Freidman has a 'stache
I just finished reading Thomas Friedman's "Hot, flat, and crowded". I know he is a bit of a douche for being a cheerleader for both corporate globalization and the war in Iraq. His haters also point out how annoying is buzzwords and non-nonsensical analogies can be, though sometimes they are hilarious.
Nonetheless, I guess I was interested in reading this book since I wanted to read a book that was a little more optimistic than the doomsday peak oil scenario outlined in Kunstler's "Long Emergency". For the most part, Friedman delivers on that front.
He outlines the causes of climate change (fossil fuels, economic & population growth) fairly effectively and goes on to point out some of the solutions required (energy efficiency, renewable energy, electrified transportation, smart meters, protection of biodiversity, and family planning). Its all good stuff, and reassuring to read a book about public policy proposals that can be fairly straight forward to implement. Though, of course he left out smart growth, being a rich New York Times columnist with a giant house and all.
His section on population growth was interesting, since although the human population will soon be 7 billion, about 7 times the normal average in human history, the big problem isn't necessarily how many people there are, but how much resources people use. Africa for example has a very high birthrate, though the footprint left by one North American can often equal an entire village in Kenya for example. Though family planning should definitely be available in every country and we should all be encouraged to have small families, just 1 or 2 kids, the real problem is of course the amount of resources the west and the rising middle classes in the developing world are using.
On this front, like with many authors on climate change, I still think there is a bit of a missing linkage between food consumption and economic growth. There is no doubt that Thomas Malthus and other critics about overpopulation are somewhat wrong that the Earth can't support a growing human population. Its not that the Earth can’t support feeding everyone, its that feeding everyone comes at the sacrifice of every other living thing and ecosystem in the world. Converting the world to agriculture to feed everyone doesn’t leave much room for everything else. When forests and other habitat are cleared this of course is one of the main causes of our record rates of extinction and clear cutting of forests. I don't propose everyone becomes vegetarian, but a more sustainable diet with a lower consumption of meat, may do the trick.
Supporting renewable energy, conservation, efficiency, and a reduction in dirty fuels is essential to addressing the climate change issue. Though, preserving biodiversity and a more sustainable diet is the flipside of the climate change debate that doesn’t get enough attention.
Anyways, I always enjoy reading about climate change and how it can be addressed through public policy, so in that, I learned of a few more exciting ideas I hope becomes a priority for the provinces and the feds.