Hot, Flat & Crowded, by Thomas Friedman

It is somewhat tough to read Friedman's book after reading Matt Taibbi's takedown. Despite that, I think this is a good book on its merits because it discusses many aspects of climate change and explains many different initiatives that can be taken to protect our planet. It is worth a read.

However, Friedman makes a mistake when he tries to conflate too many different ideas into a grand theory. Friedman's thesis is that higher oil revenues prop up dictators and therefore environmentalism is good for democracy. But elsewhere he states that oil demand will only go up in the short run even if energy conserving mechanisms are put into place. So it is not possible to reduce oil revenues. So why confuse the issue by introducing democracy promotion into an environmental discussion.

The problem is that environmentalism is not Friedman's primary strengths. He has primarily been an analyst for political and economic themes and his foray into issues of climate change and energy is that of an amateur trying to learn the ropes. And hence, the paradox of the book. It is a good introduction to the topic because the author is still in a learning mode. At the same time, it has fluid concepts and lacks the purity, understanding and detail of a Jeffrey Sachs book.

Tags: economics sociology politics