California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric--and What It Means for America's Power Grid

$ 990.00
ISBN: 9780593330654
por Portfolio
ISBN: 9780593330654
Editorial: Portfolio
Autor: Blunt, Katherine
Año de edición: 2022
N° Paginas: 368
Tipo de pasta: Pasta dura
Descripción: Product DescriptionNATIONAL BESTSELLERA revelatory, urgent narrative with national implications, exploring the decline of California’s largest utility company that led to countless wildfires — including the one that destroyed the town of Paradise — and the human cost of infrastructure failurePacific Gas and Electric was a legacy company built by innovators and visionaries, establishing California as a desirable home and economic powerhouse. In California Burning, Wall Street Journal reporter and Pulitzer finalist Katherine Blunt examines how that legacy fell apart—unraveling a long history of deadly failures in which Pacific Gas and Electric endangered millions of Northern Californians, through criminal neglect of its infrastructure. As PG&E prioritized profits and politics, power lines went unchecked—until a rusted hook purchased for 56 cents in 1921 split in two, sparking the deadliest wildfire in California history.Beginning with PG&E’s public reckoning after the Paradise fire, Blunt chronicles the evolution of PG&E’s shareholder base, from innovators who built some of California's first long-distance power lines to aggressive investors keen on reaping dividends. Following key players through pivotal decisions and legal battles, California Burning reveals the forces that shaped the plight of PG&E: deregulation and market-gaming led by Enron Corp., an unyielding push for renewable energy, and a swift increase in wildfire risk throughout the West, while regulators and lawmakers pushed their own agendas.California Burning is a deeply reported, character-driven narrative, the story of a disaster expanding into a much bigger exploration of accountability. It’s an American tragedy that serves as a cautionary tale for utilities across the nation—especially as climate change makes aging infrastructure more vulnerable, with potentially fatal consequences.Review"[PG&E's] story comes in a recognisably irresistible form: juicy backroom dealings, Wall Street leeches, hapless politicians...Some of the most entertaining exchanges take place within the corridors of power in California’s state government, with a mood reminiscent of HBO’s The Wire."—Financial Times“[An] intensely researched, deeply unsettling chronicle . . . Blunt delivers detailed accounts of complex, ongoing political, business, and courtroom maneuvers that would overwhelm readers if not for her abundant journalistic skills. . . A compelling and heart-wrenching study.”—Kirkus Reviews"Blunt’s book is not a technical tome but a drama, a human tragedy, loaded with fascinating characters and tales of death and destruction, incompetence and chicanery, malfeasance and greed. Any detail necessary to understand the electric grid and how it works is woven seamlessly and clearly through the narrative."—LA Times"Diligent reporting and a clear focus make this a must-read for anyone interested in the future of energy."—Publishers Weekly“Copiously researched . . . Only a careful excavation such as Blunt's can chart the thin course between wrongdoing, simple incompetence, poor governance, and bad luck.”—Science Magazine“A portrait of a state in crisis . . . Blunt is a thorough reporter and a lucid writer. She makes the struggle to supply California with power on a warming planet clear and compelling.”—San Francisco Chronicle“This urgent and compelling book is a wild tale of old-school corporate malfeasance colliding with the scary new realities of climate change, a story that only grows more important with each passing dry season. The cast of characters—including feckless corporate managers, criminal commodity traders, and crusading public prosecutors—seems straight out of a Hollywood script. But this story is all too real, and its implications matter to everyone. This is literally the story of who controls power in America, and how they have misused it.”—Christopher Leonard, New York Times bestselling author of Kochland and The Lords of Easy Money“Cali
  • Idioma: Inglés
  • Envío: Desde EE. UU.
  • Libro Impreso y Nuevo