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Publisher
A CFR Book. Oxford University Press
Release Date
May 2013
Price
$27.95
304 pages
ISBN 978-0-19-998616-3
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Overview
The United States is in the throes of two unfolding energy revolutions, and partisans—convinced that only their side holds the key to American prosperity, security, and safety—are battling over which one should prevail. In The Power Surge, Michael Levi takes readers inside these revolutions to find out what's really happening—and which side is right. From the back roads of Ohio where old friends are warring over fracking, to the wilds of Colorado where speculators are chasing the holy grail of oil, he shows how oil and gas production, after decades in decline, are being propelled upward by new technologies and high prices, prompting enthusiasts to predict an economic renaissance and impending energy independence. On the other side of the fight, he visits California eco-startups developing game-changing technologies and Midwest manufacturers betting on a new energy future, revealing how more efficient cars and trucks are increasingly dominating the road and costs for renewable energy have plummeted, leading many to herald a starkly different future that moves beyond fossil fuels and saves the planet.
Armed with on-the-ground lessons, and drawing on insights from economics, politics, international relations, and climate science, The Power Surge takes on the big claims made by both sides in the fight over American energy, showing what the changes underway mean for the United States and the world and explaining why the purists are often wrong. Both unfolding revolutions in American energy offer big opportunities for the country to strengthen its economy, bolster its security, and protect the environment. Levi shows how to seize those with a new strategy that blends the best of old and new energy while avoiding the real dangers that each poses.
Sweeping in scope, provocative yet thoughtful, The Power Surge is necessary reading for anyone who wants to understand the changes roiling American energy, and what they mean for our future.
"In The Power Surge, Michael Levi captures the emerging turning point in America's energy situation. Combining thoughtful analysis and balanced independent judgment with vivid on-the-ground reporting, Levi delivers both a timely field guide to today's fervent energy debates and compelling insight into the evolving mix of options that is shaping tomorrow's energy world."
--Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World and of The Prize
"Michael Levi has given us a rare gift: a sensible, substantive book that is so well-written it's fun to read. The Power Surge argues persuasively that we must move beyond false choices between clean energy and traditional fuels, and instead aggressively pursue both in new ways. And along the way, it introduces colorful characters and rigorously examines why our energy future is crucial to our economic one. With this book, Levi cements his growing reputation as one of the nation's leading thinkers on energy."
--Peter Orszag, Vice-Chairman, Citigroup, and former Director of the Office of Management and Budget
"The Power Surge packs big ideas into a concise and illuminating package to make a powerfully persuasive case for America's embracing an all-of-the above energy future. Michael Levi cuts through vast barriers of suspicion and ideology to find common interests where the stakeholders do not. The shale gas boom and renewables revolution together promise a U.S. energy trifecta, for the economy, security, and the environment, a future that offers new reasons for Americans to unite."
--William K. Reilly, former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and Co-Chair of the President's BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Commission
"Energy will energize our economy and our political debates over the next few years as never before. Michael Levi's important book should be carefully considered by anyone who cares about our energy future and that means anyone who cares about our economic future."
--Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus, Harvard University, and former Secretary of the Treasury
"The Power Surge is a sweeping account and incisive examination of today's profound global energy developments and the inextricably related political and environmental challenges."
--Frederick W. Smith, Chairman & CEO, FedEx Corporation
"[P]acked with perspective . . . Readers seeking to understand America's energy policies and prospects will welcome this even-handed, smart, and accessible book on a topic of incomparable economic importance."
--Publishers Weekly
"Calm, reasoned and balanced, presenting arguments and evidence, not wish lists and beliefs."
--Kirkus Reviews
Michael A. Levi is the David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. The author of the book On Nuclear Terrorism, he has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, WIRED, Foreign Affairs, the New Republic, Slate, and other publications. He is a frequent adviser to government and business, and a regular guest on major television and radio. He lives in New York.
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