
$20 Per Gallon
How the Rise in the Price of Gas Will Change Our Lives for the Better
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Narrated by:
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John Wolfe
About this listen
Of course, everybody already knows how about gasoline has affected our driving habits. People can't wait to junk their gas-guzzling SUVs for a new Prius. But there are more, not-so-obvious changes on the horizon that Chris Steiner tracks brilliantly in this provocative work.
Consider the following societal changes: people who own homes in far-off suburbs will soon realize that there's no longer any market for their houses (reason: nobody wants to live too far away because it's too expensive to commute to work). Telecommuting will begin to expand rapidly. Trains will become the mode of national transportation (as it used to be) as the price of flying becomes prohibitive. Families will begin to migrate southward as the price of heating northern homes in the winter is too pricey. Cheap everyday items that are made of plastic will go away because of the rising price to produce them (plastic is derived from oil). And this is just the beginning of a huge and overwhelming domino effect that our way of life will undergo in the years to come.
Steiner, an engineer by training before turning to journalism, sees how this simple but constant rise in oil and gas prices will totally re-structure our lifestyle. But what may be surprising to readers is that all of these changes may not be negative - but actually will usher in some new and very promising aspects of our society.
Steiner will probe how the liberation of technology and innovation, triggered by climbing gas prices, will change our lives. The book may start as an alarmist's exercise.... but don't be misled. The future will be exhilarating.
©2009 Christopher Steiner (P)2009 HachetteListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
The author, Christopher Steiner, does a wonderful job in laying out the pathway that were all taking towards ever-increasing fuel cost and the implications for doing so.
Our dependency on foreign oil and tax subsidized gas prices is not allowing us to realize the downward spiral that we face economically and environmentally, and the upward spiraling cost of fuel itself. It's time for us to get serious about developing alternative fuel sources and changing our lifestyles and dependency away from also fuel. We have the technology to do it now, so other than the "political agendas" that of course bog everything down, we have to start thinking critically and making decisions that will correct the pathway that were on.
I like the way the author lays out, chapter by chapter, dollar per gallon – dollar per gallon, the effects that we will feel personally, economically, socially and environmentally. I know right now many of us cannot see beyond perhaps a five dollar per gallon cost to ourselves personally, but that day is coming sooner than we think.
I highly recommend this book because it is well written, and it pertains to every man woman and child in this country.
Alternative Fuels Anyone!!!
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Maybe the Amish have it right
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While the speculating about what might happen was entertaining. I was disappointed that the predictions were not backed up with much argument or any evidence.
Hoped for more
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Everyone Should Read This Book!
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Thoughtprovoking view of the future!
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BUT the book is not a great read. The writing is very inefficient. The author takes a long time to make his points, going into many exhaustive and unnecessary stories, perhaps under the mistaken notion that non-fiction must be colored up to be interesting. The whole book could have been 1/3 as long or less.
I also think that Steiner paints a somewhat preposterously smiley face on a ominous future. I wholly agree that, ultimately, a low energy future will be better than what we have now. But getting there from here is another matter. It may well be that mankind will lose billions of people in the change. That won't be happy.
Steiner also fails to discuss the gravity of the link between fossil fuel and the economy. It seems evident to me, or at least obvious enough to discuss, that the boom of modern society since the industrial revolution (and the resultant boom in population) has been the result of our ability to find and use fossil fuel. Once this one time "gift" starts to wane, won't the economy and population and the very complexity of society wane as well? We might be on the verge of an very long contraction of industry. The economy may never "recover." Many of us may have no job prospects except to grow food. Not all of this is bad, but certainly warrants examination and discussion, I would think. And none of it will likely be easy.
I'm not sure why Steiner wrote this book in this way. Is he trying to reassure us so we are not afraid to take action? Is it all a masked attempt to promote nuclear power? Is he just a very optimistic guy? Beats me.
Still, there's little else on audio and this is worth the read.
Disappointing
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positive future
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relentless
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Pass on this one
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