Revolutionary Power: An Activist's Guide to the Energy Transition

A thoughtful take on the current opportunities that distributed energy can provide to communities. The author presents a clear vision of engaging to increase energy access and why the current system caters to the energy monopolies. I highly recommend it as context for what are often dry/technical discussions.

This book is a mix of family anecdotes and a cal to action for the energy justice movement. Shalanda Baker has a way of humanizing the communities who have been most impacted by environmental racism. It's a must read.

The author is knowledgeable and articulate about energy generation and distribution in the USA. She believes that the energy system harms and disadvantages lower income citizens, especially those she calls "people of color." She would like to see distributed energy generation associated with micro grids. This would mean solar panels, battery storage, and smaller grids less vulnerable to natural disasters. She believes this would help lower income neighborhoods and their residents. The problem is figuring out how to implement this idea, she has suggestions, and I hope in her new job with the Biden administration will be able to make demonstration projects happen. She is negative as regards investor owned utilities, and is positive about publicly owned power agencies. Since I am an employee of the latter this makes sense to me. In summary the book is strong in complaining about the problems of the status quo but weak in coming up with a comprehensive and viable plan to change it.

Revolutionary Power is indeed an activist's guide, and it is also an adversary's wake up call. S. Baker presented the material in a way that is readily accessible to those who may not be energy "wonks," while also pointing a hard to ignore finger at the "bad" and "not so good" energy "actors." I found S. Baker's storytelling and story sharing meaningful and a necessary element in keeping front and center the many people who have been and are harmed by our global reliance on fossil fuel based energy. Her exposition of the systems that enable this extractive paradigm helped me better understand how interwoven energy development, regulation, and financing are, and will continue to be if a solid, and sustained disruption is not rapidly undertaken. I also appreciated that S. Baker's book does not "tell" readers exactly what to "do," but rather engages and equips readers with context, direction, and a rallying call to action. What Baker does so well in this book is pull away the "veil" energy policy/regulation has used to obfuscate what choices could and should be available to electric utility customers. Her informative discussion of the "playbook" way incredibly eye opening. Readers should expect to be empathy stricken, well informed, deeply inspired, and excellently equipped to sufficiently disrupt the energy development status quo after reading this book. In the words of S. Baker, "it is not too late to create a different future."

This is a must-read book that weaves vulnerable personal stories and crunchy policy tidbits into a paradigm shift that reframes renewable energy and social justice. I have yet to find another book that so beautifully manages to weave together so many pieces into one cohesive call for justice for the people and justice for the planet. It balances the difficult task of thoroughly teaching you how to handle tools, while building the deeper context so you understand when they are needed. I appreciate how she pared her ideas into five main chapters, as it gives the reader concrete areas of focus. Shalanda's fierce thoughtfulness, optimism, and passion may give you a little dose of well needed hope (it very much did for me)!

Clueless spook

A thoughtful take on the current opportunities that distributed energy can provide to communities. The author presents a clear vision of engaging to increase energy access and why the current system caters to the energy monopolies. I highly recommend it as context for what are often dry/technical discussions.

This book is a mix of family anecdotes and a cal to action for the energy justice movement. Shalanda Baker has a way of humanizing the communities who have been most impacted by environmental racism. It's a must read.

The author is knowledgeable and articulate about energy generation and distribution in the USA. She believes that the energy system harms and disadvantages lower income citizens, especially those she calls "people of color." She would like to see distributed energy generation associated with micro grids. This would mean solar panels, battery storage, and smaller grids less vulnerable to natural disasters. She believes this would help lower income neighborhoods and their residents. The problem is figuring out how to implement this idea, she has suggestions, and I hope in her new job with the Biden administration will be able to make demonstration projects happen. She is negative as regards investor owned utilities, and is positive about publicly owned power agencies. Since I am an employee of the latter this makes sense to me. In summary the book is strong in complaining about the problems of the status quo but weak in coming up with a comprehensive and viable plan to change it.

Revolutionary Power is indeed an activist's guide, and it is also an adversary's wake up call. S. Baker presented the material in a way that is readily accessible to those who may not be energy "wonks," while also pointing a hard to ignore finger at the "bad" and "not so good" energy "actors." I found S. Baker's storytelling and story sharing meaningful and a necessary element in keeping front and center the many people who have been and are harmed by our global reliance on fossil fuel based energy. Her exposition of the systems that enable this extractive paradigm helped me better understand how interwoven energy development, regulation, and financing are, and will continue to be if a solid, and sustained disruption is not rapidly undertaken. I also appreciated that S. Baker's book does not "tell" readers exactly what to "do," but rather engages and equips readers with context, direction, and a rallying call to action. What Baker does so well in this book is pull away the "veil" energy policy/regulation has used to obfuscate what choices could and should be available to electric utility customers. Her informative discussion of the "playbook" way incredibly eye opening. Readers should expect to be empathy stricken, well informed, deeply inspired, and excellently equipped to sufficiently disrupt the energy development status quo after reading this book. In the words of S. Baker, "it is not too late to create a different future."

This is a must-read book that weaves vulnerable personal stories and crunchy policy tidbits into a paradigm shift that reframes renewable energy and social justice. I have yet to find another book that so beautifully manages to weave together so many pieces into one cohesive call for justice for the people and justice for the planet. It balances the difficult task of thoroughly teaching you how to handle tools, while building the deeper context so you understand when they are needed. I appreciate how she pared her ideas into five main chapters, as it gives the reader concrete areas of focus. Shalanda's fierce thoughtfulness, optimism, and passion may give you a little dose of well needed hope (it very much did for me)!

Clueless spook