How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
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- Author：Bill Gates
- ISBN：059321577X
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Summary
Bill Gates shares what he's learned in more than a decade of studying climate change and investing in innovations to address the problems， and sets out a vision for how the world can build the tools it needs to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions。
Bill Gates explains why he cares so deeply about climate change and what makes him optimistic that the world can prevent the worst impacts of the climate crisis。 Gates says， "we can work on a local， national， and global level to build the technologies， businesses， and industries to avoid the worst impacts of climate change。" His interest in climate change is a natural outgrowth of the efforts by his foundation to reduce poverty and disease。 Climate change， according to Gates， will have the biggest impact on the people who have done the least to cause it。 As a technologist， he has seen first-hand how innovation can change the world。 By investing in research， inventing new technologies， and by deploying them quickly at large scale， Gates believes climate change can be addressed in meaningful ways。 According to Gates， "to prevent the worst effects of climate change， we have to get to net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases。 This problem is urgent， and the debate is complex， but I believe we can come together to invent new carbon-zero technologies， deploy the ones we have， and ultimately avoid a climate catastrophe。"
Bill Gates explains why he cares so deeply about climate change and what makes him optimistic that the world can prevent the worst impacts of the climate crisis。 Gates says， "we can work on a local， national， and global level to build the technologies， businesses， and industries to avoid the worst impacts of climate change。" His interest in climate change is a natural outgrowth of the efforts by his foundation to reduce poverty and disease。 Climate change， according to Gates， will have the biggest impact on the people who have done the least to cause it。 As a technologist， he has seen first-hand how innovation can change the world。 By investing in research， inventing new technologies， and by deploying them quickly at large scale， Gates believes climate change can be addressed in meaningful ways。 According to Gates， "to prevent the worst effects of climate change， we have to get to net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases。 This problem is urgent， and the debate is complex， but I believe we can come together to invent new carbon-zero technologies， deploy the ones we have， and ultimately avoid a climate catastrophe。"
Reviews
Robert
，
I had already read a few books about climate change so I thought I wouldn't learn that much but I actually got a lot from this because Gates really drills into the details while still taking pains to keep it simple。Some things which stuck with me:（1） 51 billion tons of CO2 are emitted every yearIt's very helpful to keep a specific number in mind。（2） Contributions of different activities to global emissions31% manufacturing27% electricity generation19% agriculture16% transportation7% Cooling and I had already read a few books about climate change so I thought I wouldn't learn that much but I actually got a lot from this because Gates really drills into the details while still taking pains to keep it simple。Some things which stuck with me:（1） 51 billion tons of CO2 are emitted every yearIt's very helpful to keep a specific number in mind。（2） Contributions of different activities to global emissions31% manufacturing27% electricity generation19% agriculture16% transportation7% Cooling and heating buildingsIt's helpful to think of which of these we have （partial） solutions for and which we don't。For example solar & wind can address electricity generation， electric cars can address passenger transportation， and electric heat pumps can address cooling and heating buildings， but we don't currently have many good solutions for manufacturing and agriculture which together are almost half of emissions。（3） 5000 GW - total global power consumptionThis is a great number to keep in mind when reading about plans for new power plants。 Also a single 100W light bulb consumes 1/50，000，000，000 of global electricity consumption。 That doesn't sound right， but that's probably why those bulbs are banned now！（4） 240 W/m2 average energy from sunlight per square meterThis is probably not particularly useful， but it's still cool to know！（5） "Green premium"A very simple idea， but still something to keep in mind。For example， right now at my local supermarket， a pound of ground beef is $4， while a pound of "Beyond Meat" is $10。 So the green premium is +150%。 It's very interesting to note cases where the green premiums are rapidly dropping， like with solar and electric cars。（6） $100/ton for Direct Air CaptureThis is less than I thought it would be。 This means we could remove all the CO2 we emit every year for only 5。1 trillion dollars a year， which is less than 10% of global GDP。 Unfortunately it's not that simple since the technology doesn't scale， but it's still a good number to keep in mind。WHAT IS TO BE DONE？Some very specific actions most of us can do right now （I knew about some of these but they were reinforced as being good ideas after reading this book）:（1） The single most important thing an average person can do （especially a citizen of a rich country like the US） is to pressure their politicians。 Many of the needed actions can only happen with policy changes and government investments。（2） Many places in the US offer the choice to pay slightly more for "green energy"。 This sends a powerful signal to the market and incentivizes faster deployment of solar/wind etc。 If you have this option and can afford to pay about 20% more on your electricity bill， consider doing so。（3） Reduce or eliminate meat consumption， especially beef。 Eat plant based meat instead。（4） If you need a car and can afford it， consider buying an electric car。（5） Use an electric heat pump instead of a natural gas furnace to heat your house。 It's actually cheaper！ 。。。more
Lewis Ngugi
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 First of all， Chapter 12 is literally the main point of the book。Lastly， the breakdown of the different possible solutions and the impact financially as well as economically was 🔥 It’s great to see Factfulness being quite by Bill Gates， it’s a book worth reading before this！
Michael
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I listened to the audiobook read by Will Wheaton， he did a good job。 However the last audiobook I listened to that was read by Will Wheaton， was “Ready Player One”。 A book in which the horrible reality of the future， has driven people into spending all of their time in a virtual reality video game。 So listening to Will Wheaton once again talking about the bad place the world could be in the future thanks to Climate Change， made it sometimes feel like I was listening to a work of fiction。 That’s I listened to the audiobook read by Will Wheaton， he did a good job。 However the last audiobook I listened to that was read by Will Wheaton， was “Ready Player One”。 A book in which the horrible reality of the future， has driven people into spending all of their time in a virtual reality video game。 So listening to Will Wheaton once again talking about the bad place the world could be in the future thanks to Climate Change， made it sometimes feel like I was listening to a work of fiction。 That’s probably just me， thanks to the order I listened to the books in， but I don’t think that was the intended affect。While I don’t agree with all of the author’s thoughts on the subject， I do get the distinct impression that Bill Gates is genuinely trying to use his time and resources to make the world a better place， and I can’t help but admire that。 。。。more
Katy Koivastik
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This is an excellent book， full of information to keep readers’ “eyes on the prize”: a liveable planet Earth。Bill Gates provides plenty of possibilities for scientists and geo engineers to explore， some of whose ideas he has put his own money into。 This is encouraging and what we expect from an innovator。 He himself learned from the government’s anti trust litigation against Microsoft and says now citizens， scientists and others need to work with our policy makers to achieve a greener economy an This is an excellent book， full of information to keep readers’ “eyes on the prize”: a liveable planet Earth。Bill Gates provides plenty of possibilities for scientists and geo engineers to explore， some of whose ideas he has put his own money into。 This is encouraging and what we expect from an innovator。 He himself learned from the government’s anti trust litigation against Microsoft and says now citizens， scientists and others need to work with our policy makers to achieve a greener economy and infrastructure。In 2019 Bill Gates personally， and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation divested their investments from oil and gas companies because they do not want to profit from fossil fuels。 This is something I myself have done and would recommend it to anyone as a small step in the right direction。 In its totality， this book can be a bit overwhelming， but the author ends on a high note。 Noting the topic can be polarizing， he encourages readers to put their energies into solutions they believe in， and to resist the urge to trash strategies they are not in favor of。Read with appropriate enthusiasm by actor and writer Wil Wheaton。 。。。more
Paula
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Bill Gates has the clout， and the intellectual acumen to pull off a book like this。 I'm glad he wrote it。 Though he includes advice for everyone from the homeowner and consumer， up to the industrial giant and government leader， the book is primarily aimed at those in leadership positions。 Like Gates himself， I too hope the book starts a lot of conversations that will inspire the major changes that need to happen to prevent disaster。 Bill Gates has the clout， and the intellectual acumen to pull off a book like this。 I'm glad he wrote it。 Though he includes advice for everyone from the homeowner and consumer， up to the industrial giant and government leader， the book is primarily aimed at those in leadership positions。 Like Gates himself， I too hope the book starts a lot of conversations that will inspire the major changes that need to happen to prevent disaster。 。。。more
Stace A
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This is a good overview of the reasons why net-zero is a necessity， and also the existing and emerging technologies we can use to get us there。 It's a hopeful book， and eye-opening in that the reader is left in no doubt how much fossil fuels and energy we use in our day to day life。 It's an interesting look at adaptation and mitigation through a thoroughly technological lens， I would have liked to see more about alternate strategies including widespread rewilding。 This is a good overview of the reasons why net-zero is a necessity， and also the existing and emerging technologies we can use to get us there。 It's a hopeful book， and eye-opening in that the reader is left in no doubt how much fossil fuels and energy we use in our day to day life。 It's an interesting look at adaptation and mitigation through a thoroughly technological lens， I would have liked to see more about alternate strategies including widespread rewilding。 。。。more
Kaley Rodda
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Very informational。 This is a great book for understanding more about climate change and the difficulties we face in trying to reverse it， but of course it’s not all that entertaining。 It’s worth educating yourself on though。
Daniel Araújo
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I've been reading about climate change for years now， and this book the definite action plan on how to tackle this huge， global challenge。 Moreover， Bill Gates excels at sharing a framework that makes you much better at understanding the relative impact of each initiative: concepts like Green Premiums， the 5 categories of emission activities that tally up to the 51 Billion tons of CO2 that we need take to zero。 These concepts teach you how to think about climate change and how to interpret its n I've been reading about climate change for years now， and this book the definite action plan on how to tackle this huge， global challenge。 Moreover， Bill Gates excels at sharing a framework that makes you much better at understanding the relative impact of each initiative: concepts like Green Premiums， the 5 categories of emission activities that tally up to the 51 Billion tons of CO2 that we need take to zero。 These concepts teach you how to think about climate change and how to interpret its numbers。 。。。more
Jarrod Chan
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Personally， I found this an enjoyable and insightful read — Gates offers a fact-based， big picture view of the climate problem， breaks it down， and suggests pragmatic solutions on both macro and grassroots levels。 As a global-scale problem-solver， he's able to examine the issue with consideration of the complexities of policy， technology， and economics， as opposed to talking about climate change in isolation Personally， I found this an enjoyable and insightful read — Gates offers a fact-based， big picture view of the climate problem， breaks it down， and suggests pragmatic solutions on both macro and grassroots levels。 As a global-scale problem-solver， he's able to examine the issue with consideration of the complexities of policy， technology， and economics， as opposed to talking about climate change in isolation 。。。more
Matt Heavner
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good， broad view of climate solutions， but very "techno-solution"。 A good part of the solution， but I don't know if this is enough to get us where we need to go。 Some bit of justice， but not enough。 good， broad view of climate solutions， but very "techno-solution"。 A good part of the solution， but I don't know if this is enough to get us where we need to go。 Some bit of justice， but not enough。 。。。more
Leoncio OrtegaArredondo
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Instead of inspiring Im thinking of throwing the towel， earth is doomed
Ion Iacob
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Este tipos de libros los leo rápido， pues no son para "pajaritos en el aire" son de estadísticas y me extraña que Gates haga un libro basado en tantas estadísticas antiguas。El Sr。 Bill Gates fue un pionero junto a Jobs y desde entonces habrá acumulado una cantidad enorme de datos sobre la mayoría de las personas que tienen un dispositivo conectado a internet。 Podría haber sacado más datos sobre los hábitos de los consumistas， incluso de si mismo y así logar mas conciencia ecológica a cada lector Este tipos de libros los leo rápido， pues no son para "pajaritos en el aire" son de estadísticas y me extraña que Gates haga un libro basado en tantas estadísticas antiguas。El Sr。 Bill Gates fue un pionero junto a Jobs y desde entonces habrá acumulado una cantidad enorme de datos sobre la mayoría de las personas que tienen un dispositivo conectado a internet。 Podría haber sacado más datos sobre los hábitos de los consumistas， incluso de si mismo y así logar mas conciencia ecológica a cada lector。Para mi el libro es como si navegara por Wikipedia， aun así le doy 2 estrellas porque dejo su nombre en manos del grupo penguino。。。 y recopilaron la info， la tradujeron y hicieron esta portada tan fea que no inspira ni llama a hacerle caso。 Noté muchos intentos de implantar sus ideas "americanas" para que sigamos consumiendo de sus productos， que entiendo que es razonable por de ahí proviene casi todo lo que se registra。 También se metió de lleno con la energía renovable que supuestamente sería una solución al desastre climático。 Hasta que no terminen de chupar la sangre negra de la tierra （petróleo）， no la equilibrará sin restricciones duras como las del COVIDA 21Personalmente， aquí dejo algunas de mis ideas como solución， que;-Tristemente se deberían poner limites en el mundo a muchísimas cosas。 La libertad hizo que las personas tomaran decisiones muy peligrosas para si mismas y los demás， pues el mal llama mas que el bien （como las noticias）。 Poner limites por familias al numero de miembros， a la contaminación （agua， luz， gas， petróleo。。。）， limites por cada casa。 -Limites de contaminación por países。 Gates habla mucho de África como ejemplo， pero su propio país contamina muchísimo mas。 Unos limites que los ciudadanos entiendan y respeten。-Seguir educando a las personas aun cuando acaben los colegios。 Enviar al teléfono mundialmente consejos para reducir la contaminación。-Dejar de imprimir dinero y rescatar falsamente a empresas y emprendedores que dejaron de ser competentes hace mucho tiempo。-Dejar de fabricar tecnología para renovar cada año por tal de ganar dinero。 Esto no es una solución， lo llaman avanzar pero en manos de las mismas personas inconscientes de donde viven。-Reducir la calidad de subida de fotos y videos a internet para reducir el gasto de luz en servidores。 Poner limites por casa， IP。。。En general， sin limites las personas irán a por mas sin cuestionarse el impacto negativo del consumismo。 Las personas en este siglo compiten por estética y poder monetario más que nunca， por lo tanto， unos limites de igualdad podrían hacer posible prometer un futuro a los jóvenes， que tristemente con lo conectados que están a Internet， los gobiernos han permitido que caigan en juegos que les comen la infancia。Hay muchas cosas por hacer y muchas otras de las que leerás en el libro han sido preocupación desde que se escribió la biblia， nunca sucedieron mundialmente y/o las decisiones que se tomaron hicieron un daño enorme al naturaleza y humanidad。Es triste que termine hablando de COVIDA 21 cuando Estados Unidos la impartió mediante la WHO。int por todo el mundo con sus redes sociales。Sospecho que el estilo de vida actual， seguirá de pandaemia hasta que el tema climático se solucione， porque las personas no toman conciencia estando en Netflix viendo es ciencia ficción。Otro detalle muy preocupante por el interés de Bill es si solo quería ganar dinero con el libro， pues el precio de 40$ 0 20€ por 320 páginas es desorbitante y muy limitado para que cualquier persona pueda leerlo。 Un libro de 320 paginas imprimido por Amazon puede venderse a 5 euros si realmente quiere llegar al mundo。 。。。more
Daniel
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4。5 stars。 Very accessible to the layperson not intimately familiar with the nuances of climate change。 It’s truly unfortunate that there is so much objectively false information swirling around about Bill Gates。 His recent philanthropic work is remarkable， and his passion for addressing climate change is equally poignant and important。Probably would have normally given this book 4 stars， but there are a ton of mindless 1 star reviews from people that clearly didn’t read the book， so I’m roundin 4。5 stars。 Very accessible to the layperson not intimately familiar with the nuances of climate change。 It’s truly unfortunate that there is so much objectively false information swirling around about Bill Gates。 His recent philanthropic work is remarkable， and his passion for addressing climate change is equally poignant and important。Probably would have normally given this book 4 stars， but there are a ton of mindless 1 star reviews from people that clearly didn’t read the book， so I’m rounding up this time。 。。。more
Alison Lyness
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Solid， easy-to read primer on how to save our planet。 Put differently， basic overview of how screwed we are。 Found the book helpful and informative but also wonder if my precious several hours before our global meltdown would have been better spent elsewhere。
Craig Cooley
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I am an engineer and understand much of the tech mumbo jumbo around climate change。 This book explains enough of it to make sense of it for the lay person while not getting so far into the weeds that he looses the reader。 Most of all I felt the book was readable and comprehensive。 It covers the whole topic of how we avoid the disaster。 Also very well written and with a sometimes welcome wit。 I would recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject。 （We should all be interested， It is a v I am an engineer and understand much of the tech mumbo jumbo around climate change。 This book explains enough of it to make sense of it for the lay person while not getting so far into the weeds that he looses the reader。 Most of all I felt the book was readable and comprehensive。 It covers the whole topic of how we avoid the disaster。 Also very well written and with a sometimes welcome wit。 I would recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject。 （We should all be interested， It is a very important subject。） I would also strongly recommend doing the things he recommends doing。 Finally his solutions seem well thought out and workable to me。 The big unknown is if enough folks will get on board to make the necessary changes。 In my view a very， very worth while book。 。。。more
Janis
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According to Bill Gates: “I wrote this book because I want to encourage the world to adopt effective plans for dealing with climate change。” In How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need， Gates presents a balanced approach for getting to zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050。 It’s a bold， optimistic plan that will require technology breakthroughs， sacrifices from individuals and companies， and world-wide governmental support。 I especially like how he org According to Bill Gates: “I wrote this book because I want to encourage the world to adopt effective plans for dealing with climate change。” In How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need， Gates presents a balanced approach for getting to zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050。 It’s a bold， optimistic plan that will require technology breakthroughs， sacrifices from individuals and companies， and world-wide governmental support。 I especially like how he organizes his analysis of available / needed technologies: How We Plug In， How We Make Things， How We Grow Things， How We Get Around， and How We Keep Cool and Stay Warm。 I’m not quite as optimistic as Gates， but this book has convinced me that a bold plan is absolutely required in order to preserve the earth for future generations。 。。。more
Vlad Stratula
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Bill Gates talks in high level detail about what causes climate change， the hurdles in finding solutions to this global issue and potential solutions。 Although he's not going into much detail （not even near Vaclav Smil does in his energy books） the main points are summarized well enough。 Because of this， the book could be also entitled 'Climate change for dummies' Bill Gates talks in high level detail about what causes climate change， the hurdles in finding solutions to this global issue and potential solutions。 Although he's not going into much detail （not even near Vaclav Smil does in his energy books） the main points are summarized well enough。 Because of this， the book could be also entitled 'Climate change for dummies' 。。。more
Peter Saarloos
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The book we needed 50 years ago， but better late than never。 Gates offers a comprehensive overview of the problem that is very accessible and maps out solutions for technology， policy and politics。 Ultimately， an optimistic message about a problem we should be deeply pessimistic about。
Nishita
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I liked this book overall。 It’s an easy read。 The initial part can get a little monotonous and even boring if you already have a good understanding of what climate change is。 But， considering this book is for everyone， I’d give that to him。 Here are the top 3 reasons why I liked the book。1。 There is a general misunderstanding in the climate change conversation right now where we think that onus of undoing the ill effects of climate change is 100% on us as individuals。 This book gives a lot of cl I liked this book overall。 It’s an easy read。 The initial part can get a little monotonous and even boring if you already have a good understanding of what climate change is。 But， considering this book is for everyone， I’d give that to him。 Here are the top 3 reasons why I liked the book。1。 There is a general misunderstanding in the climate change conversation right now where we think that onus of undoing the ill effects of climate change is 100% on us as individuals。 This book gives a lot of clarity on this and is a call for action to companies， governments and nations to hold themselves accountable and not just innovate but also make sure you take care of the population that will be displaced- physically as well as in terms of jobs。 2。 It does talk about why and how climate change will affect the poorest of the poor first and the most。 And that this makes it the responsibility of the rich nations that have contributed to the cause the most， to take the most action。 But all the while， keeping in mind and bringing to everyone’s notice that we should be considering it as an economic opportunity rather than ‘why us？’ 3。 He also discusses what we CAN do as individuals。 How we can do our part and where we can make the biggest impact。All this said and done， I also think that the book does have a slight undertone of a dystopian future。 But this is also just the nature of the entire problem and we have to understand that， have more conversations， educate more people and find solutions to the long term effects of these changes as well。 。。。more
Robert Samson
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I used to be very optimistic， not anymore after reading this book。 Thank you for sharing Bill Gates。Great book！！
Abe Smith
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I'm a big Bill Gates fan。 He's surprisingly personable， realistic， apolitical， and has devoted his life and resources to improve the lives of mankind （especially those in greatest need）。 For a long time， I've wanted to learn more about climate change but didn't know where to go to get the "real truth" knowing this is such a polarizing and politicized topic。 Gates book was written for people just like me。 He shares his previously held skepticisms and the questions he had， then provides what he's I'm a big Bill Gates fan。 He's surprisingly personable， realistic， apolitical， and has devoted his life and resources to improve the lives of mankind （especially those in greatest need）。 For a long time， I've wanted to learn more about climate change but didn't know where to go to get the "real truth" knowing this is such a polarizing and politicized topic。 Gates book was written for people just like me。 He shares his previously held skepticisms and the questions he had， then provides what he's learned in a straight forward， easy-to-understand manner。 More importantly， Gates doesn't rant and leave readers feeling guilty， but rather he encourages and offers practical solutions for everyone from individuals to governments with refreshing optimism。So why the 3 stars？ High scores for straight-forward， easy-to-understand content that helped me understand climate change much better。 That said， after a while， the topic started to get a little dry for me， which is probably more a reflection of me than the book。 Also， toward the end of the book his suggestions were more for corporations and governments that didn't hold my interest。 To Gates' credit though， he really tried to limit that。 The books isn't long and I still highly recommend the book。 。。。more
Brad Rees
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This is a helpful book， primarily for those who aren’t aquatinted with （or don’t believe in） all of the moving parts of climate change。I believe that solving climate change will be the greatest obstacle humanity will have ever overcome。 This I believe， because it will require international and intercultural coordination and cooperation across a myriad of disciplines/industries; software， computer hardware， geology， life sciences， political science， agriculture， manufacturing。。。this list goes on。 This is a helpful book， primarily for those who aren’t aquatinted with （or don’t believe in） all of the moving parts of climate change。I believe that solving climate change will be the greatest obstacle humanity will have ever overcome。 This I believe， because it will require international and intercultural coordination and cooperation across a myriad of disciplines/industries; software， computer hardware， geology， life sciences， political science， agriculture， manufacturing。。。this list goes on。 It will impact some aspect of the life of every person on earth。The optimist in me believes that we will ultimately stop the global temperature from rising。 Though I doubt it will be possible to do so without some element of geo-engineering。I also believe that environmental responsibility will be an indefinite battle humanity has to fight。 Once global warming is on a path to a solution， we will have only bought ourselves sufficient time to identify and solve the next environmental challenge。I hope this common effort for all of humanity becomes a unifier across nations and cultures。 。。。more
Jo Jo Winkelmann
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TLDR: Our planet is in much worse shape than I thought BUT humans do actually have the power to come up with long-lasting solutions- if only we pay attention & work together。 Full: I almost gave this 3 stars because the book itself didn't stand out to me as much as other books I've read this year， but that would be unfair because this is a completely different topic than what I usually read， and it's entirely nonfictional and scientifically-oriented。 I really do love Bill Gates and I think he ma TLDR: Our planet is in much worse shape than I thought BUT humans do actually have the power to come up with long-lasting solutions- if only we pay attention & work together。 Full: I almost gave this 3 stars because the book itself didn't stand out to me as much as other books I've read this year， but that would be unfair because this is a completely different topic than what I usually read， and it's entirely nonfictional and scientifically-oriented。 I really do love Bill Gates and I think he made the complex subject of Climate Change as digestible as possible。 I'm lucky to have snagged this from the library shortly after it released， but I'd like to read it again in a couple years to see what's changed in our world。 I'll also continue to listen to Bill's interviews & follow other climate change leaders so I can really make my own strides toward lower carbon emissions。 。。。more
Ian Burrell
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Climate SenseA book packed with data， which is more than you can say for most books on CC which are instead full of climate change cliche。The books says that CC will be bad and that we can stop it if we get to zero net carbon by 2050。 This is a prediction with which I intuitively do not agree。 I understand the science but the science is thin。 Normally in the engineering world I inhabit I can calculate a useful result given initial conditions。 That is applied science。 Climate Change on the other Climate SenseA book packed with data， which is more than you can say for most books on CC which are instead full of climate change cliche。The books says that CC will be bad and that we can stop it if we get to zero net carbon by 2050。 This is a prediction with which I intuitively do not agree。 I understand the science but the science is thin。 Normally in the engineering world I inhabit I can calculate a useful result given initial conditions。 That is applied science。 Climate Change on the other hand relies on data models， data analytics and risk management。 If Steve Jobs or Elon Musk let risk advisors run their companies they would not produce anything。 So in my view CC is just the politics of risk abatement。 The politics of fear。BUT Bill Gates book is very useful because it actually explains the real effort， real cost and points to the improbability that carbon will be controlled。 For the discerning reader it will show that coal for instance is only 20% of the problem。 It should be a real eye opener for the climate activist。 Required reading for youth who want to jump on the CC band waggon。 。。。more
Luckyos
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Gates talking a tad too much about his companies， investments， and good deeds - but the information and message stand strong。
Jakub
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a very concise and informative read。 Bill does repeat himself a little sometimes， although it's not such of an issue compared to other authors， because he actually knows what he is talking about and just wants to get his point across clearly。 hopefully， this book will be read by many people， and hopefully it will lead us towards a carbon-free future。 a very concise and informative read。 Bill does repeat himself a little sometimes， although it's not such of an issue compared to other authors， because he actually knows what he is talking about and just wants to get his point across clearly。 hopefully， this book will be read by many people， and hopefully it will lead us towards a carbon-free future。 。。。more
Emanuel
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There were no profound revelations about climate change， but it was great to get a global perspective about what is causing climate change， the challenges our world faces， and the innovations that are promising。
Adrienne
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I am surprised at some of the negative reviews on this book - not being a climate change expert， I found the big picture thinking exposed in this essay to be quite useful to reframe my understanding of the challenges we are facing。Bill Gates seems to me to sum up nicely what the problem is， how to fix it， and what we need to do。 Though he is clearly not a proponent of drastically reduced consumption to minimize our impact on the planet， he makes a reasonable case for it （we cannot impose drastic I am surprised at some of the negative reviews on this book - not being a climate change expert， I found the big picture thinking exposed in this essay to be quite useful to reframe my understanding of the challenges we are facing。Bill Gates seems to me to sum up nicely what the problem is， how to fix it， and what we need to do。 Though he is clearly not a proponent of drastically reduced consumption to minimize our impact on the planet， he makes a reasonable case for it （we cannot impose drastically reduced consumption to people who do not today have such basics as running water， regular electricity and latrines）。 I find it a good reminder as well， that the most efficient thing we can do as individuals is vote， and pressure our politicians and governments to take action！ 。。。more
Pallavi
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4*RTC
Caroline
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