Here's a post from Gail Kinsey Hill, who covers renewable energy for The Oregonian.
As an energy reporter, new books about clean energy land on my desk almost every day. "Winning our Energy Independence." "The Hydrogen Age." "Freedom from Oil."
One of the latest carries a Northwest connection. "Apollo's Fire, Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy," was co-authored by U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash. He serves on the Energy Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. He bills himself as a leading advocate for renewable energy.
No baby steps here. Congressman Inslee and Bracken Hendricks set out to reveal "how our nation can embark on the biggest economic transition since the dawn of the industrial age," according to a news release distributed with the book.
The movement must carry the force of the Apollo Program of the 1960s, which promised to put a man on the moon and fueled dramatic advancements in science and industry, the authors argue. Hence, the book's name.
In several pages in Chapter 5, "Re-energizing our Communities," Inslee and Hendricks heap praise on Portland, singling out the city's light rail and streetcar system. "In a manner of speaking, the MAX may be the Yankees franchise of the public transit system," the authors write, "envied, unequaled and a bit cocky."
