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953 reviews for:
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
Bill Gates
3.97 AVERAGE
953 reviews for:
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
Bill Gates
3.97 AVERAGE
Gates’ is unbelievably imaginative and optimistic about investment based technological innovation coming to save the day. Simultaneously he’s unable to extend that imagination to shifts in political landscape or human behavior. It’s both a realist perspective and deeply pissed me off. He lays out how the first 80% emission reductions will be substantially easier than getting to net zero and then feels no need to address the challenges around behavioral or political change that will be required to fully achieve net zero. short of “eat less meat” & “deregulate nuclear” & “build out grids now”. Informative but completely fails to confront some very important large questions.
We need to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It's not going to be easy, but by focusing on the right solutions, it can be done. There are many positive innovations already in place, such as solar and wind energy, which have become more affordable in recent years. But more efforts need to be made to update our power grids and adapt our infrastructure to clean energy. We also need to put more funding and research into biofuels and carbon capture technologies. Ultimately, we need a global commitment to zero emissions by 2050, with incentives for using and funding new technologies.
Here are some lessons I have taken away from this book:
1) To bring our planet back from the brink of disaster, we need to get our greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
We need to get to zero emissions because every second we don't, the situation gets worse. Greenhouse gases don't vanish overnight. They stick around for tens of thousands of years. Think of it as a bathtub on the verge of overflowing. Even a small by steady drip will cause the water to start spilling over. Bill Gate claimed: " Setting a goal to only reduce our emissions - but not eliminate them - won't do it. The only sensible goal is zero."
2) Getting to zero emissions will be difficult, but it can, and must be done.
Currently, the biggest contributors to the climate crisis can be broken down into 5 categories:
- Making things such as steel and plastic, accounts for 31% of our 51 billions tons of emissions.
- Plugging in, or electricity, accounts for 27%.
- Growing things like plants and animals for food, accounts for 19%.
- Getting around- be it cars, planes, or cargo ships, accounts for 16%.
- Keeping warm and cool with regard to both ourselves and our things, accounts for 7%.
3) Plugging in: Getting electricity to zero will take some major innovations.
Our innovation efforts should be focused on infrastructure. As things stand, power grids are old, outdated, and reliant on fossil fuels. They need to be updated to allow for alternative sources like solar and wind power to travel over large stretches of land. And if we could supplement that energy with nuclear power, we'd be on our way to getting to zero.
4) Making things: Producing steel, concrete, and plastic creates greenhouse gas emissions - but there may be a silver lining.
When it comes to alternative, affordable ways of creating carbon, there are already some interesting possibilities. One is carbon capture technology. Theoretically, we could capture and use the carbon emissions from a power plant. This technology already exists, but it isn't nearly as cheap and effective as fossil fuels. However, with the right amount of effort and funding, it could be a real alternative source of carbon. Regarding plastic, using captured carbon could turn it into a net-negative emission product. We'd be taking away and storing more carbon inside plastic than we'd be relating. Wouldn't that be something?
5) Growing things: We can reduce food industry emissions by living more consciously
Governments need to offer incentives for farmers to adopt new practices. But we, as consumers, can do our part by eating less meat, wasting less food, and supporting businesses that employ clean practices.
6) Getting around: Sustainable transportation options include clean fuels that come with big prices.
In terms of cost, we can consider "Green Premiums" to understand exactly what needs to change to reduce our emissions. Green Premiums essentially highlight the cost differences between current practices and the clean practices that will get us to zero.
Advanced biofuels derive their energy from plants that are byproducts of farming practices. One of the big pluses is that they could work as "drop-in" fuels, which means they could work in today's cars - no changes required.
Eectrofuels, or hydrocarbon fuels, are also "drop-in" fuels. These work by capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and using electricity to combine it with the hydrogen in water. This would, of course, require clean electricity.
While advanced biofuels cost a little over twice as much as gasoline, with a 106% Green Premium, electrofuels come with a 237% Green Premium. Clearly, these are 2 innovations that need more attention and funding in order to bring their costs down.
7) Keeping warm and cool: There are immediate steps we can take to reduce heating and cooling emissions.
It's possible to replace your current gas heaters and furnaces with an electric heat pump. This essentially works like your refrigerator, by pumping warm air outside during the summer and inside during winter. In the long run, you can even save quite a bit of money by installing an electric heat pump. Looking at the average cost of heating and AC in Providence, Rhode Island, you would cut costs by 22% over a 15-year period. In Houston and Texas, you'd save 27%.
8) Getting to zero will require changes in government policy and international cooperation.
Estimates suggest that investing $q.8 trillion into climate disaster prevention will yield $7 trillion over a period of just 10 years. That's smart money. But, it's going to take some government support on an international level. We need to establish worldwide minimum standards on emissions, with more and better incentives for businesses that meet those standards - and tax penalties for businesses that don't.
Enjoy your reading!
Here are some lessons I have taken away from this book:
1) To bring our planet back from the brink of disaster, we need to get our greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
We need to get to zero emissions because every second we don't, the situation gets worse. Greenhouse gases don't vanish overnight. They stick around for tens of thousands of years. Think of it as a bathtub on the verge of overflowing. Even a small by steady drip will cause the water to start spilling over. Bill Gate claimed: " Setting a goal to only reduce our emissions - but not eliminate them - won't do it. The only sensible goal is zero."
2) Getting to zero emissions will be difficult, but it can, and must be done.
Currently, the biggest contributors to the climate crisis can be broken down into 5 categories:
- Making things such as steel and plastic, accounts for 31% of our 51 billions tons of emissions.
- Plugging in, or electricity, accounts for 27%.
- Growing things like plants and animals for food, accounts for 19%.
- Getting around- be it cars, planes, or cargo ships, accounts for 16%.
- Keeping warm and cool with regard to both ourselves and our things, accounts for 7%.
3) Plugging in: Getting electricity to zero will take some major innovations.
Our innovation efforts should be focused on infrastructure. As things stand, power grids are old, outdated, and reliant on fossil fuels. They need to be updated to allow for alternative sources like solar and wind power to travel over large stretches of land. And if we could supplement that energy with nuclear power, we'd be on our way to getting to zero.
4) Making things: Producing steel, concrete, and plastic creates greenhouse gas emissions - but there may be a silver lining.
When it comes to alternative, affordable ways of creating carbon, there are already some interesting possibilities. One is carbon capture technology. Theoretically, we could capture and use the carbon emissions from a power plant. This technology already exists, but it isn't nearly as cheap and effective as fossil fuels. However, with the right amount of effort and funding, it could be a real alternative source of carbon. Regarding plastic, using captured carbon could turn it into a net-negative emission product. We'd be taking away and storing more carbon inside plastic than we'd be relating. Wouldn't that be something?
5) Growing things: We can reduce food industry emissions by living more consciously
Governments need to offer incentives for farmers to adopt new practices. But we, as consumers, can do our part by eating less meat, wasting less food, and supporting businesses that employ clean practices.
6) Getting around: Sustainable transportation options include clean fuels that come with big prices.
In terms of cost, we can consider "Green Premiums" to understand exactly what needs to change to reduce our emissions. Green Premiums essentially highlight the cost differences between current practices and the clean practices that will get us to zero.
Advanced biofuels derive their energy from plants that are byproducts of farming practices. One of the big pluses is that they could work as "drop-in" fuels, which means they could work in today's cars - no changes required.
Eectrofuels, or hydrocarbon fuels, are also "drop-in" fuels. These work by capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and using electricity to combine it with the hydrogen in water. This would, of course, require clean electricity.
While advanced biofuels cost a little over twice as much as gasoline, with a 106% Green Premium, electrofuels come with a 237% Green Premium. Clearly, these are 2 innovations that need more attention and funding in order to bring their costs down.
7) Keeping warm and cool: There are immediate steps we can take to reduce heating and cooling emissions.
It's possible to replace your current gas heaters and furnaces with an electric heat pump. This essentially works like your refrigerator, by pumping warm air outside during the summer and inside during winter. In the long run, you can even save quite a bit of money by installing an electric heat pump. Looking at the average cost of heating and AC in Providence, Rhode Island, you would cut costs by 22% over a 15-year period. In Houston and Texas, you'd save 27%.
8) Getting to zero will require changes in government policy and international cooperation.
Estimates suggest that investing $q.8 trillion into climate disaster prevention will yield $7 trillion over a period of just 10 years. That's smart money. But, it's going to take some government support on an international level. We need to establish worldwide minimum standards on emissions, with more and better incentives for businesses that meet those standards - and tax penalties for businesses that don't.
Enjoy your reading!
He lays the issue out clearly right away and states that he thinks our goal should be zero carbon emissions by 2050.
He systematically goes through all the major sources of carbon emissions and their current allocations of the total. In doing so he provides us with a way to measure the effectiveness of various solutions and tries to form a common basis for discussing the issue with others. For each source he reviews what technologies we currently have and where he thinks research and development is needed. His love of technology comes through when he talks about some of the possibilities. Because of his philanthropy and investing he has had firsthand exposer to a lot of them. His love and belief in technology is one of the reasons he is optimistic that the goal can be achieved. You need to optimistic when discussing this topic as just about every aspect of modern life is carbon producing in some way, it can be over whelming.
I liked this line from the end of the book.
He systematically goes through all the major sources of carbon emissions and their current allocations of the total. In doing so he provides us with a way to measure the effectiveness of various solutions and tries to form a common basis for discussing the issue with others. For each source he reviews what technologies we currently have and where he thinks research and development is needed. His love of technology comes through when he talks about some of the possibilities. Because of his philanthropy and investing he has had firsthand exposer to a lot of them. His love and belief in technology is one of the reasons he is optimistic that the goal can be achieved. You need to optimistic when discussing this topic as just about every aspect of modern life is carbon producing in some way, it can be over whelming.
I liked this line from the end of the book.
I hope that shift the conversation by sharing the facts with the people in our lives, our family members, friends and leaders. And not just the facts that tell us why we need to act but also those that show us the actions that will do the most good. One of my goals in writing this book is to spark more of these conversations. I also hope that we can unite behind plans that bridge political divides, as I've tried to demonstrate this isn't as naïve as it may sound. No one has cornered the market on effective solutions to climate change. Whether you're a believer in the private sector or government intervention or activism or some combination, there is a practical idea you can get behind. As for the ideas you can't support you may feel compelled to speak out, and that's understandable, but I hope you'll spend more time and energy supporting whatever you're in favor of then opposing whatever you're against.
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.
A methodical approach to a complex problem, this book explains why we must act now to avoid the worst and presents a clear proposal on how to do it. Mr. Gates combines abundant data and common sense to point to a path forward.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
Gates provides a good background on some of the basic issues. Things are written very clearly with lots of examples to make unfamiliar concepts clearer. Judging by the acknowledgement section, it appears that this book was written by committee with a skilled writer in charge of clear communication - just like a software manual. Microsoft seemed to have pioneered software development by committee and this book project was probably organized similarly. I'm surprised for someone who is considered a "geek" he did not spend time covering any new concepts in any depth - perhaps because of a goal to keep the reading clear to a less knowledgeable reader. The relatively high rating is for clarity, not for value for new information. What's nice is Gates is very clear about the hazards of the greenhouse gas levels and needing to keep the carbon in the ground. Yet he is not aggressive in a proposed timetable. He seems to think a pure technological solution by 2050 where the next 10 years aren't too critical. Which in my opinion misses the boat. He still refers to gas based power plants as an intermediate stage -and correctly states we shouldn't convert to them. He misses the urgency toward massive installation of solar and wind now, to get the GHG levels down sooner than later before the global carbon budget is exhausted.
I thought this book was very well done.
I agree with Emily's review that a lot of the arguments against the book are ad hominen (e.g., 1) Bill Gates is a rich evil oligarch who only wrote this book to get even more money (muahaha), and 2) Bill Gates is an evil Marxist who only wrote this book to encourage the government to employ socialism)
However, some other critics also wanted Gates to advocate for more personal responsibility. I agree with Gate's balanced approach, that it is impossible to get to zero carbon with just limiting personal usage not to mention unrealistic and unfair for developing countries. It would be easy to say that all the rich nations just need to cut back on personal usage, but relying on personal willpower alone won't be enough to reverse the current levels, nor do I think that is likely given what we have seen thus far from the majority of the citizens in America. There are many other books on how to help with personal carbon footprint and I think it was sensible not to rehash those same strategies here. Instead, Gates looks ahead to really advocate for government help in pushing inovation for long term strategies.
I agree with Emily's review that a lot of the arguments against the book are ad hominen (e.g., 1) Bill Gates is a rich evil oligarch who only wrote this book to get even more money (muahaha), and 2) Bill Gates is an evil Marxist who only wrote this book to encourage the government to employ socialism)
However, some other critics also wanted Gates to advocate for more personal responsibility. I agree with Gate's balanced approach, that it is impossible to get to zero carbon with just limiting personal usage not to mention unrealistic and unfair for developing countries. It would be easy to say that all the rich nations just need to cut back on personal usage, but relying on personal willpower alone won't be enough to reverse the current levels, nor do I think that is likely given what we have seen thus far from the majority of the citizens in America. There are many other books on how to help with personal carbon footprint and I think it was sensible not to rehash those same strategies here. Instead, Gates looks ahead to really advocate for government help in pushing inovation for long term strategies.
informative
medium-paced