Hacking Planet Earth
How Geoengineering Can Help Us Reimagine the Future
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
An exploration of the cutting-edge technology that will enable us to confront the realities of climate change.
For decades scientists and environmentalists have sounded the alarm about the effects of global warming. We are now past the tipping point. As floods, storms, and extreme temperatures become our daily reality, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" efforts aren't enough anymore. In Hacking Planet Earth, New York Times bestselling author Thomas Kostigen takes readers to the frontlines of geoengineering projects that scientists, entrepreneurs, engineers, and other visionaries around the world are developing to solve the problems associated with climate change.
From giant parasols hovering above the Earth to shield us from an unforgiving sun, to lasers shooting up into clouds to coax out much-needed water, Kostigen introduces readers to this inspiring work and the people who are spearheading it. These futurist, far- thinking, world-changing ideas will save us, and Hacking Planet Earth offers readers their new vision for the future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Kostigen (Extreme Weather) reviews dozens of projects designed to mitigate global warming's deleterious effects in this stimulating survey. Some of the plans solar and wind farms are quotidian, but others a laser that can make it rain, an outer space parasol that would deflect the sun's energy before it reaches Earth, and metal trees that capture carbon emissions stretch the imagination. Joven Santos's whimsical sketches and Kostigen's interviews with the "mad geniuses" behind these bizarre ideas together provide food for thought and cause for optimism that some climate disasters might be avoided. Some of the projects, such as shingles made with "smog-reducing granules," get only a brief mention as Kostigen casts a wide net, exploring projects throughout the globe, in China, Morocco, and elsewhere. What's missing are reality checks, such as how much investment would be needed to put these prototypes into action and how effective they would be. Some ideas for example, a Brazilian tunnel project to move water over hundreds of miles to drought-prone regions sound potentially more environmentally harmful than useful. Overall, though, this is an intriguing overview of what science and engineering could do to help keep the planet livable.
