Ronald Bailey is not going to give in to environmental doomsayers. And neither should you. This book tells you why. In seven long chapters he shows why overpopulation is not an issue (world population will peak in the 21st and then start to go down), that there is no shortage of energy (whether carbon-based or non-carbon, especially nuclear; can you imagine nuclear power plants the size of a pickup truck that will provide energy for 100,000 people? they'd be here sooner than you'd think if certa [...]

Full disclosure: I hold a degree in environmental science and work in natural resources, so you can take my opinion with however many grains of salt you want, but this book could seriously have used some fact checking. It read a little bit like a witch hunt/Republican debate. This book just came across weirdly. I can see some of the author's points, sure, but the rest it seemed like someone in these industries was paying him to write what he did. He treats people who are concerned like idiots. I [...]

O.K. - I get it. The prophets of doom have not been right, so far, and those on the left are motivated by lust for power (and influence and funding of course), but this book is simply too celebratory and optimistic. Not having been caught so far does not mean that we will never be caught.On the other hand the "peak oil" folks were/are just silly.I was disappointed by the discussion of Climate Change, which missed both of the fatal flaws in the argument that the very real warming we have experien [...]

In 2005, Bailey changed his mind about climate change: He concluded that the balance of the scientific evidence showed that man-made global warming could likely pose a significant problem for humanity by the end of this century. It is gutsy and all too rare, for a public intellectual to so clearly make an about-face on an issue of import, particularly climate change. I took this to serve as compelling evidence of a man working honestly to navigate the truth of a difficult problem. And for that r [...]

I received this book through giveaway, thank you so much. This book should be mandatory reading for all the people making rules, laws in our country, world, especially senators voting making decisions for all of us now and in the future. This was a refreshing book to read. I thought when I saw the cover it may be hard to read to understand, not true at all. I admire the author for taking time to research, reference scientific studies, quite a few of these here. He exposes the truth behind the c [...]

Outstanding. Should be required reading for every politician and policy maker.

So far this is an excellent book. The author has done much research and is not in the camp of the climate skeptics. Here are some of his best points.Point One: when we look at policies we need to carefully compare the costs and benefits and not simply assume that if something has a cost it shouldn't be pursued. Many great examples.(1) After Fukushima Germany shut down its nuclear reactors and relied more on coal fired power plants. This resulted in a dramatic increase in CO2 emissions. (pp. 80-8 [...]

It’s a book that clusters all the positive news about environment, that never got published. If you want to feel that things are getting better and there is still hope for humanity, read it! The best part is that it has a lot more scientific backing than the everyday panic mongering headlines.A few examples:There are signs that thanks to advances in agriculture, we have already reached peak farmland. With a bit of luck, no more forests need to be cut down to feed the population of Earth.Speaki [...]

Bailey doesn't detail his conversion from global warming skeptic to believer (I would have been interested), but the book is probably stronger given his current viewpoint. One does not need to be skeptical of how "settled" the science is to see the correct path forward: allow the free market to operate and deliver the wealth and innovation that will minimize the costs and ameliorate the consequences. What surprised me was how clearly the various IPCC reports acknowledge this. Still, we're left t [...]

It has been a really challenging book to read because it has forced me to defend my beliefs in certain things like climate change and social/corporate policy. The book basically pokes holes in environmental arguments of both the far left and far right and there's been times where I'm like, yes I agree and other times where I've thought, this is total nonsense. It's kind of nice to read something that doesn't just confirm all my beliefs.However at the end of the day, not many real solutions or id [...]

What I like most about this book is that I come away from it feeling like I now have a solid grounding in the environmental debates of our time. Bailey argues that we should be not only hopeful about the future, but even should expect things to continue to improve. It will be hard for many environmental radicals to accept this outlook, but for me at least, it was compelling that Bailey accepts climate change as an important trend. It's a critical problem, but one that can be solved through innov [...]

A very welcome antidote tone kind of Malthusian conventional wisdom to be found in sections of Lauato Si. Bailey acknowledges the challenges ahead, but aptly describes how humanity's ability to innovate and problem-solve mean that our planet's, our biosphere and --most importantly -- us will have our best days ahead.My one criticism is that some of the chapters could easily have been split.

Superb book with an excellent overview into environmental alarmism and the truth behind renewable energies. Very well balanced and positive outlook on these topics. Definite must read for folks who are interested in energy crises, species extinction and all the evils of "modern generation" on the ecology