Preface

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Energy Independence seeks readers on all sides of the energy/environmental debate who like to laugh. Energy is serious, but Mom taught me to look for the funny.

I'm one of the ghosts of alternative energy past.  We ghosts were riding the Wild West putting in windmills and solar systems, cogeneration and biofuel plants, and picking a lot of the low-hanging energy-saving fruits and nuts.  A pretty good case can be made that we are responsible for saving around 12 billion barrels of oil and 26 billion tons of greenhouse gases.  I think it's the biggest energy savings in history, but there's no shortage of opinions about energy and environment.

Here I share alternative energy's locker-room stories. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Energy Independence might be the first energy and environmental book that makes no point and doesn't ask you to think - but you can if you want to.