Electrify

An Optimist's Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future

Saul Griffith

Saul Griffith

Founder of Rewiring America

An optimistic—but realistic and feasible—action plan for fighting climate change while creating new jobs and a healthier environment: electrify everything.

Synopsis

Climate change is a planetary emergency. We have to do something now—but what? Saul Griffith has a plan. In Electrify, Griffith lays out a detailed blueprint—optimistic but feasible—for fighting climate change while creating millions of new jobs and a healthier environment. Griffith's plan can be summed up simply: electrify everything. He explains exactly what it would take to transform our infrastructure, update our grid, and adapt our households to make this possible. Billionaires may contemplate escaping our worn-out planet on a private rocket ship to Mars, but the rest of us, Griffith says, will stay and fight for the future.

Griffith, an engineer and inventor, calls for grid neutrality, ensuring that households, businesses, and utilities operate as equals; we will have to rewrite regulations that were created for a fossil-fueled world, mobilize industry as we did in World War II, and offer low-interest “climate loans.” Griffith's plan doesn't rely on big, not-yet-invented innovations, but on thousands of little inventions and cost reductions. We can still have our cars and our houses—but the cars will be electric and solar panels will cover our roofs. For a world trying to bounce back from a pandemic and economic crisis, there is no other project that would create as many jobs—up to 25 million, according to one economic analysis. Is this politically possible? We can change politics along with everything else.

About the Author

  • Saul Griffith
    Saul Griffith

    Founder of Rewiring America

    Saul Griffith is the founder and chief scientist of Rewiring America. An inventor, entrepreneur, and MacArthur “genius” fellow, both Saul and Rewiring America are on a mission to electrify everything in order to fight climate change, create jobs, save households money on their energy bills, and enjoy zippier cars, cleaner air, and more modern appliances. In Electrify, Saul explains exactly what it would take to transform our infrastructure, update our grid, and adapt our households to make this possible. To dig in to more details about Rewiring America’s plans to electrify everything, please see our research reports on households, jobs, the one billion machines we need to replace, and the policies we need to make it all happen in time to save planet Earth.

Praise

  • Kirkus Reviews
    Kirkus Reviews

    "Surprisingly optimistic, realistic, and persuasive." Read on.

  • Alta
    Alta

    "More than a starry-eyed dreamer, Griffith provides a detailed plan for how families, industries, and governments could benefit." Read on.

  • Nature
    Nature

    "Engineer, inventor and entrepreneur Saul Griffith calls for all-encompassing electrification in the United States, using renewables to mitigate climate change." Read on.

  • Kim Stanley Robinson
    Kim Stanley Robinson

    Author of the Mars trilogy and The Ministry for the Future

    "The great thing about Electrify is that it zeroes in on two of the most urgent issues we face in coping with climate change and dodging the onrushing mass extinction event: how to transform our energy supply to clean renewables as quickly as possible and, crucially, how to pay for that work. The combination, as outlined by Griffith, is an inspiring and even exhilarating experience to witness. Read it and see!"

  • Mariana Mazzucato
    Mariana Mazzucato

    Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, University College London; author of Mission Economy

    "A radical but realistic take on the new direction of infrastructure, investment, and production, Electrify is required reading for an economy-wide green transition in the USA."

Events

  • Rewiring America
    Rewiring America

    Nov 17, 2021

    Renowned climate leader Bill McKibben joined Saul Griffith and Ari Matusiak for the most optimistic climate chat you'll hear this year.

  • MIT Press
    MIT Press

    Nov 16, 2021

    Saul Griffith will be in conversation with engineer Sam Calisch and biochemist Shuguang Zhang at the MIT Press Live event. Register here.

  • Town Hall Seattle
    Town Hall Seattle

    Oct 25, 2021

    Saul Griffith will be in conversation with “Dr. Volts” aka David Roberts at the Town Hall Seattle. Books will be sold virtually by Third Place Books. Learn more here.

  • Seminary Co-op
    Seminary Co-op

    Oct 19, 2021

    Saul Griffith will be in conversation with a professor from UChicago ECo at the Seminary Co-op. Learn more here.

  • Rev Conference
    Rev Conference

    Oct 18, 2021

    Saul Griffith will give the keynote address at the Renewable Energy Vermont conference. A preorder link with discount code will be given to attendees. Learn more here.

Media Coverage

  • Yale School of the Environment
    Yale School of the Environment

    Saul Griffith

    Oct 19, 2021

    From Homes to Cars, It’s Now Time to Electrify Everything

    The key to shifting away from fossil fuels is for consumers to begin replacing their home appliances, heating systems, and cars with electric versions powered by clean electricity.

Contact the Author

For speaking engagements and any other inquiries for Saul Griffith, please contact:

Wes Neff, President of Leigh Bureau