A summary review of The Great Transition by Lester R. Brown, author or Plan B

The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy by Lester R. Brown, New York, W.W.Norton, 2015.
The author of Plan B, called the “...best achievable road map” to the future, provides us with encouraging news—we are making the transition to wind and solar to meet energy needs. Costs of wind and solar are “...falling so rapidly that they are starting to squeeze out coal.” Unlike fossil fuels, their use “...does not reduce the amount [of energy provided] tomorrow.”

Other benefits are becoming clear, and soon pollution may trump the enormous fossil fuel subsidies by government and tax policies. Brown proposes shifting transportation to electricity. Biofuels won’t do the trick. One tank of biomass fuel for a large SUV requires growing enough grain to feed a person for one year. Wind and solar do not require the large amounts of water that fossil fuel production does.

Thanks goes to governments and billionaires who have already poured huge efforts into renewable energy. Wind provides 62% of Denmark’s electricity. Brown notes other benefits of the transition, like local control, use of rooftops, no fuel costs for installation, a viable alternative for energy companies who make the switch, and avoiding economic trauma as oil production peaks.

The current issues discussed include the use of coal and nuclear power, and the potential for geothermal and hydropower. Brown’s recommendations include a revenue on carbon to offset taxes on labor and raising a significant tax on gasoline while cutting income taxes—strategies that are also good for the economy, along with energy efficiency, which is cheaper than building “...new generating capacity.”
The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy