And Citizens Can Save the Planet

This book already has lots of reviews that give a good overview. Because of that, I decided to list the subheadings in the chapters to offer you a look at some of the topics without getting overly wordy.

PART 1: Coming to Climate
CH 1: Going After Goliath
CH 2: PlaNYC
PART 2: What It Is and Why It Matters
CH 3: The Science – What’s climate change, anyway?; How 12,000 years of stable climate made civilization possible; The jazz ensemble of pollutants that threatens the climate; The life cycle of climate pollutants; Uncertainty and climate change denial; One battle, many fronts
CH 4: The Stakes – Rising stars; Severe heat; Political instability; Ocean life
PART 3: Coal to Clean Energy
CH 5: Coal’s Toll – Joining the fight; The (market’s) war on coal; new gas; new technology; proper regulation; consumer demand; Subsidizing the past; Coal in the world
CH 6: Green Power – Solar battle on the rooftops; But the sun doesn’t shine at night; A new utility bargain
PART 4: Green Living
CH 7: Where We Live – Better Buildings; challenge partners; white roofs; clean heat; building codes; Building Momentum
CH 8: How We Eat – The future of food; How we grow
PART 5: Travel Directions
CH 9: Cities Take the Wheel – Street dreams; Sharing the road; Hop on the bus (and the tram); The driverless seat
CH 10: Oil’s Twilight – High-performance vehicles; Europe’s diesel romance gone sour; Freight: the little engine that could; Taking flight; Reinventing the car; Toward a new mobility revolution; Over a barrel
PART 6: Cool Capitalism
CH 11: What We Make – Gas leaks; The timber racket; Waste not; RIP, HFCS; Resource innovation – the coming revolution
CH 12: How We Invest – Accounting for climate; Investment obstacles; Dollars and sense; taxes and fees; value capture; borrowing; Credit where it’s due
PART 7: Adapting to Change
CH 13: A Resilient World – Can we heal the climate?; The key steps to climate restoration; The river’s going to do what the river’s going to do; The resilience dilemma; Feeding the world; A global embrapa?
CH 14 New Normals – Remembering Canute; Natural allies; Mapping out solutions; Rain; Heat; Disease; Drought
CH 15: The Way Forward – reform subsidies; increase transparency; force monopolies to compete; invest in natural resources; realign incentives; improve liquidity; crack down on rent seeking; Fixing political failures; The metropolitan solution; Opportunity for all

This book is indeed about hope and how we go forward.

Bloomberg is known as a very successful billionaire entrepreneur and several term mayor of New York city. Pope has been the chairman of the Sierra Club. This isn’t the book you want if you’re looking for scientific and technical details. Both travel in broad political and business circles and bring a very wide perspective to changes in our environment. Much of their view is worldwide and could be useful to rich and poor countries. They tell many stories about their involvement in helping solve climate change problems worldwide. The individual stories themselves were not that interesting, but taking them in toto gives hope for a general approach to solving climate change problems. They make a case for using cities for trying out different approaches to the various climate and environmental problems. They aim to get solid information to set up a program then carefully monitoring the results to see if the problem is actually been solved. Then propagate what seems to work best so others can copy it and adjust it to their own set of problems. This could be a great deal more efficient than having a vast federal plan trying to make one set rules work for the many different climates and problems we have. They think that with the right choices we will be healthier and wealthier.

Bloomberg often outlines his way of thinking. For instance in countries like India, for hundreds of millions of people their only light source is kerosene. It is relatively cheap in small quantities, but not very healthy or safe to use. He looks at the total money cost and the environmental cost versus the cost of supplying solar and LEDS and concludes that the cost of supplying kerosene for a year or two would purchase solar cells for all these people. The solar cells would last 20-30 years and could also power other electrical devices such as phones and computers. This is a much better and cheaper solution.

Both can use their many contacts and experience to meet with experts from different areas. The result is a valuable overview of problems and more general solutions in some cases. For instance just changing the color of roofs from black to white can make an enormous difference in energy use in some climates. Changing building codes to make renovations easier such as trying to better insulate building makes it possible to renovate many more buildings. They give the example of the old Empire State building, that is close to a hundred years old. It was renovated and the owners found there was payback on their investment in a few years from energy savings and greater appeal for the renovated rental space.

Being able to transport goods cheaply is a great help to the general economy. Roads are usually easier to do but lend themselves to more corrupt political bargaining. Rail is much more difficult to build, but it provides by far the cheapest and most efficient way of moving large amounts of goods. There are three changes to auto use coming on fast: power source moving from fossil fuels toward electric, more self driving cars, and the ownership model by Lyft and Uber.

Social and economic planning is difficult and can get very complicated with political interactions. Examples are methane that is a byproduct of fracking for oil. This is a very valuable energy source that is relatively clean. Despite being an essentially free byproduct it is often burned at the site to get rid of it because there is no economical way of transporting it to where it would be useful. Chemical industry uses the methane as a starting material for many essential products. They are spending billions of dollars in the US to build new plants to use this cheap resource. In the meantime a large amount of the gas escapes and it's over 80 times more potent than ordinary carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.

Many developing countries such as India have capable scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs who are stymied by a lack of funding. Bloomberg is especially good at explaining schemes to fund them. A relatively small amount of money spent in getting an improved credit rating for a nation can result in appreciable savings in interest long term. These steps usually include increased tax collection efficiency, providing more funds, thus allowing more improvements that in turn attracts business investment, a golden circle. He sees a shift by business and government chiefs toward seeing climate change as a financial and economic factor that can add value to their business, city or state.

Pope on the other hand is interested in broad ecological changes mainly by the way we farm, maintain forests, dam rivers, etc. For example the National forests have mainly been maintained by preventing forest fires. We have come to realize this practice allows bugs that are detrimental to the trees to proliferate and harm the trees, while the accumulation of deadwood and debris makes any fires that occur very, very dangerous. The result is that the forests are holding less water and carbon dioxide. In the weather cycle of the last few years more of the water is coming down in California as liquid rain instead of snow that is usually stored in the Mountains and delivers the water gradually as it melts. Instead the eater arrives all at once. This results in flooding downstream. As an experiment several farmers allowed levees protecting their crops from flooding river water to be opened, thus flooding the fields with water. Apparatus was set up to monitor the effects of the flooding water on the crops. The result was beneficial to the crops, beneficial to the aquifer below the crops since much water seeped through to it, and finally less flooding downstream since there was less water flowing downstream.

Generally the point is that if we understand various natural phenomena taking place in an area we can develop techniques that take advantage of natural forces. This method can sometimes be cheaper and more effective than advanced engineering projects. The levees that were meant to prevent flooding at the beginning of the streams also prevented natural refertilization by the flooding waters and building up the aquifer, while causing more damage of flooding downstream. In California complex water use laws and the ‘tragedy of the commons’ effect could result in setting up a more viable system, but a new system could be taken advantage of by a few to the detriment of many.

They both note that natural storm shields like dunes, mangroves, and swamps can mitigate big storms but have been overrun for housing, etc. Making new storm barriers that can function as parks and recreation areas are much easier to sell and are more useful than just destroying standing buildings.

There is also a great hope that public funded research may give us a new Green Revolution with crops that thrive in a changing climate. One of the biggest challenges is economically purifying sea water. Another approach is to have big buildings that use a lot of water, process their own water for multiple uses there on the premises. Some commercial buildings can reduce outside water use by 95%. Other ideas are to use heat generated by one part of the building such as a data center to heat other parts of the building in cool weather.

They also point out that the federal government pays enormous subsidies to fossil fuel and agriculture producers. This money might be better spent on renewables and improving our infrastructure.

Climate change is an overwhelming problem. For one thing, many people don't believe it exists, and others just don't seem to care. In this book, Bloomberg and Pope, men from very different backgrounds, team up to offer solutions. They write about solutions many of us can implement ourselves (such as painting rooftops white in order to absorb less sunlight), as well as how to persuade businesses and politicians to do more to protect us from environmental problems. Many people aren't going to be eco-friendly out of the good of their hearts, and those who want to sometimes can't afford it. So, we need to make environmentalism affordable and even profitable, and this book has many suggestions on how to do that. There are also suggestions for how we can change the political environment (pun intended) as well, starting with cities and setting good examples. This is a wonderful book, easy to read, informative, and, despite the frightening issues it tackles, hopeful.

This book needs to be read by anyone concerned about the condition of our planet. Even if they deny climate change is happening. Michael Bloomberg and Carl Pope write straightforward narrative, backed up with colorful photographs. But this book is not just about climate change and saving the planet, it's also about tackling renewable energies like wind and solar that are profitable for everyone.

I live in extreme southern Arizona, where the sun shines most any day of the year. It's an ideal place to harvest solar energy by installing solar panels on rooftops for private use. But when I first got here in late 2004, the price of solar panels made the transition to solar cost-prohibitive. The energy companies did not want to lose profits because peak hours are usually in the mid afternoon. Rather than be thankful that solar panel users were saving energy and avoiding brownouts, companies prefer to make solar panels too expensive for the the average homeowner. This is all covered in the chapter "Green Power." The authors agree that utility companies and rooftop solar makers need to work in unison.

They also write about the melting of glaciers and the sinking of southern Louisiana. There is no denying both are happening.

The solutions the authors bring up make total sense. Businesses and private sector must reform subsidies, increase transparency, force monopolies to compete, invest in natural resources, and fixing political failures. Climate change is not a Democratic hoax. We must all transition to renewable energy and the government and businesses must retrain employees in these new fields to keep these workers employed. This climate of hope applies to everyone for a cleaner and safer future.

Tackling climate change through entrepreneurship

Working with Sustainable Nation Ireland, we are tasked with tackling climate change through entrepreneurship. Making sure Ireland Inc. gets a disproportionate size of the biggest business opportunity since the internet.

Perfect storm

The perfect business storm in capital expenditure (1 trillion in the next 20 years), financial metrics (non-sustainable is deemed risky ), government regulations and consumerism.

Climate of Hope

So when I picked up “Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet” by Michael Bloomberg and Carl Pope, I was hoping for something interesting.

Not going dark

The book does not focus on the dark scenarios, which is that if the vast majority of the world’s scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tailspin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat

Lets make money

Instead of arguing about making sacrifices, let’s talk about how we can make money. Instead of pitting the environment versus the economy, let’s consider market principles and economic growth. Our kind of language. However, the book does not deliver on its promise. It is dark, and it is very vague about how to make money.

Climate change is like cooking spaghetti sauce

The book is very good at explaining climate change. It is really quite simple. We have overloaded the atmosphere with heat-trapping gas, and the rest are just details. Look what happens when you heat up a pan of spaghetti sauce. Bubbling and splattering away. That is the weather effect.

The recipe

The recipe of carbon dioxide, black carbon, methane, nitrous oxide (fertiliser), chlorine, fluorine and bromine will make the weather more volatile. The cost and impacts are enormous:

Coastal storm damage could grow to $35 billion annually.
Agriculture could face yield losses of more than 10 percent.
Increasing power demand caused by rising temperatures could cost ratepayers an additional $12 billion annually.
According to the World Health Organization, seven million people die from air pollution each year.
If all the glaciers in the world were to melt, sea levels could rise as much as 230 feet, putting most of the world’s population centres underwater.
High-Tide flooding in Miami Beach has increased by 400 percent.
By 2100, as a result of rising sea levels, Boston could flood twice daily.
Around three billion people rely on fish as their primary source of protein, or as a source of income.
More than 90 percent of the increased heat we’ve created over the last century has ended up being stored in the oceans.
Hotter temperatures will expand the areas in which mosquito-transmitted diseases like Zika, West Nile virus, and dengue can thrive
the cost of Coal exceeded $100 billion.
In Europe, coal power production causes over 22,000 premature deaths a year.
In India, it causes 100,000 premature deaths a year.
Every new coal-fired power plant in Indonesia is projected to kill more than 24,000 over its forty-year lifetime.
American’s throw away $218 billion of food each year (that is 1% of their GDP).
Agriculture generates 30 percent of total methane, mainly from livestock and rice paddies.
Oil now accounts for 34–36 percent of fossil fuel emissions.
About 25 percent of global black carbon comes from either stationary or mobile diesel engines.
“imported emissions” are now 55 percent of Great Britain’s total climate impact.
A gallon of tar sands oil from Alberta uses only 10 percent of its energy content to power a car on the streets of Chicago. The rest is wasted in mining, shipping and refining the oil, internal heat losses in the engines, and idling.
Since the 1980s the number of registered weather-related loss events has tripled, and inflation-adjusted insurance losses from these events have increased from an annual average of around $10 billion in the 1980s to around $50 billion over the past decade.
The number of Chinese cities experiencing flooding has doubled since 2008.
One-Quarter of the world’s population already faces water scarcity.
It is easily solvable

For example, solar panels, small batteries, and LED lighting make it possible to do away with the whole grid and instead light households, minimally, for a one-time cost that seems to average about $200 a family. It the ability to bear the full upfront cost that is killing it. Climate-friendly infrastructure is typically cheaper to operate than the traditional models but more expensive to build, because the technology has to be paid for up front.

Buildings

Buildings are another example. Buildings are responsible for consuming more than half the world’s electricity, along with plenty of gas, oil, and HFCs to power boilers, air conditioners, and refrigerators. Also, construction materials—cement, steel, plastic, glass, aluminum—are another major driver of emissions. At one point during China’s construction boom, one-third of its carbon emissions were associated with making cement. However, It is very easy to make better buildings down to net zero.

You have to wonder why it is not happening yet

The question to ask is where are governments, development agencies and banks investing? Believe it or not, governments are still tilting in favour of fossil fuels. Globally, governments provided $493 billion in subsidies for fossil fuels in 2014. Because lobbying is a $3 billion industry in Washington alone—and that is not counting the lobbying that goes on in state capitals and city halls. That money (the lobbying and the subsidies) should be spent on climate impact measures.

Power to the cities and nature

The authors think that cities are the solution. Power to mayors to implement local solutions. They believe nature itself can solve. Trees, forests, environmentally friendly agriculture, flood plains, wetlands. Mangroves, oysters and spending money on restoring what we have destroyed. Biomimicry at massive scale. Why reinvent what nature does best?

Open source innovation

They belief in open source innovation. For example, Embrapa. Embrace is the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. It tests and disseminated a broad system of agricultural interventions suited for tropical conditions. In the ten years after its launch, agricultural production rose by 365 percent, without genetically engineered private patents and without destroying rain forest for new cropland.

The message

We can stop global warming. Not by slowing down economies but by speeding them up. Not by depending on national governments but by empowering cities, businesses, and citizens. Not by scaring people about the future but by showing them the immediate benefits of taking action. If we accomplish this, we will be healthier and wealthier. We will live longer and better lives. We will have less poverty and political instability.

Yeah, right

Here is where the book really falls down. All we need to do is (in no particular order, but maybe start with 7).

reform the subsidies
increase transparency
invest in natural resources
force monopolies to compete
realign incentives
improve liquidity
fix the political failure
The success stories

Finally, the ask for more people to tell climate success stories.That we can do. Look at the over 900 entries for Climatelaunchpad, the biggest green business idea accelerator in the world. In Ireland look at Mimergy, Hexafly, Oxymem, MagGrow, NanoPower and I can go on for a while (and happy to do so on request). If you know of Irish examples, let us know.

The future is bright. Green entrepreneurship is the future.

We desperately need this book to be read and absorbed, especially now that we have a president who will oppose every effort being made for our environment and our well being as a planet. This is a common sensible book and has others have pointed out, it's definitely not a doom and gloom book.

This book goes further than just saying we need to eliminate coal. That's an important element but not the only one. There's a chapter on how our eating habits have an effect on the environment. Another chapter deals with the effects different modes of transportation bring about. The part titled "Cool Capitalism" covers the roles of manufacturer and investor.

So this is a truly comprehensive book and one I urge you all to read. Our planet needs the concern of all of us in order to survive.

A very balanced discussions of what we can change and what we need to do about the problems that will happen if we fail. The tone avoids the hysterical, doomsday tone of much of the writing on this subject while maintaining a clear headed objective tone. It will probably offend tree huggers as well as climate deniers -- and it should. Bloomberg brings the pragmatic view of an ex-mayor and businessman who has already dealt with many climate change issues. Pope brings the view of an environmentalist who has fought and often lost many battles. Together they paint a realistic and often hopeful picture of what can and must be done.

Mike Bloomberg and Carl Pope's Climate of Hope is a powerful antidote to the cynicism dominating the headlines in the wake of the 2016 election and the Trump Administration's attempts to undermine the landmark Paris climate accords. Climate of Hope reminds us that we can, in fact, control our destiny and make measurable progress toward the critical goals of lowering carbon emissions and becoming more energy efficient without sacrificing growth or quality of life. For Mike, this isn't a theoretical exercise -- he spent 12 years as Mayor of New York City infusing sustainability and resilience planning into every aspect of one of world's most complex cities. His visionary PlaNYC should be a guide for cities around the world not just to plan for rising sea levels and more intense weather events but also for how to prepare for the continuing influx of residents to cities around the world. Cities have lead the way on climate change, and along with the private sector, they will have to continue to lead. Climate of Hope provides a roadmap for how smart leaders can invest now to position their cities and companies to succeed sustainably.

Michael Bloomberg and Carl Pope's "Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet" is an accessible and useful read on how dealing with climate change can be done in a way that works. Some information may seem like retread but I liked it because it feeds into the overall message of the book. Well organized and presented, each chapter alternates between the authors and various topics. The authors don't polly-anna the situation but as the title states, it gives hope that there are measures that can be taken to deal with the growing issue.

Bloomberg, Michael and Carl Pope, 2017, Climate of Hope. How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save
the Planet: NY, St Martin's Press, 264 p. [no index]

Michael Bloomberg, a businessman and three term mayor (until 2014) of New York, and Carl Pope, activist with the Sierra Club, combined a series of folksy lectures [in the style of magazine columns] into partial book format. Neither author is a serious writer, being out of their domain with regard to oceanography, anthropology, geology, biology, climatology, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and related sciences.

Dealing with climate change which they morph into, and confuse with, air pollution, the book regurgitates dozens of elementary but unsubstantiated loose numbers. Many statistics may well be reasonably accurate but this book contains few formal references or scientific source material.

Climate of Hope begins with Bloomberg explaining that he became interested in the Sierra's Club campaign called Beyond Coal about 1987 and subsequently committed $50 million through Bloomberg Philanthropies. The initial goal was to cut one third [of 500] U.S. coal serviced, electricity generating plants by 2020. The coal plants were either to be shutdown or converted to solar, wind, or natural gas.

Along with promoting more efficiency in all the myriad uses of energy, that is essentially heat transfer, the authors develop a propaganda sales pitch for heavily subsidized cars that will "get 100 miles per gallon" and for solar energy companies who continue to lose money even though federal incentives were effective.

The authors apparently believe battery operated cars will solve the short term energy problem of pollution by coal and hydrocarbons. Although they barely mention nuclear power, futuristic energy sources such as hydrogen (from water or methane) and deuterium are not cited in their book.

According to the authors, the economics of battery operated cars in the United States involves the construction of some 200 battery manufacturing plants, [installation of battery chargers in every parking lot], and the construction of vast miles of new electric transmission lines.

Complementary References
Hansen, James, 2009, Storms of My Grandchildren. The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe
and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity: NY, Bloomsbury USA, 303 p., illus.
Huber, Peter W., & Mark P. Mills, 2005, The Bottomless Well. The Twilight of Fuel, The Virtue of Waste,
and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy: Cambridge, MA, Basic Books, 214 p., ill.
Plimer, Ian, 2009, Heaven and Earth. Global Warming, the Missing Science: Victoria, Australia,
Court Publ., 504p., numerous ill.

Some excellent examples of what can be done even in spite of Trump Administration. Well laid out chapters and easy reading. I would knock off a star because Bloomberg pats himself on the back too often (even though it may be true)

Lord knows we need hope in this fight to preserve our world

With all of the chaos and gridlock in Washington, I enjoyed reading this local take on how to affect change in our cities, communities, and companies. It left me feeling hopeful, empowered, and inspired by the opportunity we have as individuals to make a difference right where we are with what we have.

This is an outstanding book that I recommend to anyone and everyone. It is a great source of interesting and useful facts. (If only it had references.) The experience and wisdom of the two authors suffuse the entire volume as does the spirit of optimism and hope. I especially encourage capitalists and conservatives to read this since Bloomberg, in particular, approaches the issues very much from their perspective.

Whether you believe in climate change or not, this book is a must-read. As is typical with any issue, climate change is complicated, but Bloomberg and Pope offer real solutions to the climate problems facing our world.

As a scientist, I tend to look at things with logic, so making the changes suggested by this book make perfect sense. But the authors point out the economics involved, and that sheds a different, if not logical, light on the subject. It's always been hard for me to accept that money makes the world go round.

So much great data and so many success stories accomplished at the local or city level. It's time for us each to take personal actions to fight climate change and to learn what your town or city can do. The federal government has nowhere near the ability to accomplish what individuals and cities can do, nor does the Trump administration have the power to hold back what we can achieve without the national government. This book will leave you eager to make changes and share what you've learned so others can be empowered to make changes too. Highly encouraging while also very factual and sober about what is likely happen if we do not act.

Clear, concise, deeply researched, and free of partisan polemics. Just the facts, and plenty of them. Sometimes absolutely mind-boggling: how many TONS of methane PER DAY leaking out of a storage facility in California? The thing I liked most about this book is the clarity with which it presents the case that coal is over, how and why it should, and that new forms of energy production are imperative and coming. The Trumpian politics aimed at coal voters is all of a fabric with his other baloney (apologies for the badly mixed metaphor). The problem of climate change is far too real to play with. Thanks to Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Pope for infusing it with some hope. A breath of fresh air to counter the toxic fumes coming from our current administration. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is my wish that there had been greater attribution regarding factual evidence. Sources cited. On the other hand that may have slowed the pace.

This book tells the story behind the transition beyond coal and towards clean energy. It's a story of health and communities over pollution and profits. Seems like a story we should all be interested in re-telling and re-making in our own communities across the country.

Stories in Climate of Hope like that of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign are truly needed inspiration right now. Mayor Bloomberg and Mr. Pope do a powerful job of articulating how every one of us can help protect public health and our communities from pollution from dirty energy sources like coal contributing to climate disruption by engaging our neighbors and officials at the local, state, and regional levels. Its a must read for anyone looking for a path forward to advance clean energy after the 2016 election!

Who should listen to a world class hypocrite like Michael Bloomberg when it comes to climate change? The carbon footprint of a man who owns several private aircraft, including a helicoptor he likes to fly himself just for fun, and uses them to fly around the world to his 10 different residences makes him the Sasquatch of Climate Change. Yes, I'm sure his time is valuable and he's more productive than you or me if he's not waiting in airport lounges. He's just too important to be bothered with walking the walk.

Nice propaganda, maybe will persuade some key folks. The contradicting facts and arithmetic are largely contained in the recent international criticisms of the CoP21 2C claims, and aimed at the IPCC WG-III assumptions, which are hidden and entirely speculative.

The tenth richest man in the world and the former head of a 2 million member Sierra Club write an ignorant, anti-science book. I am not surprised that Carl Pope, a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College, has a knowledge of science barely one step up from explaining things in terms of Moon gods and Sun gods. What does surprise me is that obviously no attempt was made to fact check the information in a book written by the 10th richest man in the world and the former head of a 2-million-member environmental organization. Google "The Popes of Global Warming Religion Write a Book" for a detailed exposition of the errors, lies and crazy ideas contained in this book.

Nice propaganda, maybe will persuade some key folks. The contradicting facts and arithmetic are largely contained in the recent international criticisms of the CoP21 2C claims, and aimed at the IPCC WG-III assumptions, which are hidden and entirely speculative.

The tenth richest man in the world and the former head of a 2 million member Sierra Club write an ignorant, anti-science book. I am not surprised that Carl Pope, a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College, has a knowledge of science barely one step up from explaining things in terms of Moon gods and Sun gods. What does surprise me is that obviously no attempt was made to fact check the information in a book written by the 10th richest man in the world and the former head of a 2-million-member environmental organization. Google "The Popes of Global Warming Religion Write a Book" for a detailed exposition of the errors, lies and crazy ideas contained in this book.