And the winner in a copy of "On Empty" is..

Thank you for all the participants in our giveaway of the book 'On Empty (Out of Time)' by Bill Roth we reviewed last Monday.

We got many interesting comments on the debate about nuclear energy as an altenrative to the current sources of energy. This debate is far from being over, but I sure hope that policymakers will take a look at the book prior to discussing this issue. In any case, just to put things in perspective, as Bill himself mentioned in his comment, nuclear is one of seven technology paths discussed in the book.

And the winner in our giveaway is Johan Jansson, who wrote the following:

The last few days all news media are reporting about the newly discovered leak in the nuclear waste facility in Saxony, Germany: "The Asse-II mine was closed in 1964 and converted to an "experimental" nuclear facility in 1967. Now it officially holds up to 130,000 metal drums of low- and mid-level radioactive waste. But the report said highly radioactive plutonium had also been dumped in the mine, along with a number of nuclear fuel rods. Radioactivity readings there are at eight times the "safe" level, some barrels have tipped over and rusted through, and the worry is that saltwater leaking from the mine is not just radioactive but might contaminate public water supplies. The mine has been known to leak brine since 1988. Some experts fear it may collapse altogether by 2014." From Spiegel.

It is a scary world indeed. "We" are putting enormous responsibility in the hands of few, when we use nuclear power. Our over infatuation with tech fixes is scaring me the most. The only way forward is conservation. In order for this to work, understanding of human behavior is much, much more important than the next hot tech innovation. Sadly, most research money goes to the tech fixes and not to understanding consumer behavior and how it can be changed without much welfare loss.

Bill says in a comment that including the true cost will overcome some of the problems. However, economics is a subjective area more than for example nuclear research. One economist will find one cost to include, and another will not. How will we arrive at a true cost estimate for anything? I would argue that it is impossible. Thus, this cost-focus is only a very small part the solution. Perhaps the arguments for this are better explained in the book which I haven't read... yet.

Congratulations Johan! As mentioned, Eco-Libris will plant a tree for this book (as we do with every copy printed of this book) and we'll send Johan with the book our "One tree planted for this book" sticker.

And don't forget to keep following our giveaways. We have many more green books to review and give away so stay tuned (we'll have one tomorrow!).

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book you read!

Monday's Green Books: On Empty by Bill Roth (and a copy giveaway)

On Empty (Out of Time) is an energy industry veteran's take on the current sorry state of affairs of the US American dependence on oil imports, and the impending economic and ecological crises stemming from man made global warming.

As such, it joins the ranks of similarly billed books such as Washington state congressman Jay Inslee's Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy, and Environmental Defense Fund founder Fred Krupp's Earth: The Sequel (previously featured in our green books series).

Krupp's work brought to life the alternative energy technological sector with a focus on the exciting soap operatic world of cleantech start-ups and investors, while Inslee focused on political leadership and vision. Roth's approach is different. First of all he brings to the table a solid background in the energy sector, with a career that included posts such as senior VP of marketing and sales with PG&E Energy Services, COO of Texaco Ovonics Hydrogen Solutions and president of Cleantech America, a developer of solar power plants.

Yes, Roth (http://www.cleantechgrowth.com/) is a corporate America insider and a reluctant environmentalist, whose resistances had to be overcome. These resistances fell away when they were faced with hard scientific and economic facts, and Roth now believes that global warming is here, was created by human activity, and that something can be done about it. As such, he is well worth listening to.

Numbers are something you will not be able to ignore when reading this book. Roth likes to explain the economics and goes as far as defining basic principles to the uninitiated reader, such as supply & demand, income effect, price elasticity and so on. Once he has given you the basics he begins to demonstrate each of his points with figures, facts and explanations.

Here is one of my favorites:

FACT: There is a national debate on whether our country should drill for oil in the Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The motivation to do so is based upon estimates that this area contains 4.3 to 11 billion barrels of oil... This monster-sized oil deposit only equals between 1 to 2 years of out annual imports of oil. It would only fulfill about THREE MONTHS of the world's current annual oil demands of 85 to 90 billion barrels.(p.33)

This drives home quite clearly the futility of extra drilling as any form of real solution to the energy crisis, and the frivolous way in which drilling advocates are willing to condemn the Arctics to ruination for a relatively insignificant return.

An interesting position Roth holds is in that which is in favor of renewed national interest in nuclear energy. According to Roth (p. 101), “The U.S history of nuclear-fueled electricity is an unqualified success from a consumer and environmental perspective”. He then goes on to list some facts which are sometimes quite hard to accept.

The first is that there are “no fatalities tied to nuclear power plant operations”. Having reviewed here recently Kelly McMaster's Welcome to Shirley, a memoir from a town adjacent to a nuclear research facility in Long Island, I will have to take this assertion with a grain of salt.

Another point which he makes, writing that “nuclear waste has been safely contained”, is in contrast to many views, such as Krupp's assessment of nuclear power in Earth: The Sequel. Such public debate can only benefit us and help direct research agendas and funds. I can only hope that there will be more open and widespread discussion on these topics.

Finally, Roth presents his own agenda and big solutions to the crisis at the end of the book, but I am not going to list it all here. He builds up his case over time, and it is really imperative to digest some of the economics and numbers in order to get where he's going with it and why. So I'll just say that some of his ideas are very interesting, feasible, and yet quite radical in today's political climate. But who knows, maybe next year we'll see it all take place.

Bill Roth is working with Eco-Libris to green up the book. A tree will be planted for every copy sold of the book. Buyers will also receive our sticker with their book, saying "One tree planted for this book".

Book's name: On Empty (Out of Time)

Author: Bill Roth

Publisher: Self Published (2008)

Pages: 204

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!

We will be giving away the review copy of the book. It also comes with a tree that will be planted for it with Eco-Libris and you will also recieve our "One tree planted for this book" sticker.

How you can win? please add a comment below about your thoughts on nuclear energy and whether you are in favor of wider use of this option or not. Submissions are accepted until Saturday, September 6, 12PM EST. The winner will be announced the following day.

Best,

Eylon @ Eco-Libris

Plant a Tree for Every Book you Read!