Publishers Weekly
11/28/2022
In this scrupulous if dry outing, Jacobson (100% Clean, Renewable Energy and Storage for Everything), a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, suggests that the only thing preventing meaningful climate action is a lack of willpower. Contending that “we have 95 percent of the technologies that we need” to end pollution, global warming, and energy insecurity, he highlights the potential of wind, water, and solar power, and posits that while the cost of switching over might appear astronomical, it will be cheaper in the long run than sticking with current fossil fuel systems and will yield more jobs, lower electricity prices, and reduced deaths from air pollution. Jacobson meticulously contrasts his vision of carbon-free energy with alternatives, arguing, for example, that a shift from coal to natural gas is a bad idea because doing so would contribute dramatically more to global warming over a 20-year period and produce only slightly less emissions than coal over a 100-year period. Though the writing is occasionally stilted and repetitive in its praise of wind, water, and solar, the argument is convincing and optimistic. Readers looking to rebut criticism about green energy will find this a great help. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
'A meticulous primer on achieving a WWS energy transition.' Kirkus Reviews
‘… the argument is convincing and optimistic. Readers looking to rebut criticism about green energy will find this a great help.’ Publishers Weekly
‘Professor Jacobson eschews expensive pie in the sky technology like carbon capture or nuclear to show us the way out of a multi-layered problem. Pollution, climate catastrophe and energy security can all be addressed with his simple plan. Mark lays it out in an easy-to-read, step-by-step guide that gives hope and helps us all to easily understand that these problems are not insurmountable or even very expensive. We have virtually all we need to move ahead with a cleaner, safer and more secure world starting today. You knowing it will accelerate this necessary transition away from burning things to power our lives. This book is a godsend.’ Mark Ruffalo
‘To those who wrongly insist we lack the tools to decarbonize our economy today, I say: read energy systems expert Mark Jacobson’s amazing new book. In No Miracles Needed, Jacobson presents a comprehensive and detailed, yet highly accessible and readable blueprint for the options we have right now to address the climate crisis by taking advantage of existing renewable energy, storage, and smart grid technology combined with electrification of transportation systems, and efficiency measures. Read this book and be informed and engaged to help tackle the defining challenge of our time.’ Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University and author of The New Climate War
‘Many people believe or fear that we can’t solve the climate crisis, because we just don’t have the technologies in hand to do so. This book should lay that fear to rest, once and for all.’ Naomi Oreskes, co-author (with Erik M Conway) of The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market
‘… shows impressively that numerous crises can be killed with one stone, without us having to wait for miracles: the energy, economic, health, and biodiversity crises can be solved by transitioning to a smart and complete supply of renewable energies. Let's not wait for miracles: let’s simply implement it as soon as possible. Well worth reading!’ Claudia Kemfert, German Institute for Economic Research and Professor of Energy Economics and Energy Policy at Leuphana University
‘… a highly compelling and accessible book laying out the best path for [our] energy future, one that is achievable with currently available technologies, with no need for some new miraculous breakthrough. This is a must read for all who care about the future of our society and our planet, written by the world’s premier thinker on energy futures.’ Bob Howarth, Cornell University
‘… blends science, engineering and history into a readable cornucopia of information … Mark's style is to present approachable depth on dozens of major topics: everything you need to understand, and to join the fight against, the peril of our time.’ Anthony R. Ingraffea, Cornell University
‘Forget future miracle technologies promised by snake oil salespeople. This book offers a practical and real-world solution today. It is a must read for everyone concerned about climate change and air pollution and interested in the transition to a more sustainable all-purpose renewable energy future. It is sure to be one of the most important books that you will read this decade.’ Peter Strachan, Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University
‘Mark Jacobson’s essential book, No Miracles Needed, offers clean, safe, and efficient solutions for our energy needs in this time of ever-growing climate chaos and disaster … The tools for producing, storing, and transmitting affordable and safe clean energy exist here and now with wind, water, and solar. No miracles are needed. A tireless and brilliant advocate for the environment, Professor Mark Jacobson’s voice must be read, heard, and acted upon - now.’ Heidi Hutner, Stony Brook University
‘A masterful yet definitive book on renewable energy technology for those serious about understanding clean energy and how America and the world can transition to clean energy.' John J. Berger, author of Solving the Climate Crisis: Frontline Reports from the Race to Save the Earth
'Jacobson's scholarly and analytical book is persuasive' The Economist
'In his new book, Mark Jacobson tackles the problems of climate change, air pollution, and energy security head-on, offering a hopeful vision of a future powered by renewable energy sources.' Donald Wright, Yale Climate Connections
‘Mark Jacobson’s new book, greeted with hosannas by some leading environmentalists, is full of good ideas …’ Bart Hawkins Kreps, Resilience.org
Kirkus Reviews
2022-11-08
How to solve our climate, energy, and pollution crises with today’s tools.
Few readers will disagree with Jacobson, a Stanford professor whose work “forms the scientific basis of the Green New Deal,” when he points out that “burning things—coal, gas, oil, and biomass—has produced the prosperous world that we in the West inhabit” but also dismal environmental damage. A steady stream of solutions pour off the presses, mostly describing futuristic technology or nations cooperating to a degree never seen in history. In fact, Jacobson maintains, 95% of the technologies that we need are already commercially available, and we know how to build the rest. Everyone, the author included, agrees that the world must move away from combustion and toward electrification and learn to provide direct heat and energy through clean, sustainable sources—namely, wind, water, and solar, or WWS. Happy not to encounter another voice of doom or utopian fantasy, readers may settle back to enjoy this common-sense narrative, but they will need to pay close attention. While Jacobson discusses ways to speed adoption of cost-effective systems that are now competing successfully in the marketplace, mostly he delivers technical descriptions of how they work and the science behind them—e.g., the design and operation of a run-of-the-river hydropower plant versus a conventional facility. Readers distant from high school physics and chemistry will relearn the basics of electricity, photovoltaic cells, semiconductors, and power grids. In this expert, densely detailed, and mostly realistic text, Jacobson offers some surprises. For example, battery- and fuel cell–powered cargo vessels and airplanes are now in advanced development. In the final chapter, the author examines policies essential to building a 100% clean infrastructure. These descriptions are heavily technical, and the author admits that overcoming political hurdles will be a greater challenge. The book includes a foreword by Bill McKibben.
A meticulous primer on achieving a WWS energy transition emphasizing the engineering—the easy part.
