|
|
Whistle Stopper - Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence
|
List Price: $26.95
Our Price: $15.17
Your Save: $ 11.78 ( 44% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
|
Average Customer Rating:   
|
|
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 333.790973
EAN: 9781586483210
ISBN: 1586483218
Label: PublicAffairs
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: 2008-03-03
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Studio: PublicAffairs
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Every LIBERAL should read this book
Comment: He makes many good points and provides much needed facts about the reality of worldwide energy inTERdependence, the inadequacies of the alternatives and the fallacy of giving up fossil fuels.
Liberals will be shaking their heads in delight as he rips Bush, Cheney, the war in Iraq, etc. I'm convinced he is one of your own - even though he claims to be neutral.
But he is a pragmatist when it comes to the main topic of this book - our energy needs. We simply have to quit lying to ourselves about what can be done about the challenges we face. Wind power, solar and biofuels cannot provide even a fraction of the overall energy needs of the nation. This book does a nice job of proving that beyond any shadow of doubt.
I say liberals should read this because in my opinion they are the ones that are standing in the way. (And yes McCain is a liberal too) And they are also the ones poised to take over every branch of government January 2009. As I say, this is one of your own talking...maybe you will finally listen.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Bryce can't deal with Hubbert's Peak
Comment: The major problem with this book is that it attempts to sidestep the overwhelming empirical and statistical analysis that M K Hubbert presented in 1969 showing that the world's oil production would reach its peak in 2000.A minor correction was made by K S Deffeyes showing that ,due to a minor error made by Hubbert,the world's peak would occur in the year 2005.On pp. 33-35 Bryce mentions Hubbert's and Deffeyes's results without telling the reader that the logistics model applied by Hubbert(Deffeyes) fits the data to A BELL SHAPED CURVE WITH AN ACCURACY OF 99.9 %.Bryce attempts to rewrite the conclusions of Hubbert and Deffeyes by claiming that they are claiming that the world is running out of oil(p.35).Hubbert and Deffeyes,contrary to Bryce ,are stating that all of the empirical and statistical data show that the world is running out of low to medium priced oil.Nowhere in his book does Bryce challenge the fundamental results produced by Hubbert and Deffeyes.The fundamental conclusion of Hubbert and Deffeyes is that the price of a barrel of oil will continue to rise,be it slowly or quickly, in real terms from 2005(2000) on . This is exactly what has been happening since mid 2005 with a major exponential increase from September,2007 through June,2008.The rise has been exacerbated by Ben Bernanke's(aided by a number of other foreign central banks)attempted 1.2 trillion dollar bailout of Wall Street's, and their private commercial banker allies,speculative behavior.The result has been the decimation of the value of the dollar and massive inflationary increases in the cost of food and energy .
The rest of the book deals with a number of non related issues that only serves to cloud the main point of the book,which was to supposedly demonstrate that the goal of energy independence was fatally flawed.I can find little support for Bryce's claim .
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Gusher of Lies
Comment: The Gusher of Lies by Robert Bryce is a voice of reason amid an abundance of ignorance, anxiety and political rants. With each passing day it is becoming obvious to more Americans that we must demand a common sense energy plan. He debunks the lies, gives clarity of purpose and leaves the reader with a call to action. There are a number of books on energy history. Some help us understand how we went from "whale oil" to today. However, "Gusher" does the best job of thinking through what problems we are really trying to solve. American's are already taking action to reduce demand. Bryce has set the table to help build an energy supply plan. A plan with immediate, midrange and longterm solutions. The three questions he asks are, will the action increase energy supply? Will it reduce energy costs? What is the environmental impact? The answers to these questions are the foundation of a necessary energy plan. The author identifies the lies and distractions from ethanol to frivolous lawsuits which need to be exposed to prevent further time and money wasted. The book doesn't support a political position. It supports the American energy customer.
If Gusher of Lies effects you as it did me, you will demand and want to contribute to a call to action.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Pipeline to Truth
Comment: Bryce confirms what I had already suspected. The goals of energy independence and replacing fossil fuels with 'green' alternatives are utterly unrealistic. Conventional sources of power (coal, oil, nuclear) are conventional because these are the only economically viable means of providing energy to billions of people, especially those with modern conveniences.
Bryce deserves credit for taking the unpopular side of controversial issues. Energy is a serious issue, so the nonsense spouted by the left and the right needs to be rebutted. This book should be widely read because only a shift in public opinion will bring sanity to how we handle energy issues.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Exposing the Economic Fallacies of "Energy Independence"
Comment: This is an excellent book that exposes and refutes the many economic fallacies underlying the idea of energy independence. Robert Bryce's thesis is that not only is energy independence undesirable but it is utterly unrealistic. He backs up his claims with a lot of persuasive economic arguments. Several fascinating facts contained in this book include:
* Striving for energy independence amounts to embracing isolationism with respect to the energy market. History indicates that economic isolationism has never been to any country's advantage.
* Various estimates on the economics of energy conversion. For example, the author cites several studies, which collectively estimate that for each BTU (British Thermal Unit) of input into corn ethanol produces between .7 BTUs to 1.2 BTUs of output. In contrast, each BTU into crude oil typically yields 6 to 7 BTUs of output. Similarly, the estimates in this book indicate that 1 BTU yields 8 BTU for sugar cane ethanol, .5 BTU for cellulosic ethanol (switchgrass) and .73 BTU of soybean ethanol.
* Big oil is not multinational corporations such as Exxon Mobil and BP. According to this book, the ten largest owners of oil reserves are all national corporations such as Saudi Aramco and the National Iranian Oil Company.
* Ethanol production requires enormous quantities of water. According to the author's research, a gallon of ethanol produced from irrigated corn requires as much water as the amount contained in 25 bathtubs.
* When calculating the fuel efficiency for a given vehicle, the federal government counts only the amount of *gasoline* (i.e., not ethanol) that the vehicle consumes. Thus, flex-fuel vehicles have the illusions of getting better miles per dollar spent on fuel.
* Economically isolating Iran is essentially impossible, as there is hundreds of billions of international investment in developing the rogue nation's resources. This includes, but is not limited to, the national oil company of Brazil undergoing deepwater exploration in the Caspian Sea, China developing several of the North Pars natural gas fields and India and Pakistan financing the "peace pipeline" to transport natural gas from Iran into their respective countries. The author alleges that even Halliburtion (which is commonly associated with Vice President Cheney) was doing work in Iran through a subsidiary in the Cayman Islands as recently as 2007. (!)
To read more detailed corroborations of the above discussion points, as well as other in depth discussions on important topics such as the sugarcane ethanol industry in Brazil, how increased ethanol content in gasoline will arguably result in *worse* air quality, how moving towards greater ethanol use will require an enormous usage of farm land, the neoconservatives who are being pushing for energy independence as a matter of national security, the individuals who lobby extensively for farm subsidies and so much more, you will need to check out this book for yourself!
For the sake of constructive criticism, I do have a few complaints about this book. First, the author seems to insinuate that terrorism will go away if ignored. I strongly disagree with this view but this is not the appropriate place for a rebuttal. Although this view is repeated a few times in various forms throughout the book, its detraction was dwarfed by the magnificent value contained throughout the rest of the pages.
Second, there are a few other ludicrous assertions periodically dispersed throughout the book. For example, the claim that "oil brings poverty and war" where Nigeria and Iraq are cited as examples. I highly doubt that oil is the *causal* factor here. Dictatorship and corrupt governments, more likely, bring poverty and war. As with my first complaint, although this was irritating, it is hardly frequent enough to undermine the value of this book as a whole.
Overall I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting a better picture of the global energy industry. Not only is this book clearly written, but it is also supplemented with an extensive amount of references as well as plenty of statistical figures that are quite illustrative.
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
|
Everybody is talking about "energy independence." But is it really achievable? Is it actually even desirable? In this controversial, meticulously researched book, Robert Bryce exposes the false promises behind the rhetoric while blasting nearly everybody— Republicans, Democrats, environmentalists, and war-mongering neoconservatives—for misleading voters about our energy needs.
Gusher of Lies explains why the idea of energy independence appeals to voters while also showing that renewable sources like wind and solar cannot meet America's growing energy demand. Along the way, Bryce eviscerates the ethanol scam. Whether the issue is cost, water consumption, or food prices, corn ethanol is one of the longest-running robberies ever perpetrated on American taxpayers.
Consumers concerned about peak oil and the future of global energy supplies need to understand that energy security depends on embracing free markets and the realities of interdependence. Gusher of Lies is illuminating, vital reading.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
