4 out of 4 stars
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Do you want to learn about the energy industry in the United States and around the world? Are you worried about climate change? Do you want to know about the future of energy in the world?
Written by Jack Kerfoot, Fueling America: An Insider's Journey is a fascinating and enlightening non-fiction book about the oil industry in the United States. Backed up by a 40-year career as a successful geophysicist working for several independent and multinational companies, Kerfoot takes the reader on an educational journey about fossil fuels and renewable energy. With detailed and extensive data, he demonstrates how the United States and the world have become dependent on fossil fuels, which also pollute the environment and increase the greenhouse effect. Furthermore, people forget or do not know that the world has a finite amount of fossils fuels. As a result, renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar, are the way to go to preserve our future.
I chose to read this book because I wanted to learn about the energy industry in the United States and the future of energy around the world. Having two kids makes me think about what sort of world we will leave to future generations. I was not disappointed as Kerfoot's expertise on the subject is undeniable. He has worked in different capacities, from a roustabout to a vice president of exploration, for companies like Mobil Oil, HUFFCO, Conoco, Murphy's Oil, and Consolidated Contractors Energy Development (CCED). Besides the United States, his work took him to live to different countries, such as England, the Netherlands, Malaysia, and Oman.
My favorite aspect about the book was that it includes engaging data about the consumption and production of sources of energy, particularly of oil, in the United States and the People's Republic of China. For example, the data indicates that the United States consumes much more Barrels of Oil Per Day (BOPD) than it produces, making the country dependent on foreign oil imports. Learning other facts shocked me. The United States only started conserving energy after the price of gasoline increased $1.81 per gallon from 2001 to 2008. Also, half of the oil of the world is subsidized rather than sold at the market value price, which does not promote energy conservation.
In addition to including high-quality data, Kerfoot gives the reader a meaningful message in this book. Whether a person believes or not in climate change, the truth is that fossil fuels are finite, meaning they will not last forever. The United States and other countries around the world have taken notice. The world still has the hope of having a future in which energy comes from renewable sources. An example is that President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act in 2005. The approval of tax credits to companies that would produce wind and alternative sources of energy promoted the growth of the production of wind and solar power in the United States.
Without hesitation, I rate Fueling America: An Insider's Journey by Jack Kerfoot 4 out of 4 stars. Kerfoot is a gifted writer, which makes it easy for the reader to learn and enjoy the information about the energy industry. The book was professionally edited as I found only six typos. The book also includes neat graphs that support the author's arguments and a convenient glossary of terms. I would recommend this book to those who work in the energy industry, want to learn about fossil fuels and renewable sources of energy, and are concerned about the future of our world.
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Fueling America
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