Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Climate Change and Energy in the 21st Century (Canto Classics) | Environmental Science Book | Perfect for Students, Researchers & Climate Activists

Today, it takes about half-tonne of CO2 emissions to produce one thousand dollars ($1,000) of GDP (p. 343). "The United States is about at the average, China is above it, the EU is below, but the range of values is small." (p. 342-343).In order to achieve the combined goals of stable or growing world GDP together with static or decreasing carbon emissions new R&D for sustainable energy, efficiency, conservation, and better forestry and marine practices are necessary. Otherwise, as the IPCC estimates, there will be several degrees of global temperature rise by 2100, agricultural disruptions, substantial sea level rise, and the risk for potentially massive amounts of meltwater from Greenland and West Antarctica in the 22nd century (notably, CO2 has an average lifetime in the atmosphere of about three hundred years, the time for the ocean to absorb ninety percent plus of the anthropogenic CO2 through absorption, chemical reactions, photosynthesis, ecosystem cycles, and ocean currents).This is an excellent book on climate and energy for several reasons. First, the author is an undisputed expert (Nobel Laureate in Physics, former director of a US national laboratory, experience in nuclear reactor design and engineering). Second, the arguments are well supported by facts, analysis, and the editorial review of major publishers (Cambridge University Press and Canto). The topics are comprehensive and detailed. Here are several timely and relevant areas for policymakers, activists, and readers:1. "Improving energy efficiency is the cheapest and easiest way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; Energy not used reduces imports, emits no grenhouse gases, and is free; The transportation and building secotrs use far more energy than is necessary; The total cost to the economy as a whole of most of the improvements is negative: we save money" [a view also supported by the Rocky Mountain Institute and Amory Lovins] (p. 150)2. "A reasonable and achievable goal for the building sector as a whole is that it uses no more energy in 2030 than it does today." (174-175)3. A national power grid, or SuperGrid. "Move large amounts of power from the wind farms of the Great Plains and the solar installations of the Southwest to the country's major load centers. .... Make the systme more robust so that failur of one major line does not seriously affect a large area .... A model [for policymakers] that might be used is that of the US interstates highway system begun in the 1950s during the Eisenhower administration. .... Maybe if everyong called their new grids a National Defense Electron Highway System we could actually get them built in a reasonable amount of time." (p. 270-271)4. "France's Long-Range Nuclear Development Plan" .... "a shortage of natural uranium needed for lifetime fueling of the LWR [light-water reactor] fleet may occur about mid-century. An on-ramp if new fuel is needed requires the development of a new generation of advanced nuclear reactors that can breed new fuel from depleted uranium. The necessary R&D will be done over the next 30 years so they wil be ready for large-scale commercial development around mid-century if needed and economical." (p. 227-228)5. In general, new or reform legislation that is closely based on engineering concepts and resource limits, can be broadly described in this "Policy Scorecard", updated and modified by me as a commentator, from the 2010 publication date of this book:"Winners": "Greenhouse gas reduction standards", "Federal mile per gallon standards", "Demand side management""Losers": "Cap and Trade for transportation", "Renewable portfolio standards", "State mile per gallon standards", "Low carbon fuel standards" (p. 331).Whether or not artificial global cooling, or solar radiation management (SRM) should be included in these Cost-Benefit analyses is not discussed in this section. Perhaps the complexity of this approach, and the potential reductions in ocean, forest, and agricultural photosynthesis are thought to offset the temporary benefits from a more reflective and cooler atmosphere.The author concludes the book with this "Coda":"....Inaction is certain to have serious consequences; The longer we delay starting to deal with climate change, the harder dealing with the problem will be; The problem is emissions of greenhouse gases and the goal is to reduce them ... the world does not have to run on windmills and solar cells; We can mitigate the damage, but have to act on a worldwide scale; The richer countries will have to develop affordable technologies that all can use; It will be hard to develop sensible national policies and even harder to develop sensible international ones, but we must try to do so." (p. 348-349).