This book is not for the casual reader, but it is a must-read for those who pride themselves on being well informed in any one of the five important issues discussed in this book: Terrorism, Energy, Nukes, Space, and Global Warming. The author has ordered the subject matter according to what he believes are the most pressing issues that will confront the new President. While passionate about the subject material, the author is refreshingly detached in reaching his conclusions, as a physicist should be.
When I recommend this book to my better-informed friends, the most frequent question I get back is, "What does he say about Global Warming?" Those who are looking for pithy sound bites will be disappointed. Those who fear a boring professorial-type lecture will be pleasantly surprised. Dr. Muller presents well thought-out rationales for each section, and his delivery has been refined in the classroom by teaching non-physics students at the University of California, Berkley.
I appreciate Dr. Muller's respect for his readers (and future Presidents.) He does not try to impose a hidden agenda upon us. Dr. Muller clearly states his premises and the physics of his findings flows nicely from them
Here is a sketch of my views, as a physicist, on what the reader can expect.
Terrorism: Dr. Muller discusses the high energy content in the jet fuel carried by each hijacked airplane that hit the towers of the World Trade Center on 9/11. He later describes the likely limitations of a terrorist's dirty bomb. He reminds us that Jose Padilla, an American with extensive al-Qaeda training, proposed to build a dirty bomb. Padilla was directed instead to blow up two apartment buildings using natural gas.
Energy: Dr. Muller hits us with a number of "surprises," such as, gasoline delivers 15 times the energy of an equal weight of TNT; coal is 20 times cheaper than gasoline for the same energy; a square mile of sunlight at midday receives a gigawatt of power. He points out that gasoline holds 100 times more energy, pound for pound, than the high quality expensive batteries in cell phones. (Hence, although he owns a hybrid car himself, he is skeptical about the future of all-electric cars until batteries or fuel cells can be greatly improved.)
Nukes: Here he includes both nuclear weapons and nuclear power. After explaining how to estimate the dangers of exposing many people to radioactivity, he discusses the difficulty of building nuclear weapons. He describes how to build safe nuclear reactors, such as Pebble Bed reactors.
Space: Dr. Muller's believes that science should be the central goal of government space programs. Consequently, he advocates robotics rather than manned space travel. He uses a number of examples to illustrate rocket propulsion, orbits, spy satellites, stealth bombers, meteorite impacts, etc.
Global Warming: This is the most balanced and competent treatment of climate change that I have found. After a chapter on climate history, Dr. Muller discusses the Greenhouse Effect. The evidence brings him to the conclusion that most of the buildup of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is manmade. He then classifies the various kinds of distortions and exaggerations that have plagued this subject over the last decade. Next, he focuses on what he sees as the real task: reducing carbon dioxide. After a discussion of "Non-solutions," he addresses solutions. The centerpiece is a concept that he calls "Comfortable Conservation," by which he means better ways to accomplish a task that is less polluting and often cheaper. Florescent light bulbs are an example.
