Tag Archives: climate change
The Optimist’s Telescope
The Optimist’s Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age By Bina Venkataraman Riverhead Books, New York, 2019 As I write this in late March 2020 in Seattle, the world is gripped by the coronavirus epidemic. It feels like everything everywhere … Continue reading
More From Less
More From LessBy Andrew McAfeeScribner, New York, 2019 More From Less is a book about dematerialization Demawhat? No, it’s not some sort of Star Trek transporter technology. Dematerialization is the phenomenon of producing the same goods from less material and … Continue reading
Growth
Growth: From Microorganisms to Megacities By Vaclav Smil The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2019 People used to think growth was a good thing. Politicians, economists and business leaders brag about healthy or robust growth in jobs, GDP, and profits. But … Continue reading
Losing Earth
Losing Earth By Nathaniel Rich Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, New York, 2019 The Sunday New York Times Magazine devoted its entire August 1, 2018 issue to a single article called Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change by … Continue reading
Origin Story
Origin Story: A Big History of Everything By David Christian Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2018 Every religion, every culture, and every nation has its origin story. Origin stories tell us who we are, where we come from, how … Continue reading
Blackfish City
Blackfish CityBy Sam J. MillerHarperCollins, New York, 2018 A warrior woman comes to the city of Qannaq in a small skiff accompanied by an orca and a polar bear. Who is she? Why has she come? What’s her plan? That’s … Continue reading
Video: What the Future of Energy Means for Canada
A link to this panel discussion cane across my FB feed and I wanted to share it here in a brief post. http://singularityucanadasummit.org/event/debate-future-energy-means-canada/ The context is Canadian but the perspective is definitely global. Really intelligent, though-provoking discussion about the energy … Continue reading
Thank You for Being Late
Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of AccelerationsBy Thomas L. FriedmanFarrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2016 It’s a good thing Tom Friedman is an optimist. Reading his latest book, Thank You for … Continue reading
The Chemistry of Burning Stuff
Whenever we burn fossil fuels, be it gasoline, natural gas or charcoal, one of the byproducts is carbon dioxide ( CO2). That’s a big worry these days because the huge amounts of carbon dioxide we’re putting into the atmosphere is … Continue reading
Supreme Court puts Obama’s Clean Power Plan on hold
On February 9, the Supreme Court issued a “stay” blocking implementation of the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan rules that aim to cut CO2 emissions from the nation’s power plants until challenges to the regulations can be heard by the … Continue reading
