Amory B. Lovins

I abandoned this book after a few chapters due to the fact that it didn't make much sense. Initially it promises to describe how, without any effort, the whole economy can - and in fact will - change to become sustainable. In fact, a sustainable economy is actually more efficient and more profitable than the one we have now, it promises.

Already there is a significant problem with this promise. If it's more profitable, and we can put our faith in the market, why isn't it already happening? This is especially pertinent given that this book was written over ten years ago and none of the predictions I read have come to pass.

The book says that it will explain how the market will provide all of these solutions but the two chapters that follow don't explain it at all. Instead they abandon economics altogether in favour of propagating half-truths about engineering and science that seem to contradict the thesis of the book.

At that point I gave up.… (more)

I read this entire book for my book group which I think is quite an accomplishment for me. I learned quite a bit about alternative sources of fuel. There are options presented here I had never dreamed about and not always in the status quo of "going green" the way we tend to think of the future. It's more like "going greener". One of the more interesting statistics (for me) is that cars got the best gas mileage in the mid-80's. Worst year for gas mileage - 2001. This is why my mid-80's Prelude got much, much better gas mileage than my 2001 Prelude. What's more relevant in the book is gas mileage now and in the future but that fact stayed with me.

Lots of food for thought in this book about energy sources for future generations.… (more)