The Big Fix: Seven Practical Steps to Save Our Planet

The Big Fix: Seven Practical Steps to Save Our Planet

  • Downloads:8523
  • Type:Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date:2022-10-08 03:19:34
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Hal Harvey
  • ISBN:B09JPKG8R7
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

An engaging, accessible citizen’s guide to the seven urgent changes that will really make a difference for our climateand how we can hold our governments accountable for putting these plans into action。

Dozens of kids in Montgomery County, Maryland, agitated until their school board committed to electric school buses。 Mothers in Colorado turned up in front of an obscure state panel to fight for clean air。 If you think the only thing you can do to combat climate change is to install a smart thermostat or cook plant-based burgers, you’re thinking too small。

That’s where The Big Fix comes in, offering everyday citizens a guide to the seven essential changes our communities must enact to bring our greenhouse gas emissions down to zero and sharing stories of people who are making those changes reality。

Energy policy advisor Hal Harvey and longtime New York Times reporter Justin Gillis hone in on the seven areas where ambitious but eminently practical changes will have the greatest effect: electricity production, transportation, buildings, industry, urbanization, use of land, and investment in promising new green technologies。 In a lively, jargon-free style, the pair illuminate how our political economy really works, revealing who decides everything from what kind of power plants to build to how efficient cars must be before they’re allowed on the road to how much insulation a new house requires—and how we can insert ourselves into all these decisions to ensure that the most climate-conscious choices are being made。

At once pragmatic and inspiring, The Big Fix is an indispensable action plan for citizens looking to drive our country’s greenhouse gas emissions down to zero and save our climate。

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Reviews

Tofupup

Essential reading for anyone interested in acting on climate, and hopefully that is all of us。

Jim Witkins

I liked it。 The caveat is that nothing they presented is all that new if you’re familiar with climate solutions, but it presented a positive, motivational call to action for average citizens。 Sure many technical hurdles will need solving, but for now we have the tech and even political will in many places to start implementing solutions, BUT outdated policy, NIMBYism, inertia, and bad incentives have stifled projects at the local, state and national level。 That’s where you come in。 Seize the age I liked it。 The caveat is that nothing they presented is all that new if you’re familiar with climate solutions, but it presented a positive, motivational call to action for average citizens。 Sure many technical hurdles will need solving, but for now we have the tech and even political will in many places to start implementing solutions, BUT outdated policy, NIMBYism, inertia, and bad incentives have stifled projects at the local, state and national level。 That’s where you come in。 Seize the agency they advocate for, pick a cause in your community, and find the decision making bodies to influence。 Join like minded advocacy groups that already exist。 Reinforces the need for policy shifts that are written by local and state govts in tandem with energy companies, manufacturers, and corps。 Get involved。 。。。more

David

The book begins by reminding us that our world is on fire。 Our technological progress is powered by an unsustainable combustion of fossil fuels。 And the question is how we can sustain progress without endangering our climate。 There are possible technological solutions, we are told; so it's not for lack of solutions that we are not making progress。 It's a combination of ignorance, inertia, and political mischief。 Time is no longer on our side; so speed is critical, the authors tell us。 The aim of The book begins by reminding us that our world is on fire。 Our technological progress is powered by an unsustainable combustion of fossil fuels。 And the question is how we can sustain progress without endangering our climate。 There are possible technological solutions, we are told; so it's not for lack of solutions that we are not making progress。 It's a combination of ignorance, inertia, and political mischief。 Time is no longer on our side; so speed is critical, the authors tell us。 The aim of the book is to give readers grassroot political actions to take in solving the climate problem。The key points in the book are the twin concepts of the learning curve and economies of scale。 Increasing the scale of production of an item can yield the benefits of increased technological knowledge and reduced marginal cost。 The problem is that most new industries require huge upfront costs and the willingness of financial backers (preferably the government) to absorb huge initial losses in order to push the industry up the learning curve。 This, the authors tell us, is what we need in renewable technologies。 Because most of the technologies have been shown to work at the small scale, we need the government to step in and help push them up the learning curve until they are able to be mass-produced。After the twin concepts of the learning curve and economies of scale, the authors transition to the key areas where energy transition needs to take place。 They also proceed to give the readers grassroots action for political action。 The suggestions given in the book are political and personal actions such as: Joining groups that advocate clean energy such as The Sierra Club, persuading legislators to enact and enforce clear goals for clean energy。 In buildings, society needs to treat emissions from buildings the way we treat fire hazards in buildings and they should not shy away from imposing fines。 In industries, the government should identify the top standard in efficiency and make it (enforce it as) the new minimum。 In the workplace, you should ask about the company’s commitment to fighting climate change, and quit or reject the job offer if you find the answer unsatisfactory。The goodIf all you want is a book that lists out the things that need to be done to transition away from fossil fuels then this is a good book。The very bad1。 There are other books that can give you the same information in a better way。 3 come to mind: speed and scale by John Doerr, Electrify by Saul Griffith, and How to avoid a climate disaster by Bill Gates。 The problem is that these “need to fix” lists are only the beginning of the problem, and we do not need any other book giving us lists。 2。 When we talk of energy transition, there are 3 main areas where we see obstacles: economic, technological, and political。 By focusing on political action, the authors presuppose that the technological and the economic pose no problems。 In other words, they assume that political will alone is enough to obliterate the economic and technological obstacles。 Worse still, even the political actions discussed focus only on the surface level。 There is no evaluation of the structural obstacles inherent in democratic politics。 Without taking these things seriously, the book is almost useless。3。 Politically, the structural obstacle is that in a democracy, people have the freedom to choose different political positions even if the positions turn out to be bad。 4。 Technologically, the obstacle is not scale, but environmental constraints。 Take a city like Los Angeles, for example。 To power it using renewables, and to transition away from fossil fuels completely, you need to store the energy produced by technologies such as wind turbines。 We do not have something big enough to store energy for a big city for use for several days。 And this is not due to scale。 After all, The government can finance a massive project of lithium extraction to build batteries that can fill 50 football stadia。 But what are the environmental consequences of such a project? Scale just masks the fact that we might end up doing more damage in trying to save the planet from fossil fuels。5。 Economically, we encounter an obstacle similar to the political。 Human beings make decisions。 Most times, and in many things, they prefer present consumption to a hazily conceived future。 The millions of people all over the world who prefer to live in a smog-filled city for the chance of food on the table should tell us that although clean air is good, nobody will prefer to starve。 We all make plans for our children, but we live first in the moment。 Any government powerful enough to override this impulse will cease to be democratic。 There are areas where citizens in a liberal democracy can allow their government to override their choices, but we risk unsettling the system if we take it too far。6。 But as far as the authors are concerned, all we need is political will and everything will be okay。 But political will, though an obstacle of its own, is not a magic bullet。 Political will alone cannot generate the solution for using only renewables to power a city like Los Angeles。 And Political will without the coercion that is foreign to liberal democracy cannot make people sacrifice present well-being for a remote future。 And then there is the political obstacle。 The book’s stated aim is to give the reader grassroot political actions to take in solving the climate problem。 This is not deep enough。 The main political obstacle is this: what can you really accomplish in a political system where human beings have the freedom to make choices even if the choices turn out to be bad ones? These are the obstacles to a renewable future: POLITICS in a system that presupposes freedom of choice, ECONOMICS in a world where human beings prefer present consumption to a hazily conceived future state, and TECHNOLOGY that can replace everything that makes our present age the fossil fuel age。 We cannot stop using fossil fuels until something better replaces it。 And we cannot get to something better simply by pushing throwing money at them。 Just as people did not stop using whale oil or chopping down wood until petroleum was discovered。 These are the things that the reader would want to know in a book called “The Big Fix, 7 Practical Steps to Fix the Planet”, and these are the things that are missing from the book。7。 The book assumes that the reader is someone who is eager for solutions to the problem of transitioning away from oil, but not someone moderately smart enough to realize that the obstacles to change are more gigantic than what is presented。 。。。more

Viper Spaulding

Clear action agenda We've been hearing about the Global Warming issue, with increasing fervor, since the mid-70's。 This fascinating book takes us all the way through the history, the politics, and the position we're in today。 We simply cannot ignore this situation any longer, and this book is an excellent place to start making the necessary changes in our own habits and priorities。 I really enjoyed how easy it was to read, with the issues clearly presented and enough science to make the case wit Clear action agenda We've been hearing about the Global Warming issue, with increasing fervor, since the mid-70's。 This fascinating book takes us all the way through the history, the politics, and the position we're in today。 We simply cannot ignore this situation any longer, and this book is an excellent place to start making the necessary changes in our own habits and priorities。 I really enjoyed how easy it was to read, with the issues clearly presented and enough science to make the case without flying over the heads of those of us outside academia。 I enjoyed the relatable anecdotes, the personal, companionable voice, and the underlying wisdom of the power within。 This is a well-written, well-researched treatise that should not be missed。 I'm purchasing a copy for each of my adult children and am prepared to quiz them on it if necessary to make sure they've read and understood it。 I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book。 。。。more

Colleen

Very, very, very, very wordy。I've been reading a lot of books on climate change lately。 Maybe I've read too many。One of the suggestions in the book is that if you make suggestions about climate change improvements to your company and they aren't investing in saving the planet 。。。 to quit and find another job。 Might work for some folks, but probably not going to work for the majority。 A multibillion dollar company may be investing in greening the company and not doing a good job at communicating Very, very, very, very wordy。I've been reading a lot of books on climate change lately。 Maybe I've read too many。One of the suggestions in the book is that if you make suggestions about climate change improvements to your company and they aren't investing in saving the planet 。。。 to quit and find another job。 Might work for some folks, but probably not going to work for the majority。 A multibillion dollar company may be investing in greening the company and not doing a good job at communicating their ideas。 Or they may be trying to keep it to themselves as an advantage。So 。。。 back to being wordy, here is an example。 A church in WV had a bad roof, in addition to fixing the roof they added solar panels。 It brought people to the church community, that's great! Do we need to know that the folks suggesting it have an adorable child under the age of 10 and her name and what the folks used to do before they came to WV?Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review The Big Fix in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more