How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
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My heart is in the right place when it comes to climate change, but I don’t necessarily know what I’m talking about. It’s overwhelmingly sciency and I don’t feel like I have much control over the issue (other than not voting dumb dumbs into office). Still, I know intuitively that it’s a major problem that should be confronted wayyyy more seriously. I get frustrated and confused when I hear from people who are uninterested in climate change for religious reasons; from my perspective, aren’t you stewards of the earth who should theoretically take care of God’s creation? I get frustrated and confused when I hear from people who think preventing climate change is too costly; what could possibly be more costly than the dissolution of our planet? Plus, as Bill Gates points out in this book- How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need- investing in zero-carbon initiatives is a savvy opportunity, just as investing in previous pivotal movements (Industrial Revolution stuff, the Internet, etc.) paid off. I do not get as frustrated and confused when I hear people in denial of the existence of climate change, because science is not on their side and they are unwell. I do think those people have been brainwashed-- there’s more on that in my review on Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming.
In this book, Gates has basically created a ~How to respond to climate change for dummies~. A lot of people don’t like Gates. I am not one of those people. Philosophically, I do not believe that billionaires should exist; but they do, and I am happy that one of them is Gates. I have read his stuff and listened to his nasally voice on podcasts enough to respect him. He walks the walk, puts his money where his mouth is (he addresses his own carbon footprint in the book), and commits himself to learning as much as possible and surrounding himself with experts on the causes he cares about.
This book is extremely accessible, well-organized, and informative. He really breaks it down. Like really breaks it down. If you have a question in one paragraph, he answers it in the next. He outlines the basics, like the fact that we currently emit 51 billions tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and we need to make that number zero if we want the earth to function at its currently liveable level. Then, he divides that 51 billion tons into a pie and closely examines each slice. His chapters include: how we plug in, how we make things, how we grow things, how we get around, and how we keep cool/stay warm. I--naively-- never thought about the carbon emissions involved with making things (like bridges, buildings, toys, etc.). Apparently, carbon bonds really easily with a lot of elements, so it’s used when we make steel, concrete, plastic, etc. And then it’s released into the atmosphere. And that’s no bueno.
Towards the end, he talks about strategies for “getting to zero” aka eliminating our carbon emissions. His awareness of cutting-edge technology and companies is fascinating, and for being such a freakin nerd, he describes stuff like “Direct air capture” (sucking carbon directly out of the air) quite well. Overall, his tone is cautiously optimistic. When looking at every slice of the pie, he details a bunch of different ways we can make a genuine impact. Then, he dives into the costs of doing so (“green premiums”). Then, he talks about various investments and strategies that could help bring those green premiums down.
I am really impressed with this book. He gave me the tools to not sound like a noob in conversations, know what to prioritize in my own life, and feel confident about what to demand of our elected officials. I also appreciate that, baked into his holistic picture of how the world will need to come together on this issue, he acknowledges that, while he personally needs to be using less energy, overall, the world needs to be using more. There’s plenty of developing countries that deserve to tap into the opportunities of developed nations; they just need to be doing it carbon-free, and we need to help them make that happen. America doesn’t get to emerge from our economic sovereignty scot-free. But again, we should see this as an investment opportunity that will pay off in the long run, not just in terms of preserving the planet, but literally making us money. Conservatives-- there’s your in!
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need receives 5/5 flames.
