The Energy Reader

The Energy Reader presents a series of readings that examine the energy problem from an anthropological perspective and look at energy holistically, including social and cultural components and long term implications for global and social environmental change.   Brings a unique critical approach to the problem of energy and its complexity Presents the topic as both a human and a technological problem, differentiating long-term perspectives from short term fixes Includes coverage of  the politics of energy, the protection of future generations, the avoidance of dangerous waste products, efficiency, resilience, and democratic relevance Features selections drawn from the work of physicists, economists, business experts, engineers, journalists, historians, and entrepreneurs

Table of Contents:
List of Figures xii List of Tables xiv Preface xv Laura Nader Acknowledgments xx Introduction 1 Laura Nader, Leticia Cesarino, and Chris Hebdon Part I The Energy Problem 17 1. Social Power and the Future 19 Richard Newbold Adams 2. Energy and the Rise of American Industrial Society 32 Ian Barbour, Harvey Brooks, Sanford Lakoff, and John Opie 3. Energy Transitions in Historical Perspective 45 Martin Melosi Energy in Action 1 61 Contemplating the Abyss: The Role of Environmental Degradation in the Collapse of Human Societies William Rees 4. Introduction to the Steady-State Economy 65 Herman E. Daly Energy in Action 2 84 Net-Zero Energy Home Generating an Energy Surplus 5. Dimensions of the ‘‘People Problem’’ in Energy Research and ‘‘the’’ Factual Basis of Dispersed Energy Futures 87 Laura Nader and Norman Milleron 6. Red Land and Uranium Mining: How the Search for Energy Is Endangering Indian Tribal Lands 105 Winona La Duke Energy in Action 3 110 How Energy Search Challenges Indian Tribal Life Mark Stevens 7. The House that Uranium Built: Perspectives on the Effects of Exposure on Individuals and Community 113 Margaret Amalia Hiesinger 8. Uranium Mining and Milling: Navajo Experiences in the American Southwest 132 Barbara Rose Johnston, Susan E. Dawson, and Gary E. Madsen Part II Mind-Sets – a Critical Perspective 147 9. ‘‘Introduction,’’ The Idea of Progress: An Inquiry Into Its Origin and Growth 149 Charles A. Beard 10. On the Road to Riches 162 Henry Ford 11. Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken? 166 Amory B. Lovins 12. Barriers to Thinking New About Energy 198 Laura Nader 13. The Three-Cornered Constellation: Magic, Science, and Religion Revisited 205 Laura Nader 14. Energy as it Relates to the Quality and Style of Life 219 Laura Nader and Stephen Beckerman 15. Conclusions – Replacing Myths with Maxims: Rethinking the Relationship Between Energy and American Society 246 Benjamin K. Sovacool and Marilyn A. Brown Part III The Politics of Energy 265 16. ‘‘Prologue,’’ The Politics of Energy 267 Barry Commoner 17. The Middle East: Geostrategy and Oil 271 Rashid Khalidi 18. Winning the Oil Endgame 282 Amory B. Lovins 19. ‘‘Introduction,’’ Power Struggle: The 100 Year War Over Electricity 287 Richard Rudolph and Scott Ridley 20. The Overcharge in the Light Bill 290US Senator Lee Metcalf and Vic Reinemer 21. Human Rights 305 Jim Garrison and Pyare Shivpuri Energy in Action 4 309 Three Mile Island: 30th Anniversary of the Worst Nuclear Accident in US History 22. The Politics of Energy: Toward a Bottom-Up Approach 313 Laura Nader Energy in Action 5 318 A New Gang Comes to Los Angeles: Solar-Panel Installers Miriam Jordan Part IV Energy Choices 321 23. ‘‘Introduction,’’ ‘‘The Problem of Externalities,’’ and ‘‘Coal and Corporate Power,’’ Coal: A Memoir and Critique 323 Duane Lockard Energy in Action 6 351 Rural Renewal: Small-Town America Looks to Alternative Energy for a Lifeline Jennifer Vogel 24. There Was Blood 353 Caleb Crain Energy in Action 7 363 Capitol Climate Action: Mass Civil Disobedience in DC Against Use of Coal at Capitol Hill Power Plant 25. Unconventional Crude: Canada’s Synthetic-Fuels Boom 368 Elizabeth Kolbert Energy in Action 8 377 Poop Powers California Cars as Orange County Converts Sewage Alan Ohnsman 26. Nuclear Power: Climate Fix or Folly? 380 Amory B. Lovins, Imran Sheikh, and Alex Markevich Energy in Action 9 399 Power Q&A: S. David Freeman Dave Gilson 27. Solar Possibilities 402 Denis Hayes Energy in Action 10 413 Workers Retrain for Wind-Energy Jobs Maria Dickerson 28. Cool Communities: Strategies for Heat Island Mitigation and Smog Reduction 415 Arthur H. Rosenfeld, Hashem Akbari, Joseph J. Romm, and Melvin Pomerantz Energy in Action 11 439 First Rosebud Wind Turbine Generates Support: An Interview with Intertribal COUP Secretary Robert Gough Tara Tidwell 29. Ethanol Production: Energy, Economic, and Environmental Losses 442 David Pimentel, Tad Patzek, and Gerald Cecil Energy in Action 12 458 Biofuels Do Far More Harm Than Good George Monbiot Part V Power Shifts 461 30. Natural Capitalism 463 Paul Hawken Energy in Action 13 476 With Energy in Focus, Heat Pumps Win Fans Liz Galst 31. An Unstable Concoction of Interests 479 Tadeusz W. Patzek Energy in Action 14 481 Shell Dumps Wind, Solar and Hydro Power in Favor of Biofuels Tim Webb 32. Ticket to Ride 48 Ben Adler Energy in Action 15 487 Get on the Bus Laura C. Dean 33. Selling the Sun 488 Michael Behar Energy in Action 16 498 Eight Energy Suggestions for Obama, from SunEdison’s Founder Kate Galbraith 34. The Island in the Wind 500 Elizabeth Kolbert Energy in Action 17 514 A Cool Idea Elizabeth Kolbert Part VI Energy Choices in a Democratic Society 515 35. The Harder Path – Shifting Gears 517 Laura Nader Energy in Action 18 535 The Showhouse that Sustainability Built Barnaby J. Feder 36. Who Shall Decide? 538 Laura Nader Index 541

About the Author :
Laura Nader is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. Nader's books include Naked Science: Anthropological Inquiry into Boundaries, Power and Knowledge (1996), The Life of the Law (2002), and, with Ugo Mattei, Plunder–When the Rule of Law is Illegal (Blackwell, 2008). Her films To Make the Balance and a later PBS film Little Injustices are widely disseminated.

Review :
“Overall, The Energy Reader provides a necessary, timely, and unique collection of materials to drive these critical conversations forward.”  (Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment, 12 June 2013)