Now I'm an energy economist, so this made total sense to me, once I read the reports. But why did we stop fighting OPEC? In 1986, the world beat Saudi Arabia so bad they caved in and stole business from the rest of the OPEC cartel. The U.S. (except Texas) was ecstatic, and it lasted 18 years. We let down our guard.

That's not the whole story. Someone has a trillion dollar motive, and that would be OPEC, and yes, our own Big Oil companies. Fortunately for them, most people are quite confused about energy markets and attack them the wrong way, while Big Oil stays in control. I want to fix that, fix the climate and fix OPEC once and for all. Not likely, I admit.

The best I can do is write in plain English and get some friends to vouch for me—like my mentor and friend Nobel-prize economist George Akerlof. And my one-time co-worker Art Rosenfeld who started appliance standards back in the 1970s. He's a brilliant physicist and still going at it. And Bill Hogan, Harvard's Prof. of Global Energy Policy—who I've work with for years. Look below to see what they and other's say, or Look Inside the Book on Amazon.

But I'm still a scientist (first physics then economics) and this book explains what really drives fossil energy markets, green investment, conservation, and how to wield the market power to squash OPEC. My copy editor made sure Carbonomics was easy to read (samples from all chapters). For those who've read this far, here's where you can buy it for $12.95 with Free Shipping, through Amazon's back door, instead of for Amazon's $15. So check it out, and if it's not your cup of tea, tell a friend who likes getting to the bottom of things.

And let's not let OPEC jack the price to $145 a barrel again. We can stop our addiction, stop OPEC, and save the climate. You've just got to understand the tricks.

Cheers,

Steve Stoft     (stoft.com)    (Your FREE e-copy.)

"Exposes the hidden side of energy polices ... Stoft is a truly subtle and skilled economist ... makes a very important contribution to the solution of the world's most urgent problem." more

"Carbonomics provides a clear and compelling exposition of the key issues in an essential read for policy makers." more

"It is refreshing to see a first-rate economist expose the myth that price is all important but efficiency programs are worthless." more

"Carbonomics gives us new recipes for policies that jointly cure two plagues: energy insecurity and climate change." more

"Insightful and engaging ... A must-read for all policy makers and voters." more

Peak oil, global warming, crazy gas prices—what's to be done?! Drill off the coast? Ethanol? Solar? Green-nano-bio-tech? For 35 years, since OPEC crisis #1, we've been handed bogus solutions and the problem's only gotten worse.

Finally, here's an energy book with answers that work.

Skeptical? You should be. But Carbonomics doesn't push some new miracle cure. Dr. Stoft, a hands-on energy economist, and Dan Kirshner, an economist and environmentalist, have studied the successes and failures of the past, the programs of today, and read all the experts—as well as the pundits and energy nuts—so you don't have to.

In a nutshell, they find there are a million solutions, most not yet known, but only a few simple ways to make sure the good ones actually happen. One way was tested by our energy nemesis, OPEC, and it saved unimaginable amounts of energy—painfully. One trick learned in 1974, but crushed by Congress, is to beat OPEC to the punch. Raise energy prices ourselves, keep the revenues and redistribute them to consumers—instead of sending OPEC $500 billion a year.