Thescienceisconclusive:toavoidirreversibleclimatecollapse,theburningofallfossilfuelswillhavetoendinthenextdecade.Inthisconciseandhighlyreadableintervention,AshleyDawsonsetsoutwhatisrequiredtomakethismomentousshift:simplyreplacingcoal-firedpowerplantswithfor-profitsolarenergyfarmswillonlymaintainthetoxicillusionthatitispossibletosustainrelentlesslyexpandingenergyconsumption.Wecannolongerthinkofenergyasacommodity.Insteadwemustseeitaspartoftheglobalcommons,avitalelementinthegreatstockofair,water,plants,andculturalformslikelanguageandartthataretheinheritanceofhumanityasawhole.People’sPowerprovidesapersuasivecritiqueofamarket-ledtransitiontorenewableenergy.ItsurveystheearlydevelopmentoftheelectricgridintheUnitedStates,tellingthestoryofbattlesforpubliccontroloverpowerduringtheGreatDepression.Thishistoryframesaccountsofcontemporarycampaigns,inboththeUnitedStatesandEurope,thateschewmarketfundamentalismandscleroticstatepowerinfavorofenergythatisgreen,democraticallymanagedandequitablyshared.
