Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition

On American energy and its persisting power to destroy. In the United States, the promise of a green-energy future is complicated by its realities. The country's legacy energy systems are decrepit; the rollout of new technologies is unequal and piecemeal; households find themselves increasingly without reliable or affordable access; and Americans are excluded from the decisions that shape their energy futures. Having power in America has become an exercise in race, class, and wealth—in more ways than one. Power Lines is a sweeping portrait of American energy in the twenty-first century, rendered in terms of its increasing—and inevitable—human costs. Coal miners in West Virginia lose their livelihoods as energy markets change; historically marginalized households cannot easily access new technologies; children in "sacrifice zones" adjacent to mineral-mining sites suffer health problems and limited resources; and cities and towns are burdened from the production of alternative energies. Sanya Carley and David Konisky show current challenges and an uncertain future of America's greatest policy imperative. The result is not only sobering but also essential for planning and pursuing a clean-energy transition that improves on the errors of the past.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1. An American Injustice 2. Sacrifice Zones 3. Beaten, Broken, Forgotten 4. Life Without Energy 5. Where New Technologies Don’t Go 6. Backyards and Ballots 7. The Life Cycle of an Injustice 8. The Uneasy, Uneven Future Acknowledgments Notes References Index

About the Author :
Sanya Carley is the Mark Alan Hughes Faculty Director of the Kleinman Center and Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy and City Planning at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania. She is the coauthor of Energy-Based Economic Development: How Clean Energy Can Drive Development and Stimulate Economic Growth. David Konisky is the Lynton K. Caldwell Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, where he researches US environmental and energy politics. He has authored or edited six books, including Cheap and Clean: How Americans Think about Energy in the Age of Global Warming.

Review :
"This sobering look at the current state of energy goes beyond recent weather-related headlines to dig into the realities of unequal access to everyday power and connectivity…They concentrate on real impacts felt by real people, whether West Virginia coal miners, Detroit autoworkers, or e-waste contamination containment workers in Africa. Their culminating recommendations urge a return of energy supply choices and control to local communities; multi- and cross-sectional partnerships with equal investments in resilience, adaptability, and sustainability; and increased decarbonization. As policymakers look to the future, the authors suggest they disassociate energy decisions from technology and economic concerns and reframe actions through environmental and human justice lenses. Thoughtful, persuasive arguments." “Power Lines is an enjoyable exploration of the trade-offs and complexities in both maintaining our current electricity generation and delivery system while also evolving it into what many analyses believe is a necessary 'Just Energy Transition' to meet the power, political, and environmental challenges that we face today.” “Energy transition continues to generate winners and losers among American families and communities. Power Lines renders an invaluable public service through its penetrating examination of this dynamic. It navigates multiple regions and technologies involved in energy production and use in exploring challenges to achieving just outcomes.” “This book transmits a surge of reality by grounding readers in the complexity faced by our society to orchestrate an equitable energy transition that benefits all people. The authors weave facts with frankness; build a case for prosperity by centering people; and elevate the stories of overburdened communities striving for the energy security they deserve. A great source of information, leaving readers charged up to demand environmental and energy justice by any means necessary.” "In an era when far too many of us advocate simplistic 'solutions' and technofixes to address the climate and energy crises, Carley and Konisky offer a hard-hitting, much-needed dose of truth telling that centers people, equity and justice in how we imagine and realize decarbonized futures. The evidence, analysis and conclusions in Power Lines are exceptionally strong and will stand the test of time."