Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite

To every action there is a reaction. It is cause and effect. Gas prices go up, and up and up. It affects many aspects of our world. It affects how we live. Gas prices affect whether we travel which affects tourism, which affects salaries, businesses, etc.

Christopher Steiner is an engineer and journalist. He suggests that far in the future we will see gas prices reach $20 per gallon. He sees rising prices as a positive. He purports a cleaner Earth in the future. “There is little to be scared of. The rising price of gas will unlock countless doors to innovation, opportunity and change.”

Steiner successfully presents his theory. In my own life I can see the changes already taking place. I use my own cloth bags at the store rather than plastic ones. I group all errands into one trip. I drive a car with a higher mpg rating. My home is cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer due to adjusting my thermostat. We raise much of our own food. I can definitely see where Steiner’s theory makes sense. However, I do fear, the economic impact of what he suggests will not be easy or pretty.

Change will leave many jobless, homeless and hungry. He suggests more will work from home. We often forget that many jobs cannot be done from home. Whether it is the sanitation department, ditch diggers, plumbers or factory workers, their jobs cannot be done from home. America has made no effort to prepare for this. Economically it will devastate the country. We are barely hanging on now.

It is my hope that citizens will read this book and take note. We should have begun preparing fifty years ago. It is only with drastic measures that we as a nation can survive what Steiner predicts.