Product Description

How much would you pay for a gallon of gas? $2.50? $10.00? Would you pay with the health of your lungs or with years taken from your lifespan?



The infamous "pain at the pump" runs much deeper than our wallets, argues Terry Tamminen, former Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency and current Special Assistant to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Petroleum may power our cars and heat our homes, but it also contributes to birth defects and disorders like asthma and emphysema, not to mention cancer. In Lives Per Gallon, Tamminen takes a hard look at these and other health, environmental, and national security costs hidden in every barrel of oil.



While the petroleum industry is raking in huge profits, Tamminen shows, it is studiously avoiding measures that would lessen the hazards of its products. Using the successful lawsuits by state governments against big tobacco as a model, the author sets forth a bold strategy to hold oil and auto companies accountable and force industry reform. He also offers a blueprint for developing alternative energy sources based on California's real world experiences.



Certain to be controversial, Lives Per Gallon is an unblinking assessment of the true price of petroleum and a prescription for change. The choice is clear: continuing paying with our health, or kick our addiction and evolve beyond an oil-dependent economy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #496592 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-02
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

Review
...launches a blistering attack on the practices of the world''s oil and automobile industries..." - Sacramento Bee (Sacramento Bee )

About the Author
Terry Tamminen founded the Santa Monica BayKeeper and served as its Executive Director for six years. He also served for five years as Executive Director of the Environment Now Foundation in Santa Monica. He was appointed as the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency in November, 2003 and is currently Special Assistant to the Governor.

Customer Reviews

More MPG Needed!
Not only are oil and its products becoming more expensive, it also creates hidden, more insidious costs such as the billions spent annually to secure our global supply, crops ruined by pollution, and cancer and other serious health effects. Living in a smog-filled city can be as dangerous as smoking half-a-pack of cigarettes/day, says Tamminen.

Then are the inevitable leaks and spills at oil wells, refineries, and involving tankers, and the risks associated with global warming.

Probably the most valuable contribution of "Lives Per Gallon" is its detailing how the auto and oil industries have lobbied (misrepresented) to impede progress.

"Lives Per Gallon" ends with suggestions on saving fuel (slower speeds, higher tire inflation, less weight/vehicle, improved engine design, less idling, lower octanes where applicable, eliminate jackrabbit starts), and possible legal strategies to force progress.

Good material, though Tamminen sometimes goes over-the-top - eg, his documentation does not support concluding energy/auto subsidies of $1 trillion/year; his enthusiasm for ethanol is way overstated given its impact on food prices and our limited farmland.

Not recommended for a superficial reading...
I`m reading this book, and contains a lot of details about the impact of oil and its subproducts on environment, health and so.
If you like this subject it`s an interesting choice, otherwise you`ll get bored by facts.

A Must Read for Citizens Concerned about Our Energy Future
Terry Tamminen has seen the ravages of big oil first hand in many places around the world. A skilled and engaging writer, he weaves his experiences into a compelling narrative that includes a lot of well documented research to make the case that the world must end its dependence on fossil energy in general and oil in particular. In his former role as California's Secretary of the Environment, Tamminen helped design and implement a series of initiatives that have made California a world leader in the emerging era of clean, renewably generated energy. Lives Per Gallon reports on the technology now available that will fight global warming and end our dependence on dirty energy. Tamminen shows that hydrogen, serving as a pollution free energy carrier, is a big part of the answer. I think he is right. This is a great read for anyone who wants to get involved and back a winner in the energy endgame.