A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow - Couverture rigide

Goldstein, Joshua S.; Qvist, Staffan A.

 
9781541724105: A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow

Synopsis

The first book to offer a proven, fast, inexpensive, and practical way to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prevent catastrophic climate change.

As climate change quickly approaches a series of turning points that guarantee disastrous outcomes, a solution is hiding in plain sight. Several countries have already replaced fossil fuels with low-carbon energy sources, and done so rapidly, in one to two decades. By following their methods, we could decarbonize the global economy by midcentury, replacing fossil fuels even while world energy use continues to rise. But so far we have lacked the courage to really try.

In this clear-sighted and compelling book, Joshua Goldstein and Staffan Qvist explain how clean energy quickly replaced fossil fuels in such places as Sweden, France, South Korea, and Ontario. Their people enjoyed prosperity and growing energy use in harmony with the natural environment. They didn't do this through personal sacrifice, nor through 100 percent renewables, but by using them in combination with an energy source the Swedes call käkraft, hundreds of times safer and cleaner than coal.

Clearly written and beautifully illustrated, yet footnoted with extensive technical references, Goldstein and Qvist's book will provide a new touchstone in discussions of climate change. It could spark a shift in world energy policy that, in the words of Steven Pinker's foreword, literally saves the world.

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À propos de l?auteur

Joshua S. Goldstein is an International Relations professor who writes about the big issues facing humanity. He is the author of six books about war, peace, diplomacy, and economic history, and a bestselling college textbook, International Relations. Among other awards, his book War and Gender (2001) won the International Studies Association's "Book of the Decade Award" in 2010. Goldstein has a B.A. from Stanford and a Ph.D. from M.I.T. He is professor emeritus at American University in Washington, DC, and research scholar at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he lives. See www.joshuagoldstein.com.

Staffan A. Qvist is a Swedish engineer, scientist and consultant to clean energy projects around the world. He has lectured and authored numerous studies in the scientific literature on various topics relating to energy technology and policy, nuclear reactor design and safety, and climate change mitigation strategies -- research that has been covered by Scientific American and many other media outlets. Trained as a nuclear engineer (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley), he is now involved in renewable energy development projects and also works with several "fourth generation" nuclear start-ups. For more information, see www.staffanqvist.com.

À propos de la quatrième de couverture

As climate change begins to take a serious toll on the planet--with much more damage yet to come--a solution to our warming problems is hiding in plain sight. We need to commit to de-carbonizing our economy, and do so immediately, but so far we have lacked the courage to really try.

Our fears of nuclear energy have grown irrationally large, even as our fears of climate change are irrationally small.

In this clear-sighted and compelling book, Joshua Goldstein and Steffan Qvist come bearing good news: a real solution, one that is fast, cheap, and provably works. Based on Sweden's success cutting their carbon emissions in half, Goldstein and Qvist argue for a policy that combines nuclear and renewable energy sources. From 1970-1990, Sweden replaced coal power plants with nuclear ones, and slowly integrated renewable energy alongside it. During that same time period, the country generated more electricity than ever and its economy grew by 50 percent. They have had no nuclear accidents, nor has any of their uranium been stolen by terrorists.

Separating facts from doomsday scenarios, Goldstein and Qvist force a real and meaningful dialogue about what the best energy policy is, and the dangers of remaining on our present path. And they offer an answer that really could work--if only we'd give it a try.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Autres éditions populaires du même titre

9781541724112: A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow

Edition présentée

ISBN 10 :  1541724119 ISBN 13 :  9781541724112
Editeur : PublicAffairs, 2020
Couverture souple