The Book Green Illusions talks about Alternative Energy
The new book by Ozzie Zehner has set off a heated discussion about the use of Alternative Energy sources and whether or not they are the Green solutions that people think they are. Join in the debate! Here's some news from the Huffington Post:
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Ozzie Zehner's 'Green Illusions' Ruffles Feathers
Posted: 07/27/2012 1:29 pm
If his goal was to capture attention by tweaking the nose of clean-energy enthusiasts everywhere, Ozzie Zehner might well have succeeded. His new book, published last month and provocatively titled "Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism," takes on what Zehner considers the sacred cows of the green movement: solar power, wind power and electric vehicles, among others.
Of course, the book is much more than just this, and Zehner, a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley's Science, Technology & Society Center, describes himself as being neither for nor against any particular energy source. Indeed, his core objection appears to be with technology fixes in general, or the conviction that any bit of technological derring-do -- be it a high-efficiency photovoltaic cell or a low-emissions vehicle -- will be sufficient to nudge the planet from unpleasant trajectories like global warming.
Such beliefs, Zehner argues, can blind policymakers and other stakeholders to the attending downsides of any new innovation (there always are downsides); to other, arguably less expensive solutions; and to other pressing global problems.
As the basis for thoughtful discussion, all of this is perfectly reasonable. But Zehner is also clearly playing the provocateur here, and it appears to have been a wise gambit, given the sonorous harrumphing the book has generated in green circles.
In a review of the book, Chris Meehan, a contributing writer at CleanEnergyAuthority.com, a solar energy news and information resource, used the terms "alarmist" and "misleading" to describe Zehner's take on solar photovoltaics. Jim Motovalli, an environmental writer and frequent contributor to The New York Times, described Zehner's book as being "out to reach a conclusion -- green energy is bad."
There's much more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-zeller-jr/ozzie-zehner-green-illusions_b_1710382.html
Ozzie Zehner just wants to put a realistic view of the actual impact of Alternative Energy and show some of the information that's being left out of the story. In the article he makes it plain that he is neither for or against the technologies and simply want to put the real effects of the industry before the people.
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