Powering Forward: What Everyone Should Know About America's Energy Revolution

by Bill Ritter, Jr.

Overview

A historic energy revolution is underway in the United States. Wind, sunlight, and other sustainable resources are now the fastest growing sources of energy in the U.S. and worldwide. American families are installing power plants on their roofs and entire communities are switching to 100 percent renewable energy. The urgent need to prevent climate change is causing people around the planet to question their reliance on carbon-intensive oil, coal, and natural gas. Author Bill Ritter, Jr., the 41st governor of Colorado and one of America’s key thought leaders on this topic, discusses the forces behind the energy revolution, the new ways we must think about energy, and the future of fossil and renewable fuels. It is an essential read for any who want to understand one of history’s biggest challenges to peace, prosperity, and security in the United States. Written in partnership with the Center for a New Energy Economy. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936218219
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Bill Ritter was elected Colorado's 41st governor in 2006, and during his four-year term, Ritter established Colorado as a national and international leader in clean energy, by building a new energy economy. He is the founder and director of the Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) at Colorado State University, and lives in Denver with his wife and four children. Join the clean energy conversation by connecting with CNEE at cnee.colostate.edu.

Editorial Reviews

"Governor Ritter has written an important book for anyone interested in energy and the challenge of climate change." —Jeff Bingaman, former US Senator (NM), former Chair, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources


"As a long-time student and policy maker regarding America’s energy future in the 21st century, I am aware of no book that addresses our energy challenges more comprehensively than Governor Bill Ritter’s new book, Powering Forward." —Gary Hart, United States Senator, Colorado (Ret.)


"In this essential book, Gov. Ritter analyzes the choice we face between designing our future or being its victims." —Walter Isaacson, CEO, Aspen Institute


"An informative why-and-how book about preventing climate change by making the transition to clean energy.In straightforward prose interspersed with bulleted lists and numerous charts, diagrams, maps, and tables, Ritter tells it like it is, showing what the challenges are, where we have failed, and why." —Kirkus Reviews


"Between the solid research, the lack of political divisiveness, and the author’s dedication to the idea of American leadership in climate change, the book rings with enthusiasm of an infectious variety." —Foreword Reviews


"Every elected official in the United States should read this book. It is the owner's manual to a new American century and clean energy economy." —Robert C. Sisson, Executive Director, ConservAmerica


“With his passionate commitment to revolutionary energy changes, Governor Ritter shows us the way forward with the winning evolutionary approach outlined in this book.” —Mark Udall, US Senator, Colorado (Ret.)


“Bill Ritter tells us how to root the emerging renewable energy economy in ethics, vision, truth-telling and compassion.” —Hunter Lovins, founder and President, Natural Capitalism Solutions

From the Publisher

2015-11-29
An informative why-and-how book about preventing climate change by making the transition to clean energy. The former governor of Colorado and founder and director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University, Ritter expands on the center's "Powering Forward" plan sent to President Barack Obama outlining actions the executive branch could take to help the United States meet climate and energy goals. First, the author describes the actions he took as governor to make Colorado a leader in clean energy—actions that other states might learn from. In straightforward prose interspersed with bulleted lists and numerous charts, diagrams, maps, and tables, Ritter tells it like it is, showing what the challenges are, where we have failed, and why. When Congress created the Department of Energy in 1977, it required the development of a coherent national energy plan. Today, however, "our de facto national energy policy consists of a hodgepodge of government market interventions, many of them created for the benefit of influential special interests." Ritter faults Congress for failing to lead, arguing about the science, and collaborating with a denial campaign. Still, the author notes, an energy revolution is already underway, with states setting clean energy standards, communities and individuals turning to wind and solar energy, corporations adopting greening tactics, and entrepreneurs developing new technologies. Ritter writes persuasively that while Congress seems paralyzed, the United States can and should lead the world, and he calls for a redistribution of political power back to the voters to ensure that this happens. Interestingly, for readers of Gary Sernovitz's The Green and the Black (2016), Ritter sees natural gas as an important part of the energy mix for decades to come. Ritter lacks the pizzazz of Sernovitz, who sees another kind of energy revolution taking place, but he presents arguments cleanly and forcefully.

Kirkus Reviews