# Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition by Sanya Carley and David Konisky

**URL:** <https://community-energy.discourse.group/t/power-lines-the-human-costs-of-american-energy-in-transition-by-sanya-carley-and-david-konisky/94>\
**Category:** Energy Nerd's Book Club\
**Created:** [18 September 2025 07:57 UTC](https://community-energy.discourse.group/t/power-lines-the-human-costs-of-american-energy-in-transition-by-sanya-carley-and-david-konisky/94 "2025-09-18T07:57:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![HeatherSmith](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/community-energy.discourse.group/heathersmith/32/4_2.png) [@HeatherSmith](https://community-energy.discourse.group/u/HeatherSmith)\
**Post date:** [18 September 2025 07:57 UTC](https://community-energy.discourse.group/t/power-lines-the-human-costs-of-american-energy-in-transition-by-sanya-carley-and-david-konisky/94/1 "2025-09-18T07:57:01Z")

</div>

You can pre-order a copy now: [https://lnkd.in/ef2T-asq](https://lnkd.in/ef2T-asq). Use code POWER2025 for 30% off!

Here is a summary:

| Chapter | Title | What’s Covered / Purpose |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Preface | — | Sets out the stakes: the promise of the energy transition, the existing inequities, and the risk that transition could replicate old injustices. ([University of Chicago Press](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo254000286.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition, Carley ...")) |
| 1 | “An American Injustice” | Provides broad framing about who benefits/loses from past energy policies and why justice must be central going forward. ([University of Chicago Press](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo254000286.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition, Carley ...")) |
| 2 | “Sacrifice Zones” | Details places with heavy environmental damage and how those zones are shaped by power, policy, and race/class divides. ([University of Chicago Press](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo254000286.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition, Carley ...")) |
| 3 | “Beaten, Broken, Forgotten” | Focus on broken infrastructure, places left behind, people unable to access reliable electricity or being disproportionately harmed. ([University of Chicago Press](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo254000286.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition, Carley ...")) |
| 4 | “Life Without Energy” | Looks at what happens when energy is unavailable or unaffordable — impacts on households, health, well‐being. ([University of Chicago Press](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo254000286.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition, Carley ...")) |
| 5 | “Where New Technologies Don’t Go” | Shows how even promising clean technologies often miss or exclude certain communities. ([Energy Justice Lab](https://energyjustice.indiana.edu/research/power-lines.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Power Lines: Research: Energy Justice Lab: Indiana University")) |
| 6 | “Backyards and Ballots” | Explores how local politics, land use, and civic participation affect whether people’s lives are improved or harmed by energy transitions. ([Energy Justice Lab](https://energyjustice.indiana.edu/research/power-lines.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Power Lines: Research: Energy Justice Lab: Indiana University")) |
| 7 | “The Life Cycle of an Injustice” | Examines the full cycle of energy systems — from extraction, production, deployment, to disposal — and where injustices show up. ([University of Chicago Press](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo254000286.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition, Carley ...")) |
| 8 | “The Uneasy, Uneven Future” | Looks forward: where energy transitions could go better, what policies might help, lessons to avoid repeating past mistakes. ([University of Chicago Press](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo254000286.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition, Carley ...")) |