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Hell and High Water: Global Warming--the Solution and the Politics--and What We Should Do

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And ours should be too.

Joseph Romm, who is an expert on energy (author of The Hype about Hydrogen: Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate (2004), which I highly recommend), holds a PhD in physics with an emphasis on the physics of weather. Consequently he writes from a position of knowledge about climate change that few others can match. He is also politically savvy, having worked in the Department of Energy in the Clinton administration. His hair is on fire because the danger to the planet from global warming is frighteningly real, and it appears that nobody is going to do anything about it until it is too late.

Part I is devoted to both making it absolutely clear that global warming is caused by human activities, in particular the burning of fossil fuels, while giving some considerable data on just what the consequences of global warming will be for the planet and in particular for the US. A number of meany-mouthed nay-sayers have suggested that a little warming won't be so bad, especially for the US. Romm lays this mythology into its grave by showing that the most recent scientific projections show that unchecked global warming will be a disaster for the US, inflicting enormous damage to our costal areas, burying much of Louisiana, Florida and other parts of the US under water, and creating dust bowl conditions in the Midwest far worse than experienced in the 1930s.

The real meat of this book however begins in Part II, "The Politics and the Solution," and in particular in Chapter 5, "How Climate Rhetoric Trumps Climate Reality."

Have you ever asked yourself why conservative politicians are in a state of denial about global warming? I have, and Romm is the first one to explain it to me. Simply put, "ideology trumps rationality." Romm spells it out: "Most conservatives cannot abide the SOLUTION to global warming--strong government regulations and a government-led effort to accelerate clean-energy technologies into the market." (p. 107) Therefore they become what Romm calls "Denyers and Delayers." They are indulging in political purity--but at what price?

In this connection I was intrigued and frankly amazed to find out that many conservatives are in the thrall of novelist Michael Crichton who wrote a novel entitled "State of Fear" in which the villain is a scientist who "falsifies scientific studies to justify draconian steps to curb global warming." Romm notes that President George W. Bush was a big fan of Crichton's book, and ignored "every major study by the world's leading climate scientists," and instead invited Crichton to the White House where they "talked for an hour and were in near-total agreement" (quoting Fred Barnes, p. 102). It appears that not only does Bush practice "faith-based" foreign policy, he gets his science not from scientists but from misinformed writers of science fiction!

In Chapter 10, "Missing the Story of the Century," Romm takes the media to task for not getting the global warming story straight. Fearful of criticism by right-wing think-tank pundits sponsored by the likes of Exxon-Mobil and others with a vested interest in fossil fuels, the media has given more than equal time to a few bought "scientists" who think that global warming is the result of natural causes. This is to the relative exclusion of the many thousands of scientists who have made it clear that global warming is being caused by human activities, most directly by the burning of fossil fuels. It's the Big Lie as practiced by the Bush administration whose attitude toward global warming is to wait and see, and meanwhile business as usual. Romm's point is that we can't afford to wait. Conservatives who are afraid of intervention by government are foolish since if we don't act now we will get Big Government (and worse) with a vengeance down the road when "hell and high water" are upon us.

Romm outlines an eight-point program (fully stated on pages 22-23) that will successfully counter and then reverse the trend toward catastrophic global warming. It includes performance-based efficiency programs; efficiency gains from industry and power generation through "cogeneration" of heat and power (instead of wasting the heat, which is what we do now); building wind turbines; capturing carbon dioxide from proposed coal plants; building nuclear plants to generate electricity without CO2 waste; greatly improving the fuel economy of our vehicles using "plug-in hybrid" drives; increasing production of high-yield energy crops; and stopping tropical deforestation while planting more trees.

The compelling thing about this program is that it can be implemented with existing technology and will lead to the end of dependence on foreign oil and will create energy-sector jobs here at home for millions of Americans.

Will our head-in-the-sand politicians listen? Not while Bush is president they won't; but if we, as Romm urges, become "one-issue" voters, we can in November 2008 usher in an enlightened administration that will immediately begin work on saving ourselves and the planet from a catastrophe worse than any we have ever faced.

As I sit here typing, I can see the snow and ice just outside our window. I also hear people grumbling around me "What global warming?" but they're forgetting something ~~ this has definitely been a very mild winter for us in northwest Ohio and it is very unusual that we're just now getting our first snow of the season. Normally, we start getting snow in mid-November and by this time in January, the romance of the snow is pretty much all gone. Not this year.

After reading this book, I am now more concerned about what our government is not doing (it'll be interesting to see the backlash to the State of the Union speech tomorrow night) to work with these legitimate and valid concerns. This is not your typical scaremonger book. In fact, this book is written by the former acting assistant secretary at the Department of Energy, heading the office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Romm writes about the reasons why you don't hear a lot of scientists flooding the media with dire warnings of our actions and the near future of global warming ~~ he writes vividly and rationally, pointing no fingers of blame at anyone. He writes a history of scientific studies and the Delayers and Denyers tactics in stalling appropriate responses to issues that should have been addressed yesterday if not today. He writes simply. He writes of the truth. He backs his reasons up with scientific studies and news reports.

He doesn't point fingers at anyone ~~ just states simply the facts and the solutions he thinks are viable in fixing this problem before it's too late. Already, we're seeing record hurricanes, droughts and mild winters and already, we're seeing signs of glaciers melting. Romm debunks what the current administration is doing in fixing global warming and offers other viable solutions (after going into details about what would happen if we built more coal or nuclear plants as well as just how exactly far the hybrid cars have come along).

This is a very straight-forward book and very well-written. Instead of worrying about catching the Avian flu, I think I am now more worried about global warming. And what I can do to help educating others about it. If you want to get some insights and a practical guide on what needs to be done, I would highly suggest getting this book.

1-23-07

During a conversation in Washington, DC in 1988, I was stunned by how succinctly my former professor Carl Sagan was able to summarize the behavior of bureaucrats inside the U.S. Government. After listening quietly to my rant about inactions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the subject of acid rain and global warming, Sagan simply offered the following one-liner: "Bureaucratic Ecocide."

Joe Romm's convincing, straight-forward and extremely well-written book reminds me of Sagan's ability to cut to the quick of a matter like a laser beam. Romm writes with precision and insight about a complex subject. This gift is made all the more precious to us because of the layers of obfuscation, half-truths and outright lies of the "Deniers and Delayers." Because of the complexity of the subject and the murky job done to date by the press, Romm's talent to clarify shines like a beacon to all thinkers on the planet. Read this book - for yourself and for the generations yet to come. Then take action.

This book is a bit of a hard read for two reasons. One reason is that there is a ton of facts and references quoted. However, that is necessary so the reader doesn't have to take the authors word "for it". The second reason, is that reading about what is happening to our planet is disturbing in itself.

However there are some real wake up calls in the book, many things to learn. If you are truly interested in the effects of global warming and a very good look at what to expect in the future, in a very detailed basis, DEFINATELY buy this book. I'm only at page 100, and it helps to cope with our fate, by knowing what to expect in the future.

I am totally amazed that the stuff in this book isn't more common place. Perhaps the title should have been something like "Global Warming. The world thinks they know what's going to happen to us, but very few really understand the true impact of what is definately going to come."

I thought we had a chance at controlling Global Warming. After reading the first 100 pages, I have now come to the conclusion that no matter what we do, it's already too late. The only thing we can do is slow it down, but global warming is imminent.

Buy this book, you'll be glad you did.

Until this book, it's been hard to recommend one place where people could get solid answers to the major questions about global change. Now, Romm covers the bases of science, potential energy strategies, and politics. Despite its advocacy style, the book reflects the best thinking of energy experts, of whom Romm is clearly one of the best. Romm shows that the level of response to this dire challenge will need to be greater than widely assumed, but clearly identifies the paths that can lead to success.

This quote from "Science" editor-in-chief Donald Kennedy from 2001 really sums up the situation quite succinctly. Extensive research by scientists from a wide variety of disciplines over several decades all point to the same unsettling conclusion. Unless the United States wakes up to the reality of global warming and takes action to dramatically curb carbon emissions we are facing an environmental calamity of epic proportions. In his new book "Hell and High Water" author Joseph Romm, a former assistant secretary of Energy and founder and executive director of the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions makes a compelling case that time to act on these urgent environmental issues is rapidly growing short. Contemplating the consequences of our failure to take action is really too horrible to imagine.

It is amazing to me how many people are still not the least bit concerned about global warming. Stubborn and short-sighted conservatives refuse to acknowledge the obvious for fear that in the short term the bottom lines of many major corporations might be adversely affected. And those I would refer to as "limousine liberals" in their SUV's and 14 room houses show no inclination to demand change either. It appears to me that far too many Americans are fat and comfortable with the status quo and are willing to accept the premise that new technologies will ultimately solve these complex problems. In "Hell and High Water" Joseph Romm laments the incredibly poor job our media has done in relating the urgency of this situation. He also outlines the public relations strategies of those he aptly refers to as the Delayers and Denyers. Romm explains that these people deny the strong scientific consensus that the climate change we are witnessing is primarily caused by human activity and in addition they work feverishly to delay this country from taking any serious steps to reverse the situation. And beyond merely pointing out the sheer folly of our misguided approach in this country, Romm offers up a comprehensive 8 point-50 year plan that would dramatically curtail carbon emissions and perhaps help to avoid a cataclysm that would be caused by melting ice in Greenland and Antartica. In addition, Romm makes several suggestions on how those who agree with his position should present their case to the American people.

In the tradition of Ross Gelbspan's 2004 Pulitzer prize winning "Boiling Point", "Hell and High Water" should convince you that global warming is indeed a reality and that the time to act is now. This is a convincing and extremely well written book. Until I began reading about the issue several years ago, I have to admit that I was a bit skepical. No more! As I am writing this it is nearly 60 degrees on a January day in the Northeast. We have experienced the horrors of Hurricane Katrina as well as increasingly large and serious wildfires in the West and prolonged drought in our nations breadbasket. I would urge everyone to educate themselves about these important issues. "Hell and High Water" would be a great place to begin. Highly recommended!

There have been good books on the science of global warming, although none as clear, thorough and accessible as Hell and High Water. Romm paints a convincing picture of the kind of future we can expect if we don't take serious action, and he dispatches the skeptics and contrarians convincingly. If your "hair's not on fire" after reading this book, you're weren't paying attention.

There have also been some very good books written on the politics of global warming, but again none as good as Romm's. Hell and High Water explains in clear language backed up with thorough research how we got where we are, and how we can start moving forward.

And there have been some very good summaries of the technological and policy solutiuons we need to pursue, but again, Romm's is the best I've seen, and I've followed this issue closely for years.

This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the issue, the politics, and the solutions. And by the time you finish Romm's book, you'll think that should be everyone.

It's a book that will scare the hell out of you, then tell you what you can do about it.

Global warming is threatening the whole world, and HELL AND HIGH WATER is a wake-up call to the country, critiquing American environmental and energy policy and offering a call to action. It comes not from a politician but from an expert in science, business and politics, and provides a concrete plan of action to reduce emissions and adapt a nation-wide energy-efficient policy. Most books on the topic offer little more than rhetoric: this concrete game plan is a 'must' for any collection serious in global warming issues, whether it be at the college or public library level.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

As an environmental policy grad student, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what we're in for with climate change. But after reading this book I've realized that, oh no, it's worse than I thought. The book starts out by describing the nasty potential futures facing us if we fail to take sufficient action, and soon. This bit comes across as somewhat sensational, but Romm quickly moves in a very well done review of the scientific literature backing up the scary part. The account of the unified effort to deny the validity of climate change and delay action is also well executed.

Highly recommended for anyone who needs a little motivation to start caring about climate change!

The author outlines the overwhelming case that, with a 90% certainty, global warming is a fact and humans caused it. On our present course and over a period of multiple decades or a couple of centuries - nobody knows how long - the polar ice caps will melt and sea level will rise 20 to 80 feet. Great cities built on coastlines throughout the world will be under water. Much of the mid -United States will become desert as will many other areas throughout the world. Economies will collapse. Climatologists have actually been hedging - this scenario is rosier than what they really think.

In the face of convincing data, why would the same people that rely on scientific technology for air travel, cell phones, and other conveniences of everyday life, deny the validity of science when it comes to conclusions they don't like? Joseph Romm answers this question on page 107. "Ideology trumps rationality. Most conservatives cannot abide the solution to global warming - strong governmental regulations and a government-led effort to accelerate clean-energy technologies into the market." To libertarians and to some conservatives, the villain is not global warming, it is fear of government.

Unfortunately, history shows that corporations don't clean up their act voluntarily - they only do so when forced. As a matter of fact, corporations in the US conform to a set of legislated rules that is overtly sociopathic. If they DON'T act strictly with self interest and profit in mind, they can be successfully sued by stock-holders ("The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power," by Bakan). The job of their PR departments is to present them as responsible environmental citizens when they're not.

So what techniques do naysayers use to combat this longtime concensus among scientists and growing concensus in the general public? They use the same techniques used in political campaigns - programs carefully thought out by think tanks that try to make both sides of an issue appear to be what they are not. More than 2/3 of this book is dedicated to the political fights over global warming.

At the risk of losing half my readers, these are the same techniques Intelligent Design advocates use against the theory of evolution, and for analogous reasons. You don't see any groups clamoring for alternate views about atomic structure in high school physics classes - but introductory physics is not perceived as a threat to a cherished belief system. In both cases, a strongly held ideology prevents unbiased assessment of the data. In both cases (Evolution and Global Warming), the theory can be reduced to basics and easily understood. In both cases, the learning curve is steep for an in-depth understanding of the subject matter, leaving plenty of room for convincing spin to the casual observer (most of us).

In closing, may I paraphrase from memory an observation that Robert Wright (author of "The Moral Animal") made: "Humans have an exquisite array of moral equipment, a relentless tendency to misuse this equipment, and are tragically unaware of this misuse." The naysayers honestly believe they're doing the right thing - at least some of them.

The scientific method may not be perfect, but it has proven over and over to be the closest we're going to come to the truth, and it's self-correcting. History shows that the findings of science are eventually accepted. I hope governments believe and act on the concept of global warming sooner rather than later. The earth doesn't care. Ninety-nine percent of the species that have ever existed are now extinct and earth isn't going anywhere for several billion years no matter what we do to it. Nor is life likely to be wiped out - just species that evolve too slowly to make appropriate adjustments to climate change, including most of the big mammals. I hope it's not our turn.