Few today realize that electric cars dominated Manhattans streets in the 1890s; that solar water heating boomed in California before the first World War; or that the first megawatt turbine in the world was built in 1941 by the son of publishing magnate G. P. Putnama feat that would not be duplicated for another forty years. Likewise, while many remember the oil embargo of the 1970s, few are aware that it led to a corresponding explosion in green-technology research that was only derailed when energy prices later dropped. Half compendium of lost opportunities, half hopeful look toward the future, Powering the Dream tells the stories of the brilliant, often irascible inventors who foresaw our current problems, tried to invent cheap and energy-renewable solutions, and drew the blueprint for a green future.
