This blog was started in 2009, quite frankly, to advertise my book, Running on Empty: A Handbook for Understanding and Surviving the Energy Crisis. I wrote the book, not to make a bundle of money on it by scaring the public about global warming, but because I felt that the public needed a reference that brought together the myriad of subjects that comprised the situation lumped into the subject of "energy," with sub titles of "peak oil," climate change, global warming, ecology, sustainability, and dependence on foreign oil.The goal was to provide the information needed to help us to develop a rational energy policy to develop the alternative energies and the means to prevent unintended and unwanted climate change.

This week it was reported in the news that General Electric, the world's largest corporation paid zero taxes last year on a profit of $5 billion. That's $5,000,000,000. How much did you pay last year? Today it was reported that 2/3 of U.S. corporations also paid zero federal taxes. Bank of America hasn’t paid a nickel in federal income taxes for the past two years, and in fact raked in an additional $1 billion in tax “benefits.” The bank is enjoying these profits after accepting $45 billion from taxpayers, which the company then got to count as a deduction when they paid back the money and paid huge bonuses to its executives.

Running on Empty was submitted to the 18th Annual Writer's Digest Self Publishing Book Awards. While it didn't win an award it did receive a good rating. The reviewer thought the cover needed improvements  but overall the book got high marks. The following is excerpted from the review. No name was given for the reviewer.

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning "poor" and 5 meaning "excellent," Running on Empty was rated 5 for structure and organization and 5 for grammar. The cover was rated 2.

Comment: This book is extremely timely, and I'm glad the author has decided to strike while the iron is hot. There's never been a bigger market for original and incisive material in the fields of energy and energy conservation. I urge the author to continue to retool and market Running on Empty to get the notice it deserves. Greene is obviously a master of the material, and I felt in capable hands all the way through. The writing is clear and punchy (though a bit technical at times for a general readership), and thanks to great organizational tools the text is easy to follow. This book has the best table of contents I've encountered among this year's entries, and that's carried through with excellent non-narrative elements including ample subheadings, accessible illustrations, and a fat glossary. Overall, a strong entry that would benefit from a little update of appearance. Best wishes!