The modern day Edisons have done their job. We need not wait any longer. We are poised to wake up to a world running completely on renewable energy. Waiting any longer is like saying we shouldn't have used the personal computer in 1985 until the smartphone was invented.
In "All-Electric America" authors S. David Freeman, former utility CEO, and Leah Y Parks, a journalist in the electricity industry, explain how making the transition to an all-electric, all renewable society by the year 2050 is necessary, practical, and achievable. An energy infrastructure powered by the sun and wind & running on electricity, for all our energy needs, will be reliable, cleaner, safer, and CHEAPER. It will be superior to the system we have today and will lead to a better future.
It is time for the utility industry, politicians, and consumers to wake up to the opportunity that this energy transformation will provide. The resources currently allocated towards oil and other fossil fuels can instead be invested in the development of an all-renewable 21st century electricity infrastructure. Investments in coal mining, oil exploration, gas drilling, building new coal and gas plants, shipping and protecting oil, and fighting wars to protect oil interests will give way to a focus on building solar and wind energy, energy storage, and modernizing our grid.
The clock is ticking. With every breath we take the Earth continues to warm. The specter of global warming requires that the transformation must begin immediately. Freeman and Parks show how, with the current "All of the Above" policy, we are, instead, on a path to climate hell. They present a course of action that gives us the best hope of eliminating disastrous climate change
Many are saying we need to achieve our global warming 2°C goal, but few are carrying out a real plan or fully understand the problem. Freeman and Parks evaluate the latest research, technology, and energy policy and lay out a comprehensive strategy with achievable goals and a clear timeline for when it must be done. We will need to replace all fossil fuels including coal, oil and natural gas used for electricity, heating, transportation, and industrial processes. They find that our only hope is to reduce our emissions by 3% each year for the next 35 years so that we reach zero emissions by 2050. Anything less risks severe climate disaster.
Freeman and Parks present a vision and strategy to achieve a future where all of our energy sources are powered with the free fuel of the sun and the wind, we live free of the specter of climate change, and one in which we are "Living Better Electrically."
