Mankind is hungry for energy. The United States is a huge consumer of energy, and our
lifestyle depends on it. This makes us, and other developed countries,
vulnerable. The burning of fossil fuels is leading to a changing climate that
could have many negative ramifications. Our dependence on foreign sources of
fuel, especially oil,
have embroiled us in wars oversees and made us uncomfortable allies with
nations that do not share our values.
Chemistry professor Mark E. Eberhart suggests that we need a good energy
diet. Unfortunately, after spending a couple of chapters of Feeding the Fire setting up the idea, he
ends up having only a little to say about an energy diet in the final chapter
of the book.
In between, however, he
tells an interesting history of energy from the big bang to our age. He also provides a primer
in thermodynamics aimed at an audience that hasn’t
studied science or engineering. If the book had purported to be
about that, I’d probably be speaking about it in glowing terms. If you’re
looking for a book that explains energy and how it works that is written for an
audience with little scientific background, this is a good option.
Though most of the book
concerns itself with the dispersal of energy through the universe and the
development of technology, the energy diet is mainly a matter
of policy. The central element of Eberhart’s
vision is an “energy-industrial complex” modeled on the way the U.S. military
works with industry on the long-term development, delivery and reliability of
technology. U.S. energy policy is so disjointed that in practice we have no
policy, but with imagination and discipline (and arguably the setting aside of
partisanship for matters of national security that transcend it) we could
develop a comprehensive policy that gets our efforts moving toward a more
secure, efficient and cleaner future. It doesn’t even need to be a perfect
policy, just a commitment to take specific actions and set specific standards
to make things better over time.
Eberhart has some
specific recommendations, especially related to the development of electric
vehicles and supporting technolgies. In the 12 years since Feeding the Fire was published, we’ve made some headway on many of
them. This is in spite of the fact that we still do not have a comprehensive
energy policy.
If you’re interested in
this book, you may also be interested in
Eberhart, Mark E. Feeding the Fire: The Lost History and
Uncertain Future of Mankind’s Energy Addiction. New York: Harmony Books, 2007.
