guinness74's review against another edition
5.0
Per FTC rules: I received a free copy of this book as a giveaway from Goodreads First Reads.
It has been some time since a book so clearly defined its ideas and was so well researched as to force me to counter my own long held opinions about many things. Ramez Naam has concocted an incredible resource in its own right that will have you questioning the very thoughts you felt were solidly planted in your mind. This is not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I recommend this book as a challenge to everyone, regardless of your political stripe, your religious intent, or your desire for the health of this planet and the people who live on it. I've communicated my thoughts to the author myself and he graciously replied. It was a true joy to read something that so thoroughly injected new life into my critical thinking processes. This book is worth every single cent you will spend on it.
It has been some time since a book so clearly defined its ideas and was so well researched as to force me to counter my own long held opinions about many things. Ramez Naam has concocted an incredible resource in its own right that will have you questioning the very thoughts you felt were solidly planted in your mind. This is not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I recommend this book as a challenge to everyone, regardless of your political stripe, your religious intent, or your desire for the health of this planet and the people who live on it. I've communicated my thoughts to the author myself and he graciously replied. It was a true joy to read something that so thoroughly injected new life into my critical thinking processes. This book is worth every single cent you will spend on it.
thomcat's review against another edition
4.0
Sought this book out after reading Naam's fiction. This is an optimists survey of the state of the human ecosystem. Some very good ideas in here for managing the planet and your local politics also.
I am not scientist enough to say whether these ideas will work or not, but our author has some good friends who are. It is about time we do something about solar power, one way or another.
Really interesting to read about the collective intelligence. I think political climate has to factor in also - lots of people in a repressive China basically stagnated in technology - but these ideas are pretty cool. In his fiction books, the "groupthink" is taken to an extreme. Will be interesting to see what the third book of the series does with this.
I am not scientist enough to say whether these ideas will work or not, but our author has some good friends who are. It is about time we do something about solar power, one way or another.
Really interesting to read about the collective intelligence. I think political climate has to factor in also - lots of people in a repressive China basically stagnated in technology - but these ideas are pretty cool. In his fiction books, the "groupthink" is taken to an extreme. Will be interesting to see what the third book of the series does with this.
camsand's review against another edition
5.0
An optimistic take on the serious issues we that our planet and society are facing. it provides a nice foil to Dan Brown's Inferno that I read at the same time. The author's suggestions have a slight libertarian bent but for the the most part apolitical and pragmatic. Conservatives and Libertarians will remember that even Milton Friedman endorsed a sort of cap and trade system but not to make Al Gore richer. This book was very well-written and organized.
ifoundtheme's review against another edition
3.0
The infinite resource is innovation. It's a capitalist-positive approach to climate change– move the levers of a very powerful tool to make the changes and inventions we need. Hopeful, mostly good, occasionally suspect
flamy's review against another edition
4.0
This is an intense read. There are a lot of problems in the world, this book makes it seem that we're not completely doomed.
fangirlsread's review against another edition
5.0
This book was amazing. It was incredibly well researched and written and was overall unbiased except for the last part when Naam earnestly presents his solutions to the problems raised in the book. Naam declares himself an optimist and indeed the book does begin so, citing and exploring all the wonderful things innovation has given humanity; however our exploration of resources is the main facet of the book's exploration, including problems such as climate change, peak oil and other resources, and the dangers of starvation through a growing world and inadequate yields. I learned a lot from this book, detailing the evolution of innovations, resource scarcity, and policies that have saved us from the edge. I would highly recommend this book to those interested in climate, GMOs, policy, and science writing in general. This book provides a solid knowledge base for very serious problems facing us that merits learning more about.
davidr's review against another edition
5.0
As I started this book, I started to think, "OK, another book about how wonderful innovation can be. Shades of Kurzweill. Yawn." The book starts out with a couple of chapters about how these are the "best of times", followed by a few chapters about how these are the "worst of times". All sorts of ills of our times are described; running out of fossil fuels, soaring food prices, soaring commodity prices, water shortages, deforestation, global warming, acidifying oceans--all very depressing.
Then the book takes an about-face, and describes how ideas and innovations are our one limitless resource. The remainder of the book is virtually unfettered optimism. But the optimism is well backed-up by some excellent arguments. First, Ramez Naam discusses how the experts of the past, with doomsday messages, ignored the power of innovation. When CFC's were seen as the culprit in the development of the "ozone hole", industry claimed that corporations would go bankrupt trying to remedy the problem. Even the EPA claimed it would be a costly problem to correct. But it turned out that the solution was far cheaper than even that claimed by the EPA. Malthus famously claimed that as the world's food supply grows arithmetically, the population grows geometrically, and at some point soon there would be massive starvation. His prediction ignored the power of innovations in agriculture.
In the past, all sorts of commodities that were considered absolutely necessary were exhausted. Whale oil for lighting, guano and saltpeter for fertilizer, diamonds for industry, and rubber have all been seen to be exhausted. Innovation has found substitutes for all of these materials.
In many of these cases, it was a race against time. It takes time to develop innovative technologies, and when resources are depleted without a practical substitute, then huge hardships can occur. That is why Naam argues for the need for anticipating needs, by investing in R&D on a larger scale.
Interestingly, Naam points out that unpopular ideas are seen to be more believable if they are espoused by similar people. Most Republicans don't believe in global climate change because Al Gore did so much to publicise it. But Republican presidents (Nixon, Bush senior, and Reagan) signed into law the EPA, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Montreal Protocol, and amendments to the Clean Air Act.
While market-based economies have flourished and raised the standard of living of the developing and developed world, there are some serious flaws. Free markets do not incentivize corporations to cut down on pollution. So, Naam suggests various incentive approaches; cap-and-trade worked well for reducing sulfur emissions. Naam makes a couple of similar suggestions to reduce CO2 emissions.
This book is filled with reasonable approaches for solving many of the world's resource problems. On the whole, the optimism shines through, which makes it quite an enjoyable read.
Then the book takes an about-face, and describes how ideas and innovations are our one limitless resource. The remainder of the book is virtually unfettered optimism. But the optimism is well backed-up by some excellent arguments. First, Ramez Naam discusses how the experts of the past, with doomsday messages, ignored the power of innovation. When CFC's were seen as the culprit in the development of the "ozone hole", industry claimed that corporations would go bankrupt trying to remedy the problem. Even the EPA claimed it would be a costly problem to correct. But it turned out that the solution was far cheaper than even that claimed by the EPA. Malthus famously claimed that as the world's food supply grows arithmetically, the population grows geometrically, and at some point soon there would be massive starvation. His prediction ignored the power of innovations in agriculture.
In the past, all sorts of commodities that were considered absolutely necessary were exhausted. Whale oil for lighting, guano and saltpeter for fertilizer, diamonds for industry, and rubber have all been seen to be exhausted. Innovation has found substitutes for all of these materials.
In many of these cases, it was a race against time. It takes time to develop innovative technologies, and when resources are depleted without a practical substitute, then huge hardships can occur. That is why Naam argues for the need for anticipating needs, by investing in R&D on a larger scale.
Interestingly, Naam points out that unpopular ideas are seen to be more believable if they are espoused by similar people. Most Republicans don't believe in global climate change because Al Gore did so much to publicise it. But Republican presidents (Nixon, Bush senior, and Reagan) signed into law the EPA, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Montreal Protocol, and amendments to the Clean Air Act.
While market-based economies have flourished and raised the standard of living of the developing and developed world, there are some serious flaws. Free markets do not incentivize corporations to cut down on pollution. So, Naam suggests various incentive approaches; cap-and-trade worked well for reducing sulfur emissions. Naam makes a couple of similar suggestions to reduce CO2 emissions.
This book is filled with reasonable approaches for solving many of the world's resource problems. On the whole, the optimism shines through, which makes it quite an enjoyable read.
wordlover's review
5.0
Outstanding, insightful argument for how human ingenuity will solve the problems facing us.
blackcatbibliophile's review
5.0
I won this through the first reads giveaway.
At this point (5/21/13) I'm a 3rd of the way done. And let me tell you I'm terrified! The first 3rd of this book talks about all the problems our planet faces - global warming, oil shortages, water wars, human over-population, mass extinctions, etc. With facts and figures to back up everything that is being put forth to the reader. And it is very, very scary. The good part is that the author doesn't just give us the gloom and doom, but also hope that with our increasing technology and innovation we can meet and exceed these demands on our planet. So I can't wait to keep reading!
Update! 5/23/13 I've finished the book and I would absolutely recommend this to anyone interested in global warming/climate change or anyone interested in environmental science. This book was so insightful. I have completely changed my opinion on quite a few topics and learned many new and interesting things. Like did you know that nuclear energy is less deadly and less costly than coal is? Coal kills more people than nuclear power yet because nuclear disasters are so sensationalized people fear them. Another factoid that I learned is that GMOs have been studied EXTENSIVELY. Being a biologist, I was always worried about the consequences of inserting foreign DNA into the food that we eat, and since this too has been discussed as being "poison for your body" its hard to find real information. The few studies that have shown some risks have been retracted or have been discredited by the scientific community. Those are just a few of the many things that I have learned from this book!
The overall message of this book is that there is hope. We have overcome grave challenges is the past - CFC depleting the ozone layer - Reagan signed the Montreal Protocol even though his administration told him it would bankrupt the country and there would be no refrigeration. Yet because this law was implemented correctly, it actually forced inovation and the price tag ended up being 1/10 of what was predicted. And we still have refrigeration! So yes, we as a global community face many challenges in the near future, but with our power to innovate we can overcome all of these challenges that we face, just like we have in the past.
At this point (5/21/13) I'm a 3rd of the way done. And let me tell you I'm terrified! The first 3rd of this book talks about all the problems our planet faces - global warming, oil shortages, water wars, human over-population, mass extinctions, etc. With facts and figures to back up everything that is being put forth to the reader. And it is very, very scary. The good part is that the author doesn't just give us the gloom and doom, but also hope that with our increasing technology and innovation we can meet and exceed these demands on our planet. So I can't wait to keep reading!
Update! 5/23/13 I've finished the book and I would absolutely recommend this to anyone interested in global warming/climate change or anyone interested in environmental science. This book was so insightful. I have completely changed my opinion on quite a few topics and learned many new and interesting things. Like did you know that nuclear energy is less deadly and less costly than coal is? Coal kills more people than nuclear power yet because nuclear disasters are so sensationalized people fear them. Another factoid that I learned is that GMOs have been studied EXTENSIVELY. Being a biologist, I was always worried about the consequences of inserting foreign DNA into the food that we eat, and since this too has been discussed as being "poison for your body" its hard to find real information. The few studies that have shown some risks have been retracted or have been discredited by the scientific community. Those are just a few of the many things that I have learned from this book!
The overall message of this book is that there is hope. We have overcome grave challenges is the past - CFC depleting the ozone layer - Reagan signed the Montreal Protocol even though his administration told him it would bankrupt the country and there would be no refrigeration. Yet because this law was implemented correctly, it actually forced inovation and the price tag ended up being 1/10 of what was predicted. And we still have refrigeration! So yes, we as a global community face many challenges in the near future, but with our power to innovate we can overcome all of these challenges that we face, just like we have in the past.
ifoundtheme's review
3.0
The infinite resource is innovation. It's a capitalist-positive approach to climate change– move the levers of a very powerful tool to make the changes and inventions we need. Hopeful, mostly good, occasionally suspect