John Hofmeister's new book, "Why We Hate the Oil Companies," is billed as "straight talk from an energy insider."

That it is. Hofmeister, former president of Shell Oil and founder of Citizens for Affordable Energy, claims that just about everyone has mismanaged the energy issue.

His book lays out a new proposal to create a "coherent, pragmatic energy policy." The pragmatic part, he says, comes from his Lancaster County background.

"I learned a lot from growing up (in Lancaster)," says Hofmeister in a telephone interview from his home in Houston, Texas. "The life of pragmatism that I currently practice has its roots in Lancaster County soil."

Hosfmeister moved with his family to New Holland in 1955, when he was in second grade. He lived here for 13 years. While attending Kansas State University, he worked summer jobs at New Holland Farm Equipment and H.M. Stauffer in Leola.

In 1996, he and his wife, Karen, reacquainted themselves with the area when they purchased Lime Valley Mill, south of Willow Street.

They restored the gristmill to working condition, expanded the farm, and currently produce and sell "naturally grown" produce, eggs and meats to four area markets

"The farm was a junkyard when we bought it," Hofmeister explains. "We worked very hard to put the pieces together for the sake of Lancaster County and its history."

But Hofmeister is only a very part-time farmer and miller. He has spent most of his life working with a variety of industries, winding up as president of Houston-based Shell from 2005 to 2008.

Then he started up Citizens for Affordable Energy — a national organization dedicated to educating citizens and government officials about energy alternatives.

"Why We Hate the Oil Compaies" proposes to create a Federal Energy Resources Board. Patterned on the Federal Reserve, the board would act independently to direct a national energy policy.

Members of Congress and presidential appointees, Hofmeister says, don't like that idea. "They say, 'You're taking our power away,"' he explains.

On the other hand, "from the American people, coast to coast, I get incredibly positive feedback, such as 'Why haven't we already done that?"'

Hofmeister understands why people dislike oil companies. Oil is a "dirty" product, he concedes; but it is also a necessary part of the energy mix for the foreseeable future.

That includes drilling for oil in the ocean, he notes, despite the environmental mess BP has made with a defective well in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The human factors that led to the BP blowout need to be fully understood before we begin making major policy changes," Hofmeister says.

Thousands of ocean wells have operated successfully for more than 40 years, he explains. He calls this disaster an "anomaly," albeit a particularly catastrophic one.

Even though we need oil, Hofmeister contends, we also must concentrate more seriously on alternative energy sources.

"The 20th century energy system is on its last legs," he says. "We need a 50-year plan for energy sustainability. Otherwise, the energy abyss that I wrote about will hit us straight between the eyes later this decade."

Hofmeister is busy promoting his book, running Citizens for Affordable Energy, serving as chairman of the National Urban League and in a dozen other capacities.

He hasn't returned to Lancaster for some time, but he won't wait much longer.

"I need a weekend of r and r," he says. "And I need my fix of certain foods that Darrenkamp's sells in their deli."

Contact The Scribbler: jbrubaker@lnpnews.com or 291-8781.