The grassroots battle against nuclear power, told by a historian who did time on both sides of the issue. CRITICAL MASSES tells how the citizens of California--from the tiny town of Wasco in the Central Valley to the vast suburbs of Los Angeles--challenged the threat of nuclear power, transformed the anti-nuclear movement, and helped change the face of U.S. politics. 21 photos.

Agile Energy Systems: Global Distributed On-Site and Central Grid Power, Second Edition, offers new solutions to the structure of electricity provision made possible by new energy technologies. The book begins by showing how five precipitating forces led to the deregulation debacle in California, including major technological changes and commercialization, regulatory needs mismatched to societal adjustments, inadequate and flawed economic models, a lack of vision, goals, and planning that lead to energy failures, and questionable finance and lack of economic development. The second half of the book examines the civic market paradigm for new economic models and how to plan for complexity using California as an example of how the problem of centralized power systems can be seen in the worst drought that California has ever seen. - Offers new approaches to energy systems, providing the tools and plans to achieve these objectives - Presents specific and actionable public policy and program tools - Illustrates how lessons learned from California can be used to create an agile energy system for any country

Activists, analysts, and practitioners describe innovative strategies that promote healthy neighborhoods, fair housing, and accessible transportation throughout America's cities and suburbs.