Scan barcode
Reviews
Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Paul Hawken
bi6otter's review against another edition
4.0
Overall a very well written and accessible introduction and reference guide to the practices and technologies we will need in order to save our planet. The editor and authors did a great job of explaining the concepts and solutions (often highly technical) clearly without oversimplifying, and writing in a consistent voice throughout. The only thing really lacking from this book is some sort of continuous narrative to tie the solutions together into a big picture.
sandini's review against another edition
4.0
Damn this book was long, in an exhaustive, action-oriented, and hard numbers kind of way.
I've been searching for a good book on what I, personally, can do to help reverse global warming. What I was looking for in this book was a specific, prescriptive plan to combat climate change, as in, "first do this... next this..." but really, it was more free wheeling than that and really just gave me a bunch of ideas on what to do. I realized I'll have to do a lot more research to really implement most of these ideas and make my own plan. So, minus 1 star for overselling this so-called "plan", but overall a fantastic book that I'd like to own.
All in all, an action oriented book that skims the surface of what is possible at a macro level for solar, wind, geothermal, and other new and interesting new sources of power, and at a micro level, in terms of electric vehicles, gardens, drip irrigation and inter-cropping.
---
Mostly unrelated to book, but I had to get it off my chest:
With regards to current events, Hawken did not directly comment on whether recycling actually does anything in the US, but he does give helpful status updates on other nations where recycling of paper goods is an astounding 95% (S Korea), so it seems like it can be done well. I'll have to look into that more- that's an annoying story that's floating around social media.
Also, I'm so excited the USA will be rejoining the Paris Agreement (international agreement to prevent global warming to no more than 2C greater than pre-industrial levels) after he-who-shall-not-be-named decided to reneg for reasons unclear. Anyway, after this shitstorm of a year, I'm also really excited we get John Kerry as our U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. It's so nice to have some people in office who give a shit about whether we all kill ourselves and make life on earth infinitely less pleasant from pollution. /rant
I've been searching for a good book on what I, personally, can do to help reverse global warming. What I was looking for in this book was a specific, prescriptive plan to combat climate change, as in, "first do this... next this..." but really, it was more free wheeling than that and really just gave me a bunch of ideas on what to do. I realized I'll have to do a lot more research to really implement most of these ideas and make my own plan. So, minus 1 star for overselling this so-called "plan", but overall a fantastic book that I'd like to own.
All in all, an action oriented book that skims the surface of what is possible at a macro level for solar, wind, geothermal, and other new and interesting new sources of power, and at a micro level, in terms of electric vehicles, gardens, drip irrigation and inter-cropping.
---
Mostly unrelated to book, but I had to get it off my chest:
With regards to current events, Hawken did not directly comment on whether recycling actually does anything in the US, but he does give helpful status updates on other nations where recycling of paper goods is an astounding 95% (S Korea), so it seems like it can be done well. I'll have to look into that more- that's an annoying story that's floating around social media.
Also, I'm so excited the USA will be rejoining the Paris Agreement (international agreement to prevent global warming to no more than 2C greater than pre-industrial levels) after he-who-shall-not-be-named decided to reneg for reasons unclear. Anyway, after this shitstorm of a year, I'm also really excited we get John Kerry as our U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. It's so nice to have some people in office who give a shit about whether we all kill ourselves and make life on earth infinitely less pleasant from pollution. /rant
specificwonderland's review against another edition
5.0
Best book I've read this year. Everyone should read this book.
spacewhombus's review against another edition
5.0
Wow... I wish I could give this one six stars. It’s essentially a short explanation of 80-100 solutions currently in practice worldwide that could most reduce global warming, plus innovative ideas that are in the works but not yet widely practiced (marine permaculture was one of the most interesting for me!). They also provided their methodology and huge list of contributing scientists and professionals at the back, in addition to short lists of the solutions ranked by impact.
The impact of certain solutions really surprised me, and I would have never guessed all of the top 10 most impactful solutions (for example, number 6 is educating women and girls!). As this book’s stated intention is to make the reader think about their own impact and how they can be a part of this collective movement, I can guarantee this worked!
In addition to describing each solution in terms anyone could understand (even nuclear fusion, yes!) the authors really emphasized the role of humanity in a reciprocal and interconnected relationship with nature. And they also chose to focus on hopeful language and opportunities for innovation, which has been proven to be a better method at getting people to care about climate change than just repeating depressing climate trends.
Don’t worry about reading this all at once because there isn’t really a narrative to follow- I read it in little bursts over a few months and it was just fine. Definitely recommended :)
The impact of certain solutions really surprised me, and I would have never guessed all of the top 10 most impactful solutions (for example, number 6 is educating women and girls!). As this book’s stated intention is to make the reader think about their own impact and how they can be a part of this collective movement, I can guarantee this worked!
In addition to describing each solution in terms anyone could understand (even nuclear fusion, yes!) the authors really emphasized the role of humanity in a reciprocal and interconnected relationship with nature. And they also chose to focus on hopeful language and opportunities for innovation, which has been proven to be a better method at getting people to care about climate change than just repeating depressing climate trends.
Don’t worry about reading this all at once because there isn’t really a narrative to follow- I read it in little bursts over a few months and it was just fine. Definitely recommended :)
withmanyroots's review against another edition
5.0
A source of creative inspiration for nearly two years now I finally read the book from cover to cover. Enlightening and hopeful. Really enjoyed the extracts from other texts in there too.
ifoundtheme's review against another edition
5.0
Informative, short, easily used as a reference book. This is the first book you should read if you're trying to figure out how you personally might be effective in reversing climate change.
mallory's review against another edition
5.0
What this book is: an overview of 100 strategies to reduce and sequester greenhouse gases, and detailed analysis on how effective each strategy could be at doing so, given reasonable timelines of adoption through 2050
What this book is not: a guide to how to actually implement these strategies in the real world (which will require governments and companies at every level to create and regulate infrastructure and incentives)
This took a long time to read and is somewhat textbook-like, but it's very comprehensive and details several potential drawdown efforts that I hadn't even heard of before. I found it overall to be an optimistic look at climate change efforts that was interesting to read.
What this book is not: a guide to how to actually implement these strategies in the real world (which will require governments and companies at every level to create and regulate infrastructure and incentives)
This took a long time to read and is somewhat textbook-like, but it's very comprehensive and details several potential drawdown efforts that I hadn't even heard of before. I found it overall to be an optimistic look at climate change efforts that was interesting to read.
bennse2's review against another edition
4.0
Technical but useful - brings my thinking from panic over how to reel climate change back in by proving a frame for what the aim is. The book is divided into areas for potential improvement (for example energy, women & girls, transport) and then specific proposals aimed at those, potential cost and benefits, and overall viability.
I wish I was still a college student if only to learn more about these and study a field that would make progress in these types of efforts.
I wish I was still a college student if only to learn more about these and study a field that would make progress in these types of efforts.
conprimo's review against another edition
4.0
At times a bit of an arduous read, being a more factual book than I'd normally choose. But interesting solutions presented in a generally approachable way.