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The Conundrum
by
David Owen (Goodreads Author)
The Conundrum is a mind-changing manifesto about the environment, efficiency and the real path to sustainability.
Hybrid cars, fast trains, compact florescent light bulbs, solar panels, carbon offsets: Everything you've been told about living green is wrong. The quest for a breakthrough battery or a 100 mpg car are dangerous fantasies. We are consumers, and we like to consu...more
Hybrid cars, fast trains, compact florescent light bulbs, solar panels, carbon offsets: Everything you've been told about living green is wrong. The quest for a breakthrough battery or a 100 mpg car are dangerous fantasies. We are consumers, and we like to consu...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
February 7th 2012
by Riverhead Trade
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Spoiler: We're hosed. The longer story: Just in terms of resources, every method scientists and inventors come up with to save or conserve energy, water, minerals, etc., results in additional use of resources. How? Whatever is saved is used in other ways (look up the Jevons paradox for more on this). Look around your house. Do you have more or fewer energy-using devices, appliances, etc., than you did ten or twenty years ago? Plus, new inventions mean people upgrade to the next new thing rather...more
For anyone who is interested in the environment and/or how we should be dealing with energy, etc., this is a slim quick read book that may or may not challenge your thinking. It can be repetitive in the sense that the bottom line is this: we should not be thinking about improving efficiencies, we should be thinking about how to reduce......reduce how many miles you drive, how much electricity or gas you use in your home, what electronic devices you use. I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 beca...more
The "conundrum" is that measures we take to improve our energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions often have just the opposite effect. Owen writes well and entertainingly, but it is a familiar argument, and he can be repetitious in so short a book. I did discover a number of new explanations for things that, to me, are puzzling. Why is there so much personal air conditioning today, why income disparity actually leads to increased energy consumption, and several more. A wonderful feature is...more
I am half-way through this book and already I have learned about ten things that blew me away about our environmental mistakes:
1) New York, yes, that New York, is the greenest city in America. ("Oh, c'mon you've got to be kidding!" says the environmental saint in me but after I choked on my alfafa salad, I re-read it and it's quite undeniably true.)
2) China had a traffic jam that people were stuck in for ... wait for it ... two freakin' weeks. Why? Read David Owen.
3) Go to www.walkscore.com to f...more
1) New York, yes, that New York, is the greenest city in America. ("Oh, c'mon you've got to be kidding!" says the environmental saint in me but after I choked on my alfafa salad, I re-read it and it's quite undeniably true.)
2) China had a traffic jam that people were stuck in for ... wait for it ... two freakin' weeks. Why? Read David Owen.
3) Go to www.walkscore.com to f...more
This is an interesting book that stands conventional wisdom on its head. Basically Owen is saying that increases in energy efficiency INCREASE energy consumption and environmental impact. Human behavior is the important thing. We must use less energy. The problem with the book is that the author’s proposed remedies seem not to be possible. He wants to make energy much more expensive, but only for the rich. It is not clear how this would be done, except that he hints that he would return to the i...more
Efficiency is at odds with our true environmental goals to use less. We recycle efficiency back into consumption and so increased efficiency actually makes our problems worse. Burning our world has makde us rich, healthy and comfortable and so it is very difficult for us to change. Owen argues that we need to make travel inconvenient - that would be a worthy goal. We need to drive less not drive more efficiently or, especially, more comfortably. The same goes for public transport - if trains wer...more
First, I need to say that I won this book as a first reads. That being said, I really enjoyed this book, honestly more than I thought I would. I generally don't read much non-fiction, but, like a lot of people nowadays, I'm concerned about the environment. This book was an eye-opener on so many levels and really shows the reader that what we think is 'doing our part' is not only never going to be enough at the current rate, but also may be doing more harm than good. So much of what the author sa...more
A very sobering, not to say depressing, book. I've had to remove my halo as a "concerned consumer" type of environmentalist and tuck it away. Turns out my sacred cows in that department had hooves of clay. Not that I won't still try to do my bit as best I can see how to do, but he makes it pretty clear that our global environmental challenges need a large, collective effort that relies a lot more on frugality than on increased efficiencies. Not to mention altering a certain delusional "developed...more
May 11, 2013
Raymond
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Shelves:
favorites,
economics-finance
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book should be a must read for anyone concerned about the environment. What I got out of this is that: we are all guilty. We refuse to change our standard of living, even though we live better than any kings of the ancient times could have even imagined. It costs energy to implement these green technologies and the majority end up abusing these new technologies to the point where we are back at square one. It doesn't help that the population is continuing to grow either. This next century i...more
An interesting diversion into non-fiction for a change. Thanks for the suggestion Goodreads!
This book is very thought-provoking as is it questions many of our established "truths" about sustainability. It is very easy to read, the little jargon in it is explained simply and clearly and it even contains a few laughs. I learnt a lot and I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in sustainability.
It made me sad though because it makes you realise how hard it is really going to be to turn thi...more
This book is very thought-provoking as is it questions many of our established "truths" about sustainability. It is very easy to read, the little jargon in it is explained simply and clearly and it even contains a few laughs. I learnt a lot and I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in sustainability.
It made me sad though because it makes you realise how hard it is really going to be to turn thi...more
Conundrum is basically about energy & our quest to conserve it. Owens feels that modern man is essentially an inveterate consumer & that technological solutions to energy conservation have the perverse end effect of more consumption.He makes his case by citing any number of examples such as rapid transit and more efficient automobiles. He argues that real conservation will only be achieved by a fundamental change in attitudes which may only happen with a basic change in the economics of...more
A concise narrative on the environment and why many of our " going green" practices are misguided. A history of our dependence on fossil fuels and what has to happen for real and actual sustainability based on global economic realities. There is a wonderful chapter on several innovative technologies being worked on by some of the smartest people, but this is tempered by the very harsh reality of their near insurmountable costs. The real path to sustainability is the herculean task of everyone re...more
Cars are evil, and we should live in dense cities are two propositions that are repeatedly impressed upon readers. That, and the conclusion that we lack the will, not the technology, to fight climate change. I agree with this conclusion and all its pessimistic implications, but I found the book lacking in meaty substance, and a tad toward sensationalistic writing than careful analysis. The complete lack of references and even a bibliography section undermines what the author is trying to say sin...more
This book is based on the premise that man-caused climate change through greenhouse emissions, especially from burning fuels, defines “green”. On this matter Owens thinks outside the box. It is not our inefficiency in fuel burning that is the real problem. It goes deeper. We are a consumption driven and it is this drive that causes most of our problems. He cites a mass transit system putting more cars on the highway instead of less as an example. On the other hand, our economy is driven by consu...more
This book points out that advancements in fuel efficiency merely increase our desire for it. Example: making cars more fuel efficient and comfortable and cost efficient increases our desire to drive: take road trips, live farther from work, giving us suburban sprawl and more paved roads, which make us want to live there, drive there, in an endless circle. Conundrum. According to the author, the most ecologically correct people are city dwellers who have their workplaces and services close enough...more
I spent my time reading this book fluctuating between thinking the author had a good point (10%) and that he was a complete idiot (90%). It describes why most of society's efforts to be more energy efficient are actually total wastes of time, but offers no solutions. He bases some of his findings on the idea that people that consider themselves "green", will still jump on the energy-use bandwagon, purchasing all the latest gadgets, thereby offsetting their "greenness". And he claims that when pe...more
Feb 27, 2012
Jeff Raymond
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
read-nonfiction,
read-politics-current-events
This book really is a conundrum. The conundrum, according to the book, is how technological advances and sustainable living practices are doing little to help the environment that said advances/practices are trying to save. A lot of it is based off of some compelling historical theoretical data, a lot of it based on simply how we've gotten used to living overall.
The conundrum, for me at least, is that the focus is overwhelmingly on the answer to this question and how to deal with it while comple...more
The conundrum, for me at least, is that the focus is overwhelmingly on the answer to this question and how to deal with it while comple...more
A lot of this book is a bunch of over-the-top contrarianism. It's heavy on complaints and light on solutions, and to the extent that is has anything constructive to say I could sum it up in a sentence if you grant me a semicolon: "Increased energy efficiency is a bad strategy to reduce total energy usage; it only helps if we force ourselves to reduce absolute usage and then use increased efficiency to keep our standard of living high while we do so." There, now you don't have to read it.
Very interesting look at what activities are truly "green". David Owen enlightened readers in The Green Metropolis about urban living. The Conundrum goes further to look at supposed environmental projects which exacerbate global warming. Owen writes about about vast and complex obstacles to halt climate change in a way that is easy to understand. He challenges readers to rethink their notion of "being green". He calls for hard sacrifices, which are the only way to make any significant difference...more
The book basically took the blinders off of the reader. I am part of a family that recycles, turns lights off, has a Prius, along side the SUV, etc. The author, step by step, topic by topic(burning waste, solar, etc.), pulls the curtain back and reveals (reveals is not a good word, as its always been there, we just dont want to look at it) that these environmental fixes are not fixes at all, when you look at each on a global scale.
The ugliest of all, and the one that fools us the most, accordin...more
The ugliest of all, and the one that fools us the most, accordin...more
It was an excellent book to read for those who are actively interested in environmental concerns and the plague that pollution, (in many forms), in the US.
It challenges an environmentalists' thoughts on what we are doing to try to ameliorate our worlds' environmental health and that in fact, though our actions appease our sense of self and personal benevolence, our actions may be doing little to counteract the pollution steaming form the modern worlds' smoke stack.
It challenges an environmentalists' thoughts on what we are doing to try to ameliorate our worlds' environmental health and that in fact, though our actions appease our sense of self and personal benevolence, our actions may be doing little to counteract the pollution steaming form the modern worlds' smoke stack.
This is an amazingly important book. I hope Nancy will read it, I hope Lee will read it, David probably has either read it or knows everything in it already, and I hope President Obama and every member of Congress will read it. There were so many important facts in this book and it concluded with no positive suggestions, only the reality of the conundrums we face. My head is spinning!
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An excellent, if depressing, read on economics and the environment. The main thesis of the book is the Prius fallacy -- increased energy efficiency does NOT result in decreased consumption. In other words, a 5 mpg increase in mileage does not necessarily mean you save money -- you'll simply drive more.
But don't take my word for it -- read the book. Written by a journalist, it is a quick and easy read.
But don't take my word for it -- read the book. Written by a journalist, it is a quick and easy read.
This book is wonderful- straightforward, informative, and realistic in it's aims. David Owen pulls no punches- no method of fixing our environmental situation, from increased energy efficiency to alternative transportation is safe from scrutiny. Everyone who is interested in saving our planet should read this book. I have only one complaint- it's length and repetitiveness. It's taken me a long time to chew through this, and while I believe it's been worth every moment, not everyone agrees and fe...more
So you think you're being green by recycling, reusing bags and buying local? Think again. If we want to stop destroying our planet we need to stop driving everywhere, flying, buying new stuff and throwing away old stuff. But wait . . . that will destroy the economy. Therein lies one of many conundrums set forth in this eye-opening book. Good grief!
This was an interesting book, well worth reading, but Owen spent a great deal of time convincing his readers that improving our efficiency in the use of resources merely leads to greater consumption (my car gets great mileage so I drive more), then he suddenly switched gears to talk about how challenging it is to get clean energy production methods (like solar and wind) off the ground. If our real goal should be to use less energy (which I thought was his point), why focus on production methods?...more
The author sketches a world that has solved it environmental problems, but gives us no clue how we could get there. In his utopia, stable populations of humans live in high density cities with high energy costs. The incentives built into this environment encourage people to stay within a reasonable carbon footprint, fertility rate, and energy budget. How do we get from here to there? Owen's silence on this conundrum leaves us to fill in the blanks for ourselves. One possible conclusion is that w...more
this book is depressing as shit especially for people who live in denial! But it's sobering, I've
been living green for nearly 20 years now - i dont drive to work, live close to the city, live in
highly dense, so nothing really news. i am aware its our basic desire for more shit, approval 'growth' that is fucking everything up.
been living green for nearly 20 years now - i dont drive to work, live close to the city, live in
highly dense, so nothing really news. i am aware its our basic desire for more shit, approval 'growth' that is fucking everything up.
David Owen brings s a revolutionary way of thinking in "The Conundrum". I half expected a bunch of hullabaloo over nothing, but Mr. Owen makes a rational, well-supported argument to encourage us to re-think everything we believe we already know about our lifestyle and its impact to the environment. The book follows very logically what we have mistakenly allowed to guide our decisions, and provides information and real results of our actions. We almost need to unthink all the things we try to be...more
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| Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back? Book Review | 1 | 11 | Feb 07, 2012 05:37am |
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“One of the least meaningful and most overused words in the English language is 'sustainability.' For most Americans, it means something like 'pretty much the way I live right now, though maybe with a different car.' A good test of any activity or product described as sustainable is to multiply it by 300 million (the approximate current population of the United States) and then by 9 or 10 billion (the expected population of the world by midcentury) and see if it still seems green. This is not an easy test to pass”
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