Electricity has transformed humanity like no other form of energy. Since the
dawn of the Electric Age less than 140 years ago, electricity has changed
how we live, communicate, learn, and eat. In doing so, it has fueled an
unprecedented period of human flourishing. Never in human history have so
many people lived in such wealth and prosperity. And electricity continues to
change and enrich our lives. From our ability to navigate foreign cities with
maps on our iPhones to the staggering quantities of information available to
us on the Internet, we use electricity without a second thought. Nearly every
technology we use requires reliable flows of electricity. And yet, as we
become ever more connected, ever more wired, billions of people are being
left behind.
Energy politics are tribal. Everyone, it seems, has their favorite. Me, I’m
a proponent of what I call N2N, or natural gas to nuclear. Some people say
we will need more coal, while others tout geothermal, hydro, wind, and
solar. The hard reality is that there are no quick or easy solutions. Energy
transitions take decades. 17 Sure, we can desire decisive action on climate
change. We can want more rights for women and push for an end to global
poverty. But we must be discerning. My hope is that this book, by showing
you how the world looks through the lens of electricity, will help you see
energy and power systems as they are, not how you may want them to be. We
have to separate the glib rhetoric that dominates many of today’s energy
discussions from the reality. Only then can we understand the stakes and
consequences of our energy policies, as well as the fuels and technologies
that will help bring more people out of the dark and into the bright lights of
modernity.
Before delving into all of those issues, though, it’s important to take a few
minutes to understand what electricity is, why it’s so difficult to supply
reliably, and why it has been so transformative.