Heat: How to Stop the Planet From Burning (Hardcover)

~ George Monbiot (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The most powerful treatise yet on the gravity of global warming....I defy you to read this book and not feel motivated to change." -- The Times (London)

"Uncompromising in its message, intelligence, and honesty. Parents...should consider it required reading." -- The Globe & Mail

"Well-researched and worth reading for the detailed technical analysis showing just how [the country] could cut its greenhouse gas output and still enjoy the comforts of modern life." -- The Financial Times

Review

A GLOBE & MAIL BEST BOOK OF 2006

“Each furious chapter in Heat throws out more intellectual challenges by the page than the Canadian media does in a year. . . . Uncompromising in its message, intelligence and honesty. Parents. . . should consider it required reading.”
—The Globe and Mail

“Heat is funny and fully aware of its own self-delusions. . . . [Monbiot] understands that any campaign for a renewable and sustainable energy future is really a campaign against ourselves and the ways we choose to live our lives.” —Boston Globe

“The great thing about this book is that, while it contains much useful information about the cowardice and futile gesture-making of our elected politicians, it doesn't paint a completely bleak picture. . . . [Monbiot] does this all in a most winning way. For a doom-and-gloom merchant (which he isn't unless you have vested interests), he has quite a perky sense of humour. This is more than just a pleasant stylistic filigree. It shows that he can sympathise with the ordinary human reaction.” —The Guardian

“Heat is a well-written and well-argued attack on pernicious corporations, governmental spin and individual complacency and shows that the only possible solution is a drastic reduction in our consumption of carbon-intensive products and services.” —Observer

“Heat is a solidly researched manifesto for change. . . . The combination of practical detail and creative thinking is immensely impressive.” — Guardian (UK)

“Heat is a comprehensive and compelling examination of the measures needed to deal with this, our most pressing environmental problem.” —The Scotsman

“A cogently argued book that is easily the best of the latest climate-change crop.” —Observer (UK)

“Monbiot’s research, complete with an up-to-date forward to the Canadian edition, is thorough, footnoted and detailed. This is not just another attempt to convince you global warming is happening and leave you there. In an engaging and accessible way, Monbiot outlines what can and should be done about it.” — Edmonton Journal

“A book that anyone who thinks they know what should be done about global warming must read.”
—John Gray, in The New Statesman

“I was hooked right away. It's by far the best single source on climate change that I've read: rigorously researched, honestly argued, and very well written.”
— Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of Progress


“With a dazzling command of science and a relentless faith in people, George Monbiot writes about social change with his eyes wide open. I never miss reading him.”
— Naomi Klein, author of No Logo

“This book is a brilliant and terrifying critique of the crisis of human-induced climate change, and the prospects of stabilizing temperatures before catastrophic runaway warming ensues. George Monbiot brushes aside our rationalizations to maintain the status quo, shallow targets and mechanisms, and the empty promises of political rhetoric and corporate PR spin, to examine the real opportunities and what has to be done to achieve up to 90 percent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by the industrialized nations.”
—David Suzuki

“George Monbiot has written a stunning book.  It could easily be titled The End of Hypocrisy, because Monbiot systematically unveils the denial, deceit, and self-delusion that are our common responses to the enormous challenge of global warming. . . .  Then with a step-by-step plan grounded in the latest research he explains how we can achieve a 90 percent reduction–in our vehicles, factories, retail centres, and homes–without wrecking our standard of living. When it comes to global warming, it’s time to stop being hypocrites and get on with saving the planet, and this book shows us how.”
—Thomas Homer-Dixon, author of The Ingenuity Gap and The Upside of Down

“Monbiot is ahead of the pack. Instead of just warning us about climate change, he lays out clearly and engagingly what we can still do to stop it. This powerful book is for anyone serious about confronting what appears to be the most urgent crisis of our time.”
—Linda McQuaig, author of War, Big Oil, and the Fight for the Planet: It’s the Crude, Dude

"An engaging, lively, and sometimes fiery analysis of the possible technological and political responses to the crisis of climate change, that starts where so much of the debate remains stalled. To those who say that the requirements of the Kyoto protocol are impossible to meet, Monbiot responds not only that it is possible to hit far, far more ambitious targets, but that it is urgently imperative that we do so. And then he shows how.”
—David Chernushenko, deputy leader, Green Party of Canada, and climate change critic.

“Avoiding disastrous climate change is the central challenge of our time. George Monitor addresses it with wit, verve, and rigor. He shows that all of our excuses for inaction are just that — excuses. If you care about the future of the planet, you should read Heat, and then give a copy to a friend.”
—Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change.

Praise for George Monbiot’s work:

“George Monbiot knows not only that things ought to change, but also that they can change. . . . At last, the global movement has found a vision as expansive and planet-wide as that of the American neoconservatives.”
—Independent on Sunday

“As he well says, if we do not like his ideas, then think of better ones. He believes that leaving things as they are is not a serious option.”
—Financial Times

“Monbiot is a writer of eloquence and passion. . . . The most astute political and ecological cartographer of his time.” —Observer

“Appealing, provocative and idealistic … shows that alternatives are possible.”
—Sunday Times

“We need people like Monbiot more than ever before.”
—New Scientist

“Not only challenges us to question the status quo, but also inspires us to want to change it.”
—Scotsman

“The originality of this thought makes him uniquely influential.”
—The Times (London) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: South End Press (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896087794
• ISBN-13: 978-0896087798
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #492,401 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bullseye!, November 26, 2006

By	Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Heat: How to Stop the Planet From Burning (Paperback)

With many politicians and scientists asserting that the Kyoto Protocol emissions levels cannot be met, should we abandon it for an "alternative solution". George Monbiot says that's the wrong question. The proper query is: "Have we really tried?" Monbiot thinks not and lists numerous cases of inattention, indifference and downright dishonesty in why our society continues to pour greenhouse gases into the air we breathe. However, unlike so many viewing our climate situation with alarm, Monbiot is neither a "calamity howler" nor a hand-wringing commentator waiting for somebody else to set a good example. Instead, this book is a catalogue of solutions to the problem.

None of the correctives proposed here are beyond us, either as individuals or nations. Monbiot, with admirable clarity and understanding of how to accomplish them, lines out easily implemented steps we can take and/or propose to our neighbours. After introductory comments on various "alternate" energy options, Monbiot discusses how we reached the energy consumption levels we enjoy. He deems our situation a "Faustian Pact" and heads each chapter with a quote from Christopher Marlowe's play "Doctor Faustus". Like Faust, we have made a deal, but it's with Nature, not with a devil. For Monbiot, Mephistopheles is fossil fuel and our use of it has advanced. The time for settling up on the bargain is now.

After a massive research effort, Monbiot is able to describe the problem in graphic detail and targets the means of continuing our existence. He quickly dismisses the "envirosceptics" as people who are as out of touch as those who believe in magic. There are some imposing numbers involved. The UK uses 400 terawatt hours per year. A terawatt is a one with twelve zeros trailing after it. Why, for a society of that size, is the number so big? The author examines closely and clearly the circumstances he lives in and how those are threatening the future. Housing and other buildings must be built or retrofitted to exacting standards. Most importantly, those standards must be enforced. Roads that expand capacity which is quickly filled is exactly the wrong policy. The same is true for airports, which encourage more carbon dioxide-producing flights.

His chapter on transportation is even more arresting than the one on housing and buildings. He's particularly scathing on the Bush administration's encouragement of "biofuels" to replace petrol. The lands taken up to produce ethanol will reduce even existing croplands and could instead be turned over to reforestation projects. The types of crops that would provide petrol replacement are hugely thirsty, adding to the depletion of an already overtaxed water supply. Air travel is a conundrum even this perceptive observer cannot resolve. Transatlantic flights, the transport of "exotic" foods to our mega-grocers to entice our palates, and the long-distance vacations generate an astonishing amount of pollutants. How many "business" flights can be replaced by teleconferencing? Yes, if you're dealing with somebody in Sydney, one of you will have to arise early. There will be adjustments, but these need not be severe.

Monbiot devises a cute catch phrase to arouse individual sensitivity to the immediacy of the task ahead. He proposes all people be assigned "icecaps". This isn't a cure for hangover, but a weight measured in acceptable carbon emissions per person. The "cap" is the maximum allowable carbon discharge we each produce to keep the planet cool enough for us to survive. From these "caps" Monbiot demonstrates the costs involved in maintaining them. That is the particular advantage of this book over the extensive list of other "climate change" works. Monbiot's cost assessment and value received for whatever investment we can make in protecting our children and ourselves. And children, as Monbiot admits "discovering" in his concluding chapter, is what this book and the circumstances it describes is all about. Having produced an offspring, Monbiot is keen to see her survive in a liveable world. It's a feeling many of us share.

Although this book's focus is United Kingdom, the issues are global. The book should be left in hotel rooms instead of those works of fiction called The Gideon Bible. As my copy is a "Canadian Edition", perhaps a first step has been taken. In his Foreword in this edition, Monbiot notes how poorly Canada is performing in emission control. He almost presciently forecasts the hopelessly inadequate "Made in Canada Solution" introduced by the present Conservative government. Even Monbiot, however, could not have seen our "solution" will require that government to be elected to power eleven times before the provisions come into effect. What is the situation in your country? [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feverish review of global warming, December 11, 2006

By	Ken Kardash (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Heat: How to Stop the Planet From Burning (Paperback)

I found this an excellent, comprehensive, up-to-date review of the risks of global warming and technology options to prevent it. I confess to thinking this was a controversial topic before picking up this book. Monbiot wastes no time in forcefully demonstrating that the only controversy about this issue is how best to combat it. He makes the case that that any perceived controversy over the seriousness of global warming is due to deliberate misinformation by oil lobbies. There is even a surprising link to the tobacco industry in its common desire to thwart governmental regulation of pollution.
The bulk of the book pursues his self-appointed task of formulating a way to reduce our carbon emissions by 90%. This agenda provides structure to the book, as he reviews selected areas of energy consumption, but at times the writing seems forced. Without any apparent irony, he suggests covering half the world's desert areas with solar panels (no mention of ecologic effects here), and adorning our homes with fuel cells, wind turbines AND solar panels in the desperate pursuit of "practical" means to meet his goal. Nevertheless, he does a good job of comprehensively exploring available carbon-sparing technologies, with fastidious referencing. My only quibble is his admitted tendency to "sit on (his) backside and tell other people what to do" in terms of energy resource management and regulation. The approach taken in the sections on land travel and retail stores was more engaging: giving examples of how present-day changes in consumer behavior and public policy can make a difference. As individuals, we can only choose how we spend and vote. For concisely informing these choices, Heat rates five stars.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read , November 5, 2006

By	B. Wilde (New Zealand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Heat (Hardcover)

Monbiot's great fear is not that we will stop talking about Climate Change but rather that we will talk ourselves to Kingdon Come.

In his latest book Monbiot does an excellent job of looking at what needs to be done and how it can be done in most parts of the economy with existing technology. The challenge he sets us is that of reducing our carbon emissions in the UK by 90% by 2030. Monbiot has based this target on the emerging consensus from European scientists that in order to hold the climate change going into runaway change (above 2 degrees change) we will need much more radical emissions reductions in the West than earlier believed. He also argues forcefully for why we cannot as he has said many times buy out way out of this with Carbon Offsets.

Monbiot paints the big picture of how this is possible, with the exception being air travel for which nothing short of a massive reduction will be required (today emissions from Air Travel are the fastest growing AND not counted by countries in their emissions levels or targets!). The book is not perfect and you will need to go look at his references to learn about specific technologies and to see if you agree with particular points; but it is by far the most useful and well researched book on the subject out there today.

A quick note on the review of this book by R Riley if it is still here. That quote is NOT from the Monbiot book but was made in another publication that has nothing to do with George Monbiot. Google the quote if you don't believe me, with luck Amazon will have removed the review as it is clearly intended to mislead.