Awards

• Winner of Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2006
• Winner of Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2017
• Winner of Outstanding Academic Title 2017

Overview

With glaciers melting, oceans growing more acidic, species dying out, and catastrophic events like Hurricane Katrina ever more probable, strong steps must be taken now to slow global warming. Further warming threatens entire regional economies and the well being of whole populations, and in this century alone, it could create a global cataclysm. Synthesizing information from leading scientists and the most up-to-date research, science journalist William Sweet examines what the United States can do to help prevent climate devastation. Rather than focusing on cutting oil consumption, which Sweet argues is expensive and unrealistic, the United States should concentrate on drastically reducing its use of coal. Coal-fired plants, which currently produce more than half of the electricity in the United States, account for two fifths of the country's greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Sweet believes a mixture of more environmentally sound technologies-wind turbines, natural gas, and nuclear reactors-can effectively replace coal plants, especially since dramatic improvements in technology have made nuclear power cleaner, safer, and more efficient. Sweet cuts through all the confusion and controversies. He explores dramatic advances made by climate scientists over the past twenty years and addresses the various political and economic issues associated with global warming, including the practicality of reducing emissions from automobiles, the efficacy of taxing energy consumption, and the responsibility of the United States to its citizens and the international community to reduce greenhouse gases. Timely and provocative, Kicking the Carbon Habit is essential reading for anyone interested in environmental science, economics, and the future of the planet.

Full Product Details

9780231137119

Table of Contents

Reviews

His lively, clear reporting of both the science and politics of climate change... Make the book a pleasure to read. -- Doug Macdougall The Chronicle Review 4/14/2006 Sweet knows what he is talking about... Kicking the Carbon Habit is a great place to kick-start the debate and cool down the rhetoric. -- William Tucker Wall Street Journal 6/8/2006 An important contribution to the debate. Globe and Mail 6/24/2006 The book is extremely well written... Highly recommended. Choice 12/1/2006 Clearly written and very well-informed. Future Survey July 2006 28:7 A must-read for anyone who wants a good summary of our current understanding of global warming and the options before us. -- Andrew C. Kadak Physics Today 3/1/2007 Sweet's book is a readable, compelling and hard-nosed analysis of this vast and complicated subject. The Exeter Bulletin Fall 2007 [An] excellent survey perfect for both school and public libraries. The Midwest Book Review June 2008

His lively, clear reporting of both the science and politics of climate change... Make the book a pleasure to read. -- Doug Macdougall, The Chronicle Review Sweet knows what he is talking about... Kicking the Carbon Habit is a great place to kick-start the debate and cool down the rhetoric. -- William Tucker, Wall Street Journal An important contribution to the debate. -- Globe and Mail The book is extremely well written... Highly recommended. -- Choice Clearly written and very well-informed. -- Future Survey A must-read for anyone who wants a good summary of our current understanding of global warming and the options before us. -- Andrew C. Kadak, Physics Today Sweet's book is a readable, compelling and hard-nosed analysis of this vast and complicated subject. -- The Exeter Bulletin [An] excellent survey perfect for both school and public libraries. -- The Midwest Book Review

Author Information

William Sweet is a graduate of the University of Chicago and Princeton University. He is senior news editor at IEEE Spectrum, the flagship publication of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. His work has appeared in dozens of newspapers and magazines, including the Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, and MIT's Technology Review.

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