Sanya Carley is the Mark Alan Hughes Faculty Director of the Kleinman Center and Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy and City Planning at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania. She is the coauthor of Energy-Based Economic Development: How Clean Energy Can Drive Development and Stimulate Economic Growth. David Konisky is the Lynton K. Caldwell Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, where he researches US environmental and energy politics. He has authored or edited six books, including Cheap and Clean: How Americans Think about Energy in the Age of Global Warming.

"This sobering look at the current state of energy goes beyond recent weather-related headlines to dig into the realities of unequal access to everyday power and connectivity...They concentrate on real impacts felt by real people, whether West Virginia coal miners, Detroit autoworkers, or e-waste contamination containment workers in Africa. Their culminating recommendations urge a return of energy supply choices and control to local communities; multi- and cross-sectional partnerships with equal investments in resilience, adaptability, and sustainability; and increased decarbonization. As policymakers look to the future, the authors suggest they disassociate energy decisions from technology and economic concerns and reframe actions through environmental and human justice lenses. Thoughtful, persuasive arguments."-- "Booklist"

"A comprehensive review of how the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy will create winners and losers across American society...the book's empirical richness and analytical clarity make it essential reading for anyone engaged in the energy transition. The authors dismantle the dangerous assumption that technological change automatically produces social progress. Their documentation of sacrifice zones, from Appalachian coalmining to Ghana's e-waste sites, reveals how green capitalism risks becoming merely a new iteration of extractive exploitation unless accompanied by a restructuring of power relations."

-- "Environmental Politics"

"In an era when far too many of us advocate simplistic 'solutions' and technofixes to address the climate and energy crises, Carley and Konisky offer a hard-hitting, much-needed dose of truth telling that centers people, equity and justice in how we imagine and realize decarbonized futures. The evidence, analysis and conclusions in Power Lines are exceptionally strong and will stand the test of time."--David N. Pellow author of "What is Critical Environmental Justice?"

"Power Lines [presents] stories of individuals and communities on the front lines of the energy transition in the United States, focusing on hardships that these individuals and communities face in transitioning to clean energy...outlines a blueprint built on the principles of energy injustice that can guide policy, community, and industry priorities going forward."

-- "Journal of Economic Literature"

"Power Lines is an enjoyable exploration of the trade-offs and complexities in both maintaining our current electricity generation and delivery system while also evolving it into what many analyses believe is a necessary 'Just Energy Transition' to meet the power, political, and environmental challenges that we face today."--Daniel Kammen University of California, Berkeley

"Energy transition continues to generate winners and losers among American families and communities. Power Lines renders an invaluable public service through its penetrating examination of this dynamic. It navigates multiple regions and technologies involved in energy production and use in exploring challenges to achieving just outcomes."--Barry Rabe University of Michigan

"This book transmits a surge of reality by grounding readers in the complexity faced by our society to orchestrate an equitable energy transition that benefits all people. The authors weave facts with frankness; build a case for prosperity by centering people; and elevate the stories of overburdened communities striving for the energy security they deserve. A great source of information, leaving readers charged up to demand environmental and energy justice by any means necessary."--Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome CEO and Founder of Empowering a Green Environment and Economy, LLC former Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer in the Biden-Harris Administration

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Pub date: 2025-10-13

Length: 336 pages