cover image Coming Clean: Breaking America's Addiction to Oil and Coal

Coming Clean: Breaking America's Addiction to Oil and Coal

Michael Brune. Sierra Club Books, $14.95 (269pp) ISBN 978-1-57805-149-6

An experienced political activist and straight-talker, executive director of the Rainforest Action Network Brune challenges average citizens to join him in the fight for clean energy, warning that, even though ""60 percent of Americans believe that we must take action now,"" it will only happen by ""changing corporate America and challenging our political leaders."" Presenting a trove of information, Brune looks at the costs of oil dependency, the dirty mechanics of so-called ""clean coal,"" the role played by politics and finance, and the possibilities for a post-oil economy. ""Take Action"" sections at the end of each chapter suggest further reading and viewing, ways to profile an adversary, how to identify the most important issues to you, and what to do from there (speaking out, organizing others, taking your demands to government representatives). While Brune is obviously looking to recruit converts, his guide contains enough solid, interesting information (Ford Motor Company's current fleet averages fewer miles per gallon than their old Model-T) to fill in anyone interested in the present state of the energy economy.