Class Year
2004
Document Type
Book Review
Publication Date
Spring 2004
Abstract
Power to the People is full of challenges. That is not to say it is a difficult read. Rather, it challenges many assumptions of environmentalists as well as those of oil barons and coal tycoons. No one is safe from Vaitheeswaran’s scathing equal- opportunity critique. ExxonMobil boss, Lee Raymond, is singled out for leading his company in a backward looking way without giving due notice to the future of energy beyond oil. Bill Clinton and Al Gore’s poor leadership during the Kyoto climate summit negotiations are also subjected to the author’s scorn. The book does not seek to serve as a manifesto for Greens nor does it serve as propaganda for the hydrocarbon industry, rather it separates pure ideology out of the equation and simply tries to convey the author’s thoughts surrounding the production of energy and its future.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Matt. "Power to the People: How the Coming Energy Revolution will Transform an Industry, Change our Lives, and Maybe Even Save the Planet by Vijay Vaitheeswaran."Sustainable Development and Policy, Spring 2004, 49.