Big Coal

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Goodell, Jeff 저자(글)

Houghton Mifflin · 2007년 04월 01일

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JEFF GOODELL is a contributing editor for Rolling Stone and a frequent contributor to the New York Times Magazine . He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Our Story: 77 Hours That Tested Our Friendship and Our Faith . Goodell's memoir, Sunnyvale: The Rise and Fall of a Silicon Valley Family , was a New York Times Notable Book. His most recent book, Big Coal , is the basis of an upcoming feature documentary, Dirty Business .
Few of us realize that every time we flip on a switch, we burn a lump of coal--our shiny white iPod economy is propped up by dirty black rocks. Despite a legacy that has claimed millions of lives and ravaged the environment, coal has become hot again. Our desire to find a homegrown alternative to Mideast oil, the rising cost of oil and natural gas, and the mood in Washington will soon push our coal consumption through the roof. Because we have failed to develop alternative energy sources, coal has become the default fuel for the 21st century. Veteran journalist Goodell examines the faulty assumptions underlying coal's revival and shatters the myth of cheap coal energy. In a blend of investigative reporting, history, and business analysis, he illuminates the troubling economic imperatives America faces and the collusion of business and politics that has set us on this dangerous course.--From publisher description.
Given the recent assertions made by the Bush administration, it would seem that coal is a glistening new energy alternative, the answer to the current oil crisis. Few of us realize that coal is already one of America's biggest and most influential industries: "Big Coal" provides more than half of the electricity consumed by Americans today. Every time we flip a light switch or turn on the television, we burn a lump of coal. And coal's dominance is growing. The problem, Jeff Goodell points out in the eye-opening call to action, is that on close examination, the glowing promise of coal quickly turns to ash. Coal mining practices are setting us up for economic and environmental catastrophes. Forty percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year comes from coal-fired power plants, and pollution from these plants has killed more than half a million Americans in the last two decades. But we've become so complacent about our energy future that we haven't invested in alternatives. In this essential work, Goodell clearly explains how we got here and discusses how we can get out.
Long dismissed as a relic of a bygone era, coal is back -- with a vengence. Coal is one of the nation's biggest and most influential industries -- Big Coal provides more than half the electricity consumed by Americans today -- and its dominance is growing, driven by rising oil prices and calls for energy independence. Is coal the solution to America's energy problems? On close examination, the glowing promise of coal quickly turns to ash. Coal mining remains a deadly and environmentally destructive industry. Nearly forty percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year comes from coal-fired power plants. In the last two decades, air pollution from coal plants has killed more than half a million Americans. In this eye-opening call to action, Goodell explains the costs and consequences of America's addiction to coal and discusses how we can kick the habit.
Long dismissed as a relic of a bygone era, coal is back -- with a vengence. Coal is one of the nation's biggest and most influential industries -- Big Coal provides more than half the electricity consumed by Americans today -- and its dominance is growing, driven by rising oil prices and calls for energy independence. Is coal the solution to America's energy problems? On close examination, the glowing promise of coal quickly turns to ash. Coal mining remains a deadly and environmentally destructive industry. Nearly forty percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year comes from coal-fired power plants. In the last two decades, air pollution from coal plants has killed more than half a million Americans. In this eye-opening call to action, Goodell explains the costs and consequences of America's addiction to coal and discusses how we can kick the habit.
"A compelling and frank analysis of the "black rock."
"[A] compelling indictment of one of the country's biggest, most powerful and most antiquated industries . . . well-written, timely and powerful."
"??compelling indictment of one of the country's biggest, most powerful and most antiquated industries . . . well-written, timely and powerful."
"[A] compelling indictment of one of the country's biggest, most powerful and most antiquated industries . . . well-written, timely and powerful." The New York Times "Big Coal gives its readers a clear sense of the tradeoffs we face in our feverish quest for inexpensive energy, and that's more than enough for one book." --Book World The Washington Post "Big Coal's greatest strength lies in Goodell's ability to tell human stories -- how individuals, families and communities are affected by the mining, production, and consumption of coal." --Rocky Mountain News "Goodell's writing [is] so fiery and committed." The New York Times Book Review "Without overloading the reader with scientific jargon or overhwelming statistical information, Goodell does a first-rate job of balancing environmental concerns with interviews from the human faces associated with 'Big Coal.'" Library Journal "Groundbreaking." Bookpage "Most people don't know it yet, but whether the world can continue to burn coal is one of the most important questions of the twenty-first century. Big Coal is a major contribution to getting the answer right. Smart, fair, impassioned, and very well written, this is a book that matters." --Mark Hertsgaard, author of Earth Odyssey "Jeff Goodell's incisive, gripping firsthand report on the second coming of King Coal impacts everyone and everything on earth." --Ralph Nader "Lucid, penetrating, and long overdue, Big Coal should be required reading for anyone, from policymakers to consumers, who wants to understand what really drives energy politics in America." --Paul Roberst, author of The End of Oil "Big Coal is an absorbing, urgently important book. Jeff Goodell does a marvelous job exposing the hidden workings of a deeply entrenched industry and showing how our use of coal poses a grave threat to our collective future." --Barbara Freese, author of Coal: A Human History "Long after we have run out of oil and natural gas, we will still have coal. As Jeff Goodell compellingly documents, this is a blessing that is also a curse. Big Coal should be read by anybody who owns a microwave, or an iPod, or a table lamp, which is to say everyone." --Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes From A Catastrophe "Jeff Goodell's Big Coal is a rousing job of narrative journalism that cuts through the smog of delusion clouding America's energy future, a fascinating and frightening glimpse into the hidden power circuts of American industry and politics." --James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency
"Big Coal" gives its readers a clear sense of the tradeoffs we face in our feverish quest for inexpensive energy, and that's more than enough for one book."
"Big Coal gives its readers a clear sense of the tradeoffs we face in our feverish quest for inexpensive energy, and that's more than enough for one book." --Book World
"Big Coal is an absorbing, urgently important book. Jeff Goodell does a marvelous job exposing the hidden workings of a deeply entrenched industry and showing how our use of coal poses a grave threat to our collective future." --Barbara Freese, author of Coal: A Human History
"Big Coal's greatest strength lies in Goodell's ability to tell human stories -- how individuals, families and communities are affected by the mining, production, and consumption of coal." --Rocky Mountain News
"Enlightening and disturbing..."
Goodell does a first-rate job of balancing environmental concerns with interviews from the human faces associated with "Big Coal"
Goodell has a talent for pithy argument - and the book fairly crackles with informed conviction.
Goodell, in this well-written, timely and powerful book, makes it crystal clear what the stakes are
"Goodell muckrakes in the tradition of Ida Tarbell, Rachel Carson, and Eric Schlosser, leading us confidently, if ruefully, on a tour through the world of coal...(Most) Americans never think about coal..."Big Coal" shows the true cost of our ignorance."
"Jeff Goodell's Big Coal is a rousing job of narrative journalism that cuts through the smog of delusion clouding America's energy future, a fascinating and frightening glimpse into the hidden power circuts of American industry and politics." --James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency
"Jeff Goodell's incisive, gripping firsthand report on the second coming of King Coal impacts everyone and everything on earth." --Ralph Nader
"Long after we have run out of oil and natural gas, we will still have coal. As Jeff Goodell compellingly documents, this is a blessing that is also a curse. Big Coal should be read by anybody who owns a microwave, or an iPod, or a table lamp, which is to say everyone." --Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes From A Catastrophe
"Lucid, penetrating, and long overdue, Big Coal should be required reading for anyone, from policymakers to consumers, who wants to understand what really drives energy politics in America." --Paul Roberst, author of The End of Oil
"Most people don't know it yet, but whether the world can continue to burn coal is one of the most important questions of the twenty-first century. Big Coal is a major contribution to getting the answer right. Smart, fair, impassioned, and very well written, this is a book that matters." --Mark Hertsgaard, author of Earth Odyssey
"Should be read by anybody who owns a microwave, or an iPod, or a table lamp, whick is to say everyone."
"There is perhaps no greater act of denial in modern life than sticking a plug into an electrical outlet...(electricity) pours out of the socket almost like magic. In his new book, Jeff Goodell breaks the spell with a single number: 20. That's how many pounds of coal each person in the United States consumes, on average, every day to keep the electricity flowing."
"Without overloading the reader with scientific jargon or overhwelming statistical information, Goodell does a first-rate job of balancing environmental concerns with interviews from the human faces associated with 'Big Coal.'"
Despite a century-long legacy that has claimed millions of lives and ravaged the environment, coal as a fuel source is making a comeback. In a compelling blend of hard-hitting investigative reporting, history, and business analysis, this work illuminates the stark economic imperatives America faces.

작가정보

저자(글) Goodell, Jeff

목차

• Introduction	p. xi
  The Saudi Arabia of Coal	p. 3
  Coal Colonies	p. 21
  Dogholes	p. 48
  The Carbon Express	p. 74
  The Burn
  Infinite Needs	p. 97
  The Big Dirty	p. 119
  "A Citizen Wherever We Serve"	p. 147
  The Heat
  Reversal of Fortune	p. 173
  The Coal Rush	p. 202
  The Frontier	p. 226
  Epilogue: An Empire of Denial	p. 249
  Acknowledgments	p. 259
  Notes	p. 263
  Index	p. 297
  Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

기본정보

ISBN	9780618872244 ( 0618872248 )
발행(출시)일자	2007년 04월 01일
쪽수	352쪽
크기	137 * 213 * 25 mm / 408 g
총권수	1권
언어	영어