Reviews for Hack the Planet: Science's Best Hope - or Worst Nightmare - for Averting Climate Catastrophe

The average rating for Hack the Planet: Science's Best Hope - or Worst Nightmare - for Averting Climate Catastrophe based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-04-28 00:00:00 Lauren Giovannoni See my review of this book, along with Jeff Goodell's How to Cool the Planet: "The Geoengineering Genie" Update: On my review of Goodell's book, someone asked why I liked that book better than Hack the Planet. Here's my reply: How to Cool the Planet is a much better read. If you don't know much about geoengineering, it's the better book to get. Perhaps I should have given it five stars... However, if you have been following a lot of the news on geoengineering over the past couple of years, then much of the material in How to Cool the Planet will be old hat to you. It could still be fun to read'as it was for me'because of the insight into the personalities of the advocates of geoengineering research, like David Keith and Ken Caldeira. If you're not so interested in personalities, and want more detail on the science, then Hack the Planet delivers that. However, it is not as smooth of a read, and assumes a science-literate audience, familiar with things like bell curves, which it brings up without explaining them.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-01-16 00:00:00 David T Tinius Do you think regulating carbon emissions worldwide is a lost cause? Well, don't worry about it because there are a few scientists and a lot of politicians who agree, and like Dr. Strangelove, they have a plan! Just fix the atmosphere and ocean, so we can continue our merry way burning fossil fuels and destroying ecosystems. Then a privileged few will enjoy life within climate controlled superdomes, and to heck with those who can't afford a seat at the game. 'Hack the Planet' discusses two methods of surviving climate mayhem. Unfortunately, they are presented as polarities. On one end, reduce carbon emissions via enforceable, economic regulation, and restore our ecosystems to health with green technology - a formidable task when seeking global cooperation; and on the other end, futuristic technological solutions to diffuse the effects of a greenhouse atmosphere with 'hands-on' climate warping like reflective cloud-seeding and forcing ocean algae blooms. Why spend money to regulate a green planet, when we can just fix it, and continue to sell oil? Kintisch's research is packed with quotes from prominent scientists and environmental movement leaders from our long history of tinkering with climate control. Unfortunately, so many quotes often get in the way of what Kintisch is trying to tell us. Still, eventually, we're left with the key words 'control' and 'consequences'. Both are the nightmare of climate warping schemes, which is why we haven't seen more of them. Kintisch may call it hacking, whereas others may call it developing climate software. A green planet without burning fossil fuels is still the goal, and that vision will become a reality. Perhaps it's time to practice an efficient green life, and maybe tinker a little, too.