Everyone agrees we need to slash global greenhouse emissions. But how do we actually achieve that? Politicians can set targets and consumers can try to live greener lives. But the world will only avoid runaway global warming with the help of technological breakthroughs. In this fascinating book, Chris Goodall profiles ten technologies to watch, explaining how they work and telling the stories of the inventors and entrepreneurs driving them forward. Some of Goodall's selections, such as the electric car, are familiar. Others are more surprising. Algae, for example, can soak up carbon dioxide and produce fuel, while charcoal made from waste vegetable and forestry matter can lock carbon into soils and reduce the need for fertilizers. Cutting-edge and accessible, this is popular science at its most crucial.
Ten Technologies to Fix Energy and Climate
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'Ten Technologies is superb - it cuts like lightning through the myths and muddled thinking surrounding energy issues. It is vital, topical, and a very fresh approach' Mark Lynas. '[A] brilliantly concise and clear-eyed account' Fred Pearce, New Scientist.
Book Description
A good story for once: introducing the innovators and innovations that will tackle climate change head-on
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Here's what Stephen Balbach (top 500 reviewer) said about this book over on Amazon US:
This is an absolutely excellent overview of the current state of green/clean technology and solutions to global warming.
I thought I already knew a lot about clean technology through blogs, science news and other books - and Goodall is current with the latest news up to early 2008. But there was hardly a page I did not learn something new, or had my perspectives changed about specific technologies. This is not starry-eyed techno optimism, nor a pessimists dark vision. Goodall takes a sober non-ideological and even-handed engineering perspective with lightly placed pronouncements on the viability of technologies, both good and bad, often convincingly overturning perceived wisdom and myth. The book would also make an excellent primer for anyone looking to invest in clean technology, it cuts through the hype and quickly gets to the bottom line of energy units and costs, and the risks of each technology. My copy is dogeared with some of the best specific products and companies to look into as investment potentials.
The chapter titles say a lot:
1. Capturing the wind
2. Solar energy
3. Electricity from the oceans
4. Combined heat and power
5. Super-efficient homes
6. Electric cars
7. Motor fuels from cellulose
8. Capturing carbon
9. Biochar
10. Soil and forests
Each chapter stands on its own and if your only interested in some the others can be skipped, but they are all fascinating. The author is British and it is written for an English audience, usually using British pounds and examples, but the US is mentioned many times and it is easy to extrapolate (many US companies are mentioned).... Read more ›
This is an absolutely excellent overview of the current state of green/clean technology and solutions to global warming.
I thought I already knew a lot about clean technology through blogs, science news and other books - and Goodall is current with the latest news up to early 2008. But there was hardly a page I did not learn something new, or had my perspectives changed about specific technologies. This is not starry-eyed techno optimism, nor a pessimists dark vision. Goodall takes a sober non-ideological and even-handed engineering perspective with lightly placed pronouncements on the viability of technologies, both good and bad, often convincingly overturning perceived wisdom and myth. The book would also make an excellent primer for anyone looking to invest in clean technology, it cuts through the hype and quickly gets to the bottom line of energy units and costs, and the risks of each technology. My copy is dogeared with some of the best specific products and companies to look into as investment potentials.
The chapter titles say a lot:
1. Capturing the wind
2. Solar energy
3. Electricity from the oceans
4. Combined heat and power
5. Super-efficient homes
6. Electric cars
7. Motor fuels from cellulose
8. Capturing carbon
9. Biochar
10. Soil and forests
Each chapter stands on its own and if your only interested in some the others can be skipped, but they are all fascinating. The author is British and it is written for an English audience, usually using British pounds and examples, but the US is mentioned many times and it is easy to extrapolate (many US companies are mentioned).... Read more ›
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Marc Munier
Format:Paperback
It does exactly what it says on the cover. If you are looking for an overview of the technologies which could be used to save us from ourselves this is it.
This isn't a one sided view from an environmentalist, this is an honest appraisal of the technologies with plenty of detail to satisfy the most enquiring reader.
A must read for anyone in a position to implement these technologies, policy makers or anyone with a interest in green issues.
As a bonus it's a really good read - I imagine that this could be quite a dry topic but the author does a great job of making all of the technologies sound interesting.
This isn't a one sided view from an environmentalist, this is an honest appraisal of the technologies with plenty of detail to satisfy the most enquiring reader.
A must read for anyone in a position to implement these technologies, policy makers or anyone with a interest in green issues.
As a bonus it's a really good read - I imagine that this could be quite a dry topic but the author does a great job of making all of the technologies sound interesting.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Well researched and written (and hence very readable)assessment of technologies available for development to reduce our dependence upon fossil and nuclear fuels. Also highlights that few if any will become commercial until too late without political will.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Alex
Format:Paperback
Firstly i would like to say this book is very good. The ideas and arguments presented are well constructed. The book is easy to read and optimistic (which is very refreshing when many writers go on about how our planet is doomed and how we will all be drowned under rising sea levels). The reason i have given it 4 stars is that is would be nice to have some more hard science (although the abscence makes its nice easy reading), and the fact i dont fully agree with all his agruments. But this must not put you off the book; science is all about having your own opinions. This book is a brilliant overview of renewable/clean energy and shows the potential for how our society can change for the better. It leaves me feeling hopefull for the future and eager to read more.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Sara Boltman
Format:Paperback
The author was involved in a successful (but at the time very controversial) windfarm local to where I live, so he knows from personal experience how much public opposition there can be to such plans. There is no easy solution to these problems and some hard decisions will have to be made by government, business and individuals. Highly informative books such as this which are accessible to non-specialists can only help the cause, winning around the older generation of home owners who are only concerned about losing their view is no easy task. I was disappointed that the author rejected nuclear power outright, but there were some fascinating case studies in there that were really thought provoking. It's worth reading this book from an investment point of view too - if you're looking at putting some ISA or pension money into a 'green' or 'clean-tech' fund it's worth understanding which of these technologies have the most potential.
Format:Paperback
Tells you all about the top ten technologies. The strengths of those technologies and the weaknesses. It also unlike some other books involves economics which is critical when you look at what technologies we need to use. All in all very informative.
By Jezza
Format:Paperback
Very well written and very upbeat, in a considered way. Has convinced me that the technological expertise is pretty much there to produce energy in a lower-carbon way without a massive cost or inconvenience impact, and to capture much more of the emissions that we do produce; but has left me feeling oddly depressed, because I see no sign of comparable political will or economic incentive.
By Rolf Dobelli
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
The geographical characteristics of an area dictate which renewable energy sources will work best. Because renewable energy is inherently, though predictably, intermittent, governments will need to build supplementary systems. Basically, no single technology will answer all of the world's needs. However, a "portfolio" of technologies should do the trick. Businessman and climate change expert Chris Goodall describes 10 technologies in intricate detail, from the well-known to the obscure, and explains clearly which will work where, and why. Each technology has the potential to reduce the world's annual carbon dioxide output by 10%. Although quite technical, getAbstract recommends this book to businesspeople, plant managers, home owners and others who value social responsibility and sustainability.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sampling solutions for the planet
This is an interesting short book which samples a variety of ideas for global problems. The first three chapters cover the classical alternative energy technologies of wind, solar... Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2009 by John Carr
4.0 out of 5 stars
Easy presentation of the hard science
A friend who has the job of raising public awareness about climate
change once told me: As soon as you mention percentages and the
centigrade to a typical audience, you... Read more
change once told me: As soon as you mention percentages and the
centigrade to a typical audience, you... Read more
Published on 26 April 2009 by K. Tai
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bit journalistic (great if that's what you want)
An important subject well covered but with the enormous scope it is inevitably shallow in parts. I liked the fact that non-sexy subjects (eg building renovation) are also given... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2009 by Hedge Hope
5.0 out of 5 stars
Meticulously researched and thought provoking
There are no easy answers to stopping atmospheric CO2 levels rising. This book explores several substantial technologies, many of which will need to be harnessed to solve the... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2009 by iCurmudgeon
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