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Turning Oil Into Salt: Energy Independence Through Fuel Choice
Throughout history the pursuit of strategic commodities has governed world affairs. Centuries ago salt enjoyed a monopoly over food preservation, and securing access to the white mineral shaped the great empires' international behavior. Today, it is oil that monopolizes our transportation system giving those who control it inordinate power on the world stage. Breaking the oil cartel and oil's monopoly over transportation fuel is the only way to bring about energy independence, insulate our economy against future oil shocks and win the war on radical Islam, argue two of America's leading energy security advocates Gal Luft and Anne Korin in Turning Oil into Energy Independence Through Fuel Choice. Energy independence is not about the amount of oil we use or import; it's about turning oil from a strategic commodity second to none to just another commodity. In an unvarnished and lucid manner Luft and Korin chart a realistic way to do so while addressing the barriers on the road.
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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September 26, 2013Neil DeGrasse Tyson mentioned in his talk
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July 23, 2011Read this book before you buy your next car. It's thin (125 pp), very blunt, fun to read, and makes a good case for buying an electric, plug-in hybrid or flex-fuel car. The authors are the cynical Washington think tankers I dissed a couple days ago, but I learned to appreciate their redeeming qualities. And their book's good. It's advocacy, but clear thinking advocacy.
February 29, 2020
This is one of the better choices for sustainability; also, the year I picked this interesting glimpse up I had just taken a course in which I had reviewed my first Chinese professor's book Salt and State: An Annotated Translation of the Songshi Salt Monopoly Treatise on the five different kinds of salt extant in ancient China.
Admittedly this did take me an incredibly long time to get though, but that is since I was distracted by all the pop stuff going around the literary circuits.
I found the title most lucrative, which drew me to the book, to begin with! In full, in case it's cut off, it's Turning Oil Into Salt: Energy Independence Through Fuel Choice. I choose every day what to eat and where to go...
I wouldn't have finished it at all unless it was one of my 2020 Read Harder Challenge books. I picked it for my sci-fi/fantasy novella which is under 120 pages, even though it is 138p with the index included. Without the index, it's 122. Oh well, I wrote in pencil and could look harder, as it is called the (hahaha) "Read Harder Challenge." Then again, I've been advised not to kill myself over anything like I was wont to do, and 122p is close enough.
But, I wanted to be real.
Then again, remembering the Salt treatise was honestly a headache, hahahaha. An interesting one, but still... yikes! I'm just going to stop now.
Admittedly this did take me an incredibly long time to get though, but that is since I was distracted by all the pop stuff going around the literary circuits.
I found the title most lucrative, which drew me to the book, to begin with! In full, in case it's cut off, it's Turning Oil Into Salt: Energy Independence Through Fuel Choice. I choose every day what to eat and where to go...
I wouldn't have finished it at all unless it was one of my 2020 Read Harder Challenge books. I picked it for my sci-fi/fantasy novella which is under 120 pages, even though it is 138p with the index included. Without the index, it's 122. Oh well, I wrote in pencil and could look harder, as it is called the (hahaha) "Read Harder Challenge." Then again, I've been advised not to kill myself over anything like I was wont to do, and 122p is close enough.
But, I wanted to be real.
Then again, remembering the Salt treatise was honestly a headache, hahahaha. An interesting one, but still... yikes! I'm just going to stop now.
April 15, 2020
I would have given this 4 stars if it weren't for all the grammar and spelling errors. "Exxon Mobile"? Really? Whoever edited this book did not do a good job.
Aside from that, the points made in the book are very interesting. I'm now convinced that most cars should be converted to enable use of ethanol and methanol.
I wonder how the fracking boom has affected the statistics presented by the authors. This book was published before fracking really took off; we're now less dependent on oil imports than in 2009. With oil currently below $30/bbl, some of the fuels mentioned in the book may not be competitive.
Aside from that, the points made in the book are very interesting. I'm now convinced that most cars should be converted to enable use of ethanol and methanol.
I wonder how the fracking boom has affected the statistics presented by the authors. This book was published before fracking really took off; we're now less dependent on oil imports than in 2009. With oil currently below $30/bbl, some of the fuels mentioned in the book may not be competitive.
June 10, 2020
I read this just a few months ago. When it was first published it would have been a great read. So many years later, the current scenario is far different now. Hard to look past the significant changes that have occurred (America now being the largest exporter of energy) and still hold it 100% relevant.
July 15, 2019
The most eye opening book I've ever read on this subject. Very easy to read and well organised. Despite being a brief item, it is packed with intriguing ideas.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews