Ordering Information
Paper Text,
170 pages
978-1-84407-798-4,
$25.95
Cloth Text,
170 pages
978-1-84407-456-3,
$36.95
Starting from the premise that we are making a mess of energy and this is endangering the planet, Walt Patterson describes how we could do much better. In Keeping the Lights On Patterson outlines a different way to think about energy. He explains how we could go about improving energy security
and services while reducing costs and vulnerability, globally and rapidly. The
book discusses debates surrounding energy and power. It emphasizes that
electricity is about infrastructure and that we have to stop treating it as a
commodity.
Selected Reviews
"It should be compulsive reading, if not compulsory reading, for all politicians and other players that determine or have a role to play in energy policy, and more importantly in tackling climate change."
Allan Jones,
Chief Executive Officer, London Climate Change Agency
"Patterson thoroughly understands and explains the failures of the past that led to the dominance of centralized power systems. His inspiring vision for a decentralized future is a positive affirmation that we can indeed improve the health of the planet without hurting the global economy."
David Sweet,
Executive Director, World Alliance for Decentralized Energy, Washington
"As ever [Patterson] provokes us to re-examine our own thinking about energy policy. Essential reading as we face up to new challenges."
Jim Skea,
Research Director, UK Energy Research Centre
"Patterson carves out the most applied and practical of 'road maps' as to where we need to go if we are to deliver a genuinely sustainable electricity system for the future."
Jonathon Porritt,
Chair, UK Sustainable Development Commission
"A very important and timely book. Patterson persuasively challenges traditional asumptions about how we think of energy and electricity, and presents and exciting vision of an innovative and sustainable future."
Nick Mabey,
Chief Executive, E3G, and former senior adviser in the UK Prime Minister's Strategy Unit
"Patterson shines his own penetrating light into the future of electricity, identifying some surprising possibilities He has a remarkable talent for explaining technical concepts in simple, compelling terms, and for drawing lessons from history that help define positive, possible futures. If you use electricity, you should read this book."
Ralph Torrie,
Vice President, ICF International, Toronto