The Oil Addiction Cure, 12 Steps to Sustainable Living - Softcover

Michael J Vallez

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0983462305 ISBN 13: 9780983462309

Publisher: The Energy Education Institute, 2011

Synopsis

The Oil Addiction Cure shows you that you can slash your energy cost by up to 70% without reducing the quality of your life. As you open this book, the first in a series by The Energy Education Institute, you are embarking upon a sweeping investigation into the ways we produce and use energy in America and around the world and joining a dramatic effort to save us from an energy crisis that could plunge us back into the Dark Ages. This crusade begins with you, with things you can control. It starts with a set of twelve manageable steps that allow each of us to get the most of out of every dollar we spend on energy. In 2005, Mike Vallez took a year s leave from his engineering career to learn about energy use from the ground up. Building upon his vast professional experience, he talked with dozens of home and business owners across kitchen and boardroom tables, all over the U.S. and the world. He saw waste and innovation, negligence and genius, problems and solutions. Now, in The Oil Addiction Cure, he presents a comprehensive view of the world of energy, beginning in your own home. He provides concrete answers to your personal energy questions and breaks down the savings that you can realize by following each of the twelve steps toward energy independence. These steps cover the ways you drive, heat and cool your home, purchase appliances, eat, and join with your community to create change. The first step-Accept Reality- shows us why this program is critical. Expert analysts and economists agree that we are in an energy recession that will only end after we start living sustainably and using renewable sources of energy. Sustainable living will be based on conservation, new technologies, and a transition to electrification. In his chapter on New Energy, Vallez shows how electricity will be generated and reviews what energy of the future will look like. Several of his twelve steps involve embracing new technologies based on the electricity of the future; others are simple conservation measures that allow us to start saving right now. With the discipline of an engineer, the practically of an energy auditor, and the insight of a community activist, Vallez shows us how to become part a revolution that will help us all move from the threat of destruction to a new era of sustainability and prosperity.

About this title

About the Author:

Mike Vallez started his engineering and construction career at the age of seven when he helped his father build the family home in Minnesota. Since then, his work experience has ranged from carpenter, ironworker, and underground miner to company president. As a proven professional with a solid reputation for problem solving and results, he has highly successful experience gained in project development, engineering and construction roles on world class projects from concept to completion. His capabilities are bolstered by an educational foundation including a BS in Engineering from Michigan Technological University, and an MBA from the University of Utah. From the position of project manager to COO and President, he is recognized in the industry for the ability to create and lead high functioning project teams undertaking aggressive projects under demanding conditions. Power Industry: Mike has been involved in a number of power related projects. He served as the on-site project manager for construction of Duke Powers Systems Operation Center (SOC) and corporate headquarters in Charlotte North Carolina. The SOC in Charlotte served as the integrated control and operating hub for Duke Energy s regional power generation and transmission system. He later served as the project director of the $150 million EPC contract to replace two electrostatic precipitators with pulse jet filter fabric baghouses for Pacificorp at the Huntington and Hunter power plants. He also secured additional EPC work with Pacificorp for flue gas desulfurization scrubber upgrades at those two plants. As project executive, he oversaw a major shut down for maintenance, repairs, and modernization for the Tri States Generation and Transmission Cooperative in Graig Colorado. On Hawaii s Big Island, he served as the on-site project manager for expansion of the Ormat Technologies Puna Geothermal Power Plant. More recently, he served as the project director of the EPC contract for the Mechanical, Plumbing, and Electrical scope for a 25 MW gas fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant for Molycorp at their Rare Earth Mine at Mountain Pass California. Resource Development: Mike has extensive experience in both underground and surface development, mine infrastructure and plant projects, and natural gas transmission projects. He started his career in the mining and industrial development industries on the underground development of the Walter Resources metallurgical coal mine in Brookwood Alabama. This project involved the sinking of six concrete lined mine shafts, twenty feet in diameter and two thousand feet deep. He later joined Anaconda Mining Company on the development and construction of the Carr Fork Mine, a 10,000 ton per day underground copper mine and concentrator located in Utah s Bingham Mining District. After completion of that project, he joined Kennecott Copper for the initial construction of the North Ore Shoot Shaft in Bingham Canyon, Utah. He also oversaw the engineering and construction of numerous mine plant projects. More recently he served on the resource development project team for Rio Tinto to commence the expansion of the Bingham Mine to an underground operation, and was the project director for construction of a 25 MW gas fired combined heat and power plant for Molycorp at their Rare Earth Mine development at Mountain Pass California. Commercial: Commercial experience is extensive. He has built projects in health care, mixed use projects, hospitality, office, retail, entertainment, sports, and educational markets. He also served the Yankton Sioux Tribe as consulting project manager for the design and construction of a tribal school located in the Yankton Sioux Reservation. Energy Auditing: In 2005-2006, Mike took a leave from his regular career and served as an independent energy auditor for Excel Energy Company.

Review:

If I wanted an explanation of what is really happening to us, I would grab this book, I would teach classes on this book. I can't imagine that any basically intelligent person would be able to not only understand, but easily visualize what you are saying.... It is balanced with wisdom and practicality that reinforce the belief that we can understand our deficiencies and we can do something about our oil addiction. --Diane Meyer Simon. Founder, President Emerita and Past Chair of Global Green USA

About this edition

• Publisher: The Energy Education Institute
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0983462305
• ISBN 13: 9780983462309
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192
• Editor: Lori Stein
• Illustrator: Annemarie Redmond Design