$20 Per Gallon $20 Per Gallon

$20 Per Gallon

How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better

    • 3.4 • 7 Ratings
    • $9.99
    • $9.99

Publisher Description

An extraordinarily insightful and thought-provoking look at how our society and culture are going to change, and change rapidly, as the price of gasoline, heating oil, and all other everyday consumer products that are derived from oil continue to escalate.

Imagine an everyday world in which the price of gasoline (and oil) continues to go up, and up, and up. Think about the immediate impact that would have on our lives.

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 comprised 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.

GENRE
Nonfiction
RELEASED
2009
July 15
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
288
Pages
PUBLISHER
Grand Central Publishing
SELLER
Hachette Digital, Inc.
SIZE
705.9
KB

Customer Reviews

username45 ,

Eye Opening

My high school AP environmental science teacher recommended this book to me towards the end of my spring term semester, and I must say: this book has really made me better understand the energy situation our society is on the edge of experiencing. The author does an exceptionally good job at presenting information and helps create a mood that makes the reader want to change his or her own lifestyle and make a difference in the world community.

scizorawesomeness ,

Not Good

Some good thoughts in this book, but most of it is simply fantasizing about the urban world that the author would like to see rather than the true state of the world at $400 and higher per barrel oil. Poorly reasoned. I was obviously hoping for the best when I bought this, but found it entirely frustrating for lack of economic depth. Written from the perspective of a civil engineer, it will grate on the sensibilities of an economist. Perhaps the most telling part of the book is the last chapter in which Spain is held up as the role model for the future of the United States, and the glowing commentary on the amount of money that Spain has spent recently on high speed rail and other energy projects. If you are a civil engineer, you will love it. If not, buy something else.

More Books Like This

JOLT! JOLT!
2010
The Grid The Grid
2016
Carmageddon Carmageddon
2023
The Future History of Energy and Transportation The Future History of Energy and Transportation
2016
The End of Traffic and the Future of Access The End of Traffic and the Future of Access
2017
Getting More From Your Gas Tank Getting More From Your Gas Tank
2013

More Books by Christopher Steiner