increasing numbers of Americans recognize that the country simply has to stop arguing about energy and start doing something about it. Our plan is to describe the chief options as understandably as we can and summarize different points of view about them. Were not recommending solutions here. Instead, were trying to offer enough perspective, context, and information so readers can stop relying on Hollywood stars and pundits for direction. We want to help you decide for yourself what path the United States should take.

WHO WE ARE

On any controversial issue, its always a good idea to know who is writing what youre reading and where theyre coming from. We both work for a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization called Public Agenda that covers policy issues and conducts public opinion research. also spent years translating expert information into terms and concepts nonexperts can understand. Who Turned Out the Lights? is our second book explaining a seemingly impenetrable, convoluted issue for typical citizens. Our first Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis looked at the U.S. governments massive debt and the unsustainable finances of Social Security and Medicare.

Heres some of the thinking behind this book:

• First, our goal is to explain the basics. Essentially, we see ourselves as translators. Weve spent more than a year reviewing information from government, the energy industry, environmental organizations, and independent sources. Ironically, the fact that were not energy experts ourselves has been an asset. Weve been through a learning curve on this issue, and we can remember moments when we were confused as all get-out. Having been through it, wed like to think we can help you get through it too.
• Second, our aim is to present options, not make recommendations. There are plenty of people who will tell you what they think the country should do, and quite a few of them have launched glossy ad campaigns to make sure you hear their ideas. There are thousands of books, articles, and op-eds recommending specifics. Thats not what were about here. Instead, well give you some basic facts and lay out the choices so you can come to your own conclusions. Naturally, there is plenty of expert disagreement; in those cases we try to help you understand what the experts are arguing about. When there seems to be a pretty strong consensus of expert opinion one way or the other, we tell you that. There are some areas where, truth be told, the experts dont actually know the answer. The best of them admit it, and we pass that along too.
• Third, we believe the country is ready to act. Its easy to get frustrated about this issue because the United States has basically been in a holding pattern for decades. The blizzard of contending facts and figures can be mind-boggling. The arguments and counterarguments can be confusing, but there is way too much at stake to keep procrastinating. If this country doesnt get its energy act together, we could pull the rug out from under our economy and leave our children living in a world that bears little resemblance to the one we know now. The good news is that the national debate has become more purposeful in the last few years. In Washington, in the states, in boardrooms, in the environmental movement, in universities, research centers, and think tanks nationwide, energy has moved to the top of the agenda. There are plenty of ideas and increasing experimentation and openness to compromise. Were optimistic that the country is beginning to get off the dime.
• Fourth, decisions now have big implications down the road. Almost every idea anyone has about addressing the countrys energy problems will take years to kick in, and decisions we make (or dont make) now will have major repercussions down the road. Power plants are built to last decades.2 It takes years for Detroit to retool factories and reorganize to get different cars to market. Researchers need time to develop new fuels and clean up old ones, and then the best ideas have to be put into practice and moved out onto the market. Changes in tax policies and marketplace incentives work gradually, not overnight. Almost all experts agree that we need to work on a lot of different ideas on different fronts. So the point is? No silver bullet. No quick fix. We need to get started now.

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