Freedom From Oil: How the Next President Can End the United States' Oil Addiction
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend “I plan to deliver an address from the Oval Office one month from today. The topic will be oil dependence.” With these opening words, Freedom from Oil takes the reader to the highest levels of government, as Cabinet members and White House aides debate how to break our addiction to oil. In a fast-moving narrative, David Sandalow shows how to solve this problem while offering a unique window into the White House at work.… Product details and pricing info |
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16 Customer Reviews Posted
- SAME OLD SAMEOLD
- ALL THESE BOOKS ON OIL AND GAS ARE SAME STORY TOLD OVER AND OVER AGAIN. GOOD TO TALK ABOUT IT I GUESS. BUT...
FIRST, THE USA IS, ERR, COMMITTED TO THE DEFENSE OF ISRAEL. THE OIL IS THERE OR RIGHT NEXT DOOR. THE OWNERS OF THE OIL AND GAS DON'T LIKE JEWS.
SECOND, MOST OF THE OIL AND GAS DEPOSITS ON EARTH ARE CONTROLLED BY GOOFY RELIGIONS AND PEOPLE LIKE HUGO CHAVEZ.
THIRD, TO GET FREE OF OIL AND GAS YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE CHANGE THE WAY YOU LIVE. A LOT.
FOURTH, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO RE-DESIGN YOUR CITIES SO THEY ARE NOT CAR AND TRUCK DEPENDENT.
FIFTH, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO KICK THE OIL AND GAS INTERESTS OUT OF YOUR GOVERNMENT. THEY RUN THE CIRCUS...
SIXTH, TO DO ALL THESE THINGS YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE. LITERALLY. NONE THESE THINGS WILL CHANGE OR GO AWAY VOLUNTARILY.
SEVENTH, YOU HAVE TO START TODAY. YOU ARE ALREADY VERY VERY LATE... - 2008-05-19, 1 of 3 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Sacrifice for "Freedom From Oil"
- I tend to steer clear and far away from any type of political book. My disinterest stems from the obvious bias and propaganda that these types of political figures tend to bring into their views and writing. The viewpoint and rambling on and on bores my racing mind. "Freedom From Oil" was written from a completely different perspective and point of view that it took me by surprise. I was fully engrossed throughout the entire book and often referenced previous views and opinions as I read through Sandalow's ideas.
The format of this book was written as fairly short, but highly detailed documents written to the next President of the United States by the various Directors and Secretaries within the President's office. Each perspective detailed the pros and cons of how to eliminate the United States' addiction to oil. The forward thinking approach brings in thinking from all factors which would affect the people and corporations of the US.
These views facing the problem of oil addiction include memorandums from the President, his Counselor, the Secretary of Energy, the National Security Advisor, the Council on Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Economic Council, with several articles profiling American viewpoints.
Solutions to the oil addition problems are presented by the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Agriculture, the US Trade Representative, the Council of Economic Advisors, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of State. Additional viewpoints include profiles and ideas presented by American citizens. The range of solutions presented include Biofuels, Plug-in Cars, Fuel Efficiency, Coal, Hydrogen, Smart Growth, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and Diplomatic Strategy.
Finally, a compilation of all the problems, solutions and discussion is provided via a press release and "The President's Speech to the Nation." The format presented in this book not only held my attention but strengthened my belief that all Americans should work toward finding solutions to our current energy crisis and work toward using cleaner fuels and be willing to sacrifice convenience for what is best for not only the United States, but also the world. - 2008-05-06, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Interesting format and lots of information
- Imagine that you are the next president and you want to make a major address about oil. You have all your advisors give you briefing papers and suggestions. That is the way "Freedom From Oil" reads. It has lots of good information, but it does get a bit repetitive at times. Overall, I found it very useful.
- 2008-03-26, 0 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- A lot of hits, some misses
- First off, if the US implemented an energy plan EXACTLY as described in this book, I think we'd be 1000% (yes, a thousand percent) better off than we are today in 10-20 years. If we'd implemented something like this 10 years ago, I hate to think how many fewer problems we'd have regarding oil consumption and the need to import foreign oil, "defending" the oil supply in the Middle East, etc.
NOTE -- I'd add global warming to the list, but after reading the book "The Chilling Stars" (recommended reading) I'm willing to take it out of the equation for now, though CO2 does far more harm than just warm the planet.
My only issue with the book is that it doesn't go far enough, suggests specific incentives to the big 3 auto companies that strike me as a bailout (rather than providing incentives for ANY company building cars of the future), and misses entirely in some areas (there's no suggestion of helping fund development of biodiesel from algae, as one example). - 2008-02-24, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Freedom From Politics is what's needed
- In the heat of the 2008 Presidential campaign, voters in the United States think they are experts on what it takes to make a president. Though we voters may be deluded enough to assume that we know what we are doing, author David Sandalow has actually produced a book that seeks to address the issues various and sundry that pertain to oil.
In "Freedom From Oil: How The Next President Can End The United States' Oil Addiction" [McGraw Hill, 2008, 272pgs], Sandalow presents a series of actual policy papers, as if they were going to be handed directly to the next president.
The non-fiction book is broken into three parts in which he sets up the problem, outlines solutions and supports the final decisions. Then, he provides provides policy papers, memoranda to the president, frequently interspersed with profile pieces that illustrate aspects of the issue of oil and its place in our world.
It is a given that oil will eventually run out. It's more likely, though, that climate change will stop us from using oil before it runs out. Sandalow's recapitulation of the problem we face is suitably foreboding. The various solutions he raises, analyzes and sets into their places--in proportion to their ability to help us solve our energy problems--was sobering.
Sandalow shows how cars that are plugged-in are a great idea. They use energy at night when power plants face low demand. Sandalow presents the ideas of biofuels, ethanol, switchgrass and shows how these are not a panacea because of greenhouse gases. He describes the abomination of using liquefied coal--in which a huge amount of green house gases are released just to liquefy it. He reveals the shocking inadequacy of the hydrogen car. (Sandalow doesn't say hydrogen is hopeless but obviously from the book it won't be practical.) Throughout, Sandalow presents these presidential briefing, policy position and memorandum papers in a neutral professional tone, as if they really were about to be handed to a president.
As all of us watch the presidential primary season of 2008 and wait for the left-handed candidates--Barack Obama and John McCain--to be nominated, we are keenly aware of what is required to be a president. Therefore, we actually are quite qualified as garden variety voters [assuming you listen to NPR or watch some news] to assess these briefing papers. We know the issues and I must say it's refreshing getting some new facts to make my personal arguments keener.
To a reader used to a contiguous narrative, the rather disjointed table of contents and the early chapters comprised of policy papers was confusing.
This book is recommended because of the vast amount of digested information it presents in regard to the consumption of oil, our future energy situation and what to do about it.
As we fritter away time waiting for the next president, Greenland is sending rivers of melt from ancient snowfall down underneath the Greenland ice sheet, speeding it to the Atlantic. As we debate raising CAFE standards or bicker about gas taxes, Antarctica is cracking huge icebergs into the ocean.
[ Tom Hunter is a Manhattan-based writer ] - 2008-01-31, 2 of 4 people found this review helpful, Rated:
