Bold ideas for quickly making the United States energy independent while increasing the country’s water supply and ending hunger are the basis of this ambitious fictionalized narrative.
California author Charlie Pedersen, who has had careers both in aerospace and banking, notes that he considers the ideas he’s presented here a workable solution for moving the country away from wars, supersized debt, and the “chains of oil dependency” and toward self-sufficiency. In this tale, the author takes on the persona of the U.S. president, meeting with Congressional and business leaders and the heads of countries around the world to show how key water and low-cost energy strategies could be adapted to restore America’s technology and energy leadership.
He strongly promotes efficient natural gas, hydrogen and hybrid cars with tax-free incentives as well as raising the battery density by ten times for autos. He favors the pipeline from Canada to Texas along with a new mix of resources, and converting salt water to fresh. Border protection and halting the distribution of illegal drugs into the U.S. also are priorities.
Pedersen’s book has only minor editing needs and is both informative and detailed in addressing real issues using occasional documentation and helpful statistics and charts. However, in presenting the ideas to others throughout, he becomes overly repetitive of plan details. In addition, the world leaders’ voices sound much the same despite their being from very different places.
Finally, some ideas seem extremely unrealistic and oversimplified, such as when the president tells members of Congress to solve the graft issue by simply refusing lobby money. “It’s easy . . . just do it!”
Nevertheless, this attempt to bring fresh ideas, through a fictional format, to a country wracked by war and debt may hold appeal for those who, like Pedersen, are frustrated by the status quo.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
