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Published by AMACOM
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As we enter a new era in American politics, a stark threat is
building. Mankind's dependence on fossil fuels has put our
civilization in peril. Our world becomes increasingly more
populated every day, putting even more pressure on our already
dwindling supplies of crude oil. If we continue down the same road
we have been traveling for the past fifty years, we face certain
disaster. Steadily rising temperatures will accelerate the melting
of polar and glacier ice, threatening our environment in ways we
have only begun to understand, and may eventually lead to
low-lying areas like Florida and New York City being swallowed by
rising waters. On land, plains and savannahs may turn into
deserts, and a global food shortage could spread, as places that
were once covered by arable farmland turn to arid dust. These aren't scenes from some apocalyptic doomsday movie. In
fact, the vast majority of scientists warn that this is the world
that awaits us if we continue to ignore the ramifications of the
huge carbon footprint created by our dependence on fossil fuels.
For this reason, clean energy has become the most important
political and environmental issue of our time. Clean Energy Nation is an eye-opening look at the
world's history with fossil fuels and what we must do in the next
century to save our environment. With a specific focus on the
current American dependence on oil, this book delivers a sobering
call to action. Here, Jerry McNerney, the only United States
Congressman ever to have had a career as a renewable energy
engineer, and writer Martin Cheek inspire all Americans to take
action to free our country from its dangerous addiction to oil and
help steer us toward the goal of genuine energy independence. The book outlines a realistic plan that will help us survive the
next 100 years and beyond. Looking to such alternative energy
sources as solar, wind, water, biofuel, geothermal, and
hydrogen-based power, McNerney and Cheek stress the need to get
started immediately, not to continue debating small details.
Creating hundreds of thousands of domestic jobs, increasing
productivity, decreasing pollution and greenhouse gases, and
lessening international conflict are some of the positive outcomes
of a switch to clean energy. Perhaps most important, moving to a
clean and renewable energy infrastructure will safeguard our
nation's freedoms by making us more self-sufficient in meeting our
energy needs. Americans are already feeling the pressures of the current
energy situation, and many of us are ready to make a change. Clean Energy Nation is a timely and hopeful look at an issue we can't afford to ignore. pub date: 2011-08-01 | Hardcover | 9780814413722 |
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