- Details
- Category: bookreviews bookreviews
- Published: 11 September 2012 11 September 2012
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Author: Richard A Muller Rating: 9/10
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Energy is a topic that always fascinated me.
Unfortunately, energy is also a topic that is often politicized to extremes. It is refreshing then when a book addresses the issues of energy with impartiality and clarity. I might not like all the conclusions the author reaches, but I have no reason to doubt his intellectual honesty. He was, as an example, a skeptic on Global Warming for a long time, but decided to analyze the data (and perhaps more importantly, expand the data) to reach his own conclusions, and he changed his mind. I do like people that can be persuaded by data. The chapter where he explains his conclusions on Global Warming is very interesting and some of the conclusions surprising. The chapters on alternative energy are also quite good, with solar and wind energy sounding very promising. He is also very positive on natural gas as an alternative to dirtier technologies such as coal burning and oil. I'm a bit more skeptical on his conclusions on nuclear energy, particularly waste storage. Richard Mueller is a physicist by training so that might have pre-disposed him towards a more favorable view of nuclear energy than the average person. He does nonetheless make some very good (and informed) points on nuclear energy and made me re-think the matter. This is a very interesting and enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
