Book Review

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September 6, 2010

Book Review! Physics For Future Presidents

Posted by Steve Sacks under Book Review, Carbon, Energy, Government, Green Economy, Law, Legislation, and Policy, Nuclear | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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After reading a slew of books on sustainability (some of them reviewed here), I was ready to take a break.  Then, a colleague handed me Physics for Furture Presidents, The Science Behind The Headlines, and asked me for my opinion.  I’m glad I read the book, but I can’t endorse it with the same enthusiasm I have for the others reviewed on CGBB.  Physics for Future Presidents was written in 2008 by Dr. Richard A. Muller, a Professor of physics at the University of California at Berkeley.  The book is based on Dr. Muller’s wildly successful lectures that are popular on the Cal campus, and online.  Think of it as physics for people who don’t know about math.

Dr. Muller’s writing style is fine (not great), but I found the consistent reference to “Mr. President” created disconnect.  I will take an idea from the review on the back jacket, and state that the book should have addressed “fellow citizens” (or residents), not Presidents.

Regardless, the book contains more than a few biased interpretations and cherry-picked facts focused on creating shock-value, and support for Dr. Muller’s opinions.  In this regard, it fails as a memorandum to the President of the United States, let alone a nationwide primer in physics.  Whatever value can be rendered from the fascinating facts recited by Muller, is overshadowed by a question of doubt about the validity of the statements or the balance provided to the opposing opinion.

The book is worth a read only if you are well versed in the subject matter or you’re willing to do some fact-checking regarding some of Muller’s statements.  Unfortunately, you can’t take the book at face value, and that was supposedly the whole reason for the book in the first place.

I stewed for a long time on how to respectfully refute some of Muller’s statements.  After all, he is a MacArthur Fellow, and I’m . . . well, I’m not a nuclear physicist, that’s for sure.  If you want to read more of my analysis, click the “more” button at the end of this post.  If you want to read some quick science-based reviews by Earl Killian that dispute Dr. Muller, click here for part 1 and here for part 2.

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March 10, 2010

Book Review! Our Choice, By Al Gore

Posted by Steve Sacks under Book Review, Carbon, Energy, Government, Green Economy, Law, Legislation, and Policy, Research | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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I have a core belief that one can not complain unless one provides a solution (that is certainly part of the reason for this blog). Perhaps a number of people went to Al Gore with the same complaint.  Inconvenient Truth was heavy on problems and light on solutions.  Well, Al Gore’s new book, Our Choice: A Plan To Solve The Climate Crisis, is all about solutions, and it is a must read.

The central theme of Gore’s work is that civilization must price carbon emissions based on the effect they have on humanity.  There are other solutions Gore provides, but without monetizing carbon emissions, Gore’s plan falls apart.  It’s not a new concept (cap and trade), and Gore admits that.  If you don’t believe in cap and trade, the book is still a very valuable read.  There is something for everyone.

The book is very well written, and easy to read – which says a lot given the sometimes technical and dense content.  Gore is less colloquial than Tom Friedman (click here for my review of Hot, Flat, and Crowded) whose style sometimes loses efficacy to gain mass appeal.  Gore is more academic, but concise.  And on top of that, it’s just plain interesting.  As with Inconvenient Truth, there are graphics and photos to keep the book flowing through the technical parts.

The first half of the book systematically establishes the foundation of the problems we face (a quick summary of Inconvenient Truth), and provides options for the solution.  Mr. Gore addresses the issues with each sector of industry: energy, manufacturing, transportation, farming, housing (though there is really no section on green building per se) and then lays out all of the options for a solution (solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear, carbon capture and sequestration).

Our Choice is the kind of book one will use as a reference.  Not only does the book provide significant policy arguments, it backs up the positions with facts and science (and a healthy analysis of psychology).  The real take-away is the book drills down to risk/benefit analysis for each approach to solving the climate crisis.  Is nuclear energy really an option?  Can carbon capture and sequestration work for coal-fired power plants?  Our Choice asks the reader to make the choice based on the well-defined pluses and minuses for each technology.

The second half of the book focuses on the challenges of convincing the populous and governments that change must occur now.  Climate change detractors and some members of the Republican Party may take issue with some of this subject matter.  The first half of Our Choice is generally non-partisan, but the second half contains some chapters that take on detractors – many of whom are Republican.   A lot of the content in these sections is re-hashed argument, but it needs to be aired and recorded.  In so doing, the differences of opinion are laid out, and some progress can be made toward a political solution.

Mr. Gore has stated repeatedly that our need to create renewable energy is not just a matter of global warming, it’s a matter of national security.  I agree.  As someone who finds political labels a liability, I suggest we consider at least that rationale.

Al Gore does that and more. Our Choice is a great book to help anyone understand the diverse options we face.

 

January 3, 2010

Book Review! Hot, Flat, And Crowded By Tom Friedman

Posted by Steve Sacks under Book Review, Building and Design, Carbon, Energy, Green Economy, Law, Legislation, and Policy, Research, Sustainable Community | Tags: , , , |
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Happy New Year!

Publishing a blog is a far cry from writing a book, let alone a number of best-selling books, so my credentials for reviewing Tom Friedman’s book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, may be a little thin.  But, since I recently read the book, it’s a free country, and I do publish a blog, here goes…buckle up, it’s the California Green Building Blog’s first book review!

Tom Friedman is a columnist for the New York Times among other publications.  He also writes non-fiction books, and back in 2005, he wrote the wildly popular bestseller, The World Is Flat (about the tech revolution).  I read The World Is Flat, as well as Hot, Flat, And Crowded, and I will say I like Mr. Friedman’s easy-to-read style.  As with most essayists, he finds a topic of the times, researches the heck out of it, and comes up with conclusions (though often not really his own).

Hot, Flat, and Crowded follows that model.  It is a quick review of the climate crisis and how we can solve the problem of global warming.  However, I think Friedman was a little “late to the party” with The World Is Flat, (written in 2005 about the tech revolution) and I think he’s a little late with Hot, Flat, And Crowded.  Anyone who saw Inconvenient Truth, or anyone who has been following the climate crisis, will find some of the ideas a little stale.

But, don’t get me wrong;  Hot, Flat, and Crowded is enjoyable.  Mr. Friedman condenses the need to “Green” the world into some convenient and, yes, some unique themes and provides examples of those themes in action.  He has a knack for getting to the point which I appreciate, but there are some places where that comes at the expense of facing hard facts.  For example, his “feel-good” story about an Indonesian oil and gas company’s preservation of a rain forest gives light treatment of the unique market forces at work.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded will grab the attention of  readers with any level of expertise in Green.  I did find some of Friedman’s conclusions compelling – particularly some of the terms he coins, and his comparison of the green movement to the civil rights movement.  The book is well-organized, and won’t take long to read (unless you read it in 10 minute blocks on the subway like I did).  Further, the statistics Friedman compiles are unique and staggering.

As with most climate change research these days, the numbers are depressing, and Friedman doesn’t shy away from shock value.  Thankfully, the second half of the book focuses on solutions.  From a Green building perspective, Friedman’s discussion of appliance energy efficiency, metering, and smart grid opportunities is particularly interesting.  Thankfully, Friedman spends a decent amount of time on those topics.

Pick up Hot, Flat, and Crowded if you want some great new stats and some new thoughts and themes for redirecting the Unites States mentality.  Also, stay tuned for our next book review.  I’m almost done with Al Gore’s Our Choice…a far more comprehensive work.

UPDATE: Click Here For Our Review Of Our Choice, By Al Gore

 

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