California Event: Oil on the Brain

Americans consume 10,000 gallons of gasoline a second: three gallons per person per day. New America Irvine Fellow Lisa Margonelli spent three years tracing the path that petroleum takes from oil fields far away to the gas tanks of California drivers. In her book Oil On the Brain she examines the history, chemistry, economics, politics and culture of oil to look at where our relationship to petroleum is taking us.

At this Sacramento event, Margonelli described her travels and discuss ed opportunities to change the status quo, particularly in California. High gas prices may be a chance for policy makers to offer radical new energy policies. She talked about one opportunity to make efficiency gains tradable, so that companies can work towards energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction while stimulating technology and creating jobs.

An MP3 audio recording of this event can be downloaded below. For more information on Oil on the Brain, please click here.

Participants

• Lisa Margonelli
  Irvine Senior Fellow
  New America Foundation