The end of energy

Americans take for granted that when we flip a switch the light will go on, and when we pull up to the pump gas will be plentiful and relatively cheap. Here, Michael Graetz shows us that we have been living an energy delusion for forty years. Until the 1970s, we produced domestically all the oil we needed. Since then, we have had to import most of the oil we use, and we rely on an even dirtier fuel--coal--to produce half of our electricity. Graetz describes decades of energy policy incompetence--from the Nixon administration's fumbled response to the OPEC oil embargo to the current political standoff over "cap and trade"--And argues that we must make better decisions for our energy future. Until Americans face the facts about price, our energy incompetence will continue--and along with it the unraveling of our environment, security, and independence.--From publisher description.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.