Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning

by George Monbiot

Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning

book data

105 ratings, 4.22 average rating, 33 reviews (more data...)

edit

published

January 2006 by Allen Lane

binding

Hardcover, 304 pages

isbn

0713999233 (isbn13: 9780713999235)

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | Abebooks | compare prices…

Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.

new topic
discuss this book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

friend reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 176)

All ratings | 5 stars (44) | 4 stars (44) | 3 stars (10) | 2 stars (3) | 1 star (1) | avg 4.22

all | this edition

Edward

Edward rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

07/13/07

Monbiot argues emissions must be reduced 90% by 2030 and shows how we can do it in several areas. Well written with passion and humor. Cement was a surprise. A ton of CO2 for a ton of cement cured. Who knew? Air travel was the only category with no constructive suggestions. He gets at the core of the matter for those of us using more than our share-- we need to learn to adapt voluntarily.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Ryan

Ryan rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

08/21/07

bookshelves: mustread

Read in August, 2007

This is a thoroughly devastating book, but I couldn't put it down. It's a fairly technical account of how we can all cut our carbon emissions with the least amount of disruption to our modern lives. Please read it.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Betsy

Betsy rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

08/13/07

bookshelves: lovedit

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: everyone

This is an essential book for anyone who cares about the planet and social justice... so that should be everyone.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Bruce

Bruce rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

08/30/08

This book starts with a simple premise. Since a two degree centigrade increase in global temperatures by 2030 will have devastating effects on the climate, the world has to reduce it's carbon footprint drastically; and Britain's fair share in this regard is a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The rest of the book is an exercise in seeing if there is any way for Britain to do this and still maintain a modern economy. Monbiot writes clearly. The arguments are laid out well with lots o...more This book starts with a simple premise. Since a two degree centigrade increase in global temperatures by 2030 will have devastating effects on the climate, the world has to reduce it's carbon footprint drastically; and Britain's fair share in this regard is a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The rest of the book is an exercise in seeing if there is any way for Britain to do this and still maintain a modern economy. Monbiot writes clearly. The arguments are laid out well with lots of footnotes documenting every idea. He is very thorough in working through the problem. There are few stones left unturned in searching for a solution to the problem. Monbiot looks at how well Britain's homes are insulated and what can be done about it, how electricity can be generated without generating greenhouse gases, how it can be transmitted more efficiently, the transportation problem, and finally he looks at two high carbon footprint industries to see to what extent they can reduce their emissions (supermarkets and concrete production). The book is full of ingenious pragmatic ideas for meeting the stated goal (e.g., moving bus terminals to major highway intersections outside of city centers, and switching to direct current for long-range power transmission), as well as obvious ideas (e.g., goodbye airline industry for mass transit). Every idea mentioned is doable. The book concludes that in fact a 90% reduction in Britain's carbon footprint can be combined with a modern society, but that it will be an immense undertaking and time is running out. Working through this problem with Monbiot is an exercise every informed citizen needs to undertake. Turning this thought experiment into an exercise in reality is something every citizen should be working for. The book is really a breath of fresh air in that it takes climate change seriously, but is not a doomsday book. The problem can be solved if the political will is there. The political will won't be there if people don't educate themselves on these issues.

The book was penned in 2006. Since then Monbiot has become a little more pro nuclear energy and less skeptical of the idea of peak oil. Unfortunately, little progress has been made in the first world on implementing any of the ideas in the book. In fact, there are few signs that first world governments are even taking the problem seriously. An exception might be with regards to allternative energy generation, but that is being motivated by peak oil not by climate change. Humankind is apparently determined to enter a dark age and undergo a population crash. ...less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Barry

Barry rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

08/10/08

bookshelves: english, non-fiction

Read in October, 2007

Monbiot is an evangelist and this is sermon on the evils of climate change. That may sound off putting, but it isn't. Really. This is one earnest message that engages the reader. I read this shortly after seeing An Inconvenient Truth, and this book backs up the documentary with a few more persuasive stats.

Monbiot writes a column for the Guardian; he's well-versed at sounding the alarm. His approach is comprehensive and well-researched. It's also a bit naïve because he of...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Ramorx

Ramorx rated it:

(review of isbn 0141030712)

02/14/08

How many light bulbs do we need to change in order to save the planet? None, points out Monbiot, so its too late, we're doomed! Unless we reduce carbon emissions by 90% by 2030 which is of course completely unthinkable. The US war machine will probably still be on overdrive all over Mesopotamia in 2030. George positions himself as a somewhat fanciful alchemist coming up with lots of totally implausible measures - like no more flying - to put a break on global warming. There are a few good diehar...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Matthew

Matthew rated it:

(review of isbn 0141026626)

10/24/07

bookshelves: misc-non-fiction

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: Anyone who wants some evidence on climate change

Upon finishing George Monbiot's Heat, I am reminded by what a public affairs executive at the Singapore office of an oil major whispered over at a conference: that the debate on global warming seems confusing because it involves so many issues. What do you think we can do? he said.

For a start, read Monbiot's book. Not because Heat will answer questions, or make them simpler, but it will help frame the issues.

Actually, global warming is easy to understand - the world is getting warmer as a re...more Upon finishing George Monbiot's Heat, I am reminded by what a public affairs executive at the Singapore office of an oil major whispered over at a conference: that the debate on global warming seems confusing because it involves so many issues. What do you think we can do? he said.

For a start, read Monbiot's book. Not because Heat will answer questions, or make them simpler, but it will help frame the issues.

Actually, global warming is easy to understand - the world is getting warmer as a result of human activity, with disastrous consequences for both nature and ourselves. The complex part is the myriad approaches to mitigating global warming, for many of which the estimated costs and benefits are still under debate. There is no panacea, no one single area which, if addressed, would be sufficient in and of itself to combat climate change.

That, effectively, is the thesis of Heat. What must we do to avoid global warming?, Monbiot asks in the first chapter. His answer: slash the amount of greenhouse gases we release by 90 per cent by 2030. (This, he argues, is necessary to keep carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to under 450 parts per million, which means a two-thirds chance the world will warm by no more than 2 degrees Celsius.)

The rest of the book has Monbiot, a columnist for the Guardian and visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University, poking through reports and chasing down leads, leaving few stones unturned as he attempts to find out whether, and how, the reduction is possible.

His target is vastly more stringent than what governments are pledging, and Heat shows why. Monbiot damn near gets his carbon reductions, but only after renewing much of the existing housing stock, revamped the public transport system and energy grid, introduced hydrogen fuel cells and carbon capture and storage. Given the current states of political will and economic structures, all these are unlikely. In the chapter on aviation, even Monbiot concedes defeat, after concluding that to slash emissions there, humans must fly 10 times fewer miles.

Besides this, Heat is a great example of the questions we should ask policy makers as they decide our future. Monbiot chases down the “denial” camp, showing that many of the naysayers of manmade climate change are themselves quoting spurious evidence. Writing on nuclear energy, he notes that while plants can, in theory, be run safely, plant operators in the UK are notorious for cheating and covering up on leaks.

The book is best seen an a pioneering attempt to take stock of wide research, to cut through noise and blather and to try to come to hard conclusions about what, if anything, must be done. The problem is that in many cases, the information isn’t there. On how much nuclear energy really costs, for example, Monbiot quotes various reports, then says: “The only honest reply is that I haven’t the faintest idea.”
...less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Shannon

Shannon rated it:

(review of isbn 0385662211)

05/20/08

bookshelves: environmentalism, favourite, non-fiction

Read in January, 2006

With HEAT, George Monbiot has moved past the obfuscating arguments being slung like mud back and forth across the globe, and faces not just the alarming truth of global warming but the seemingly impossible task of actually doing something about it.

This book is, as he points out in the introduction, a manifesto. It is a plan of action. The goal is to cut our carbon dioxide emissions by 90% by 2030. This is the ?seemingly impossible? aspect, especially when you look at Canada?s current situati...more With HEAT, George Monbiot has moved past the obfuscating arguments being slung like mud back and forth across the globe, and faces not just the alarming truth of global warming but the seemingly impossible task of actually doing something about it.

This book is, as he points out in the introduction, a manifesto. It is a plan of action. The goal is to cut our carbon dioxide emissions by 90% by 2030. This is the ?seemingly impossible? aspect, especially when you look at Canada?s current situation (this Canadian edition includes a foreward designed to wipe the smug smiles off our faces, and effectively brings his manifesto into our own backyard).

Using the UK as his base, Monbiot focuses on high-energy users and high emission-producing industries, from ?our leaky homes? to gas, coal and nuclear plants, cars, public transport, the cement industry, heat, lighting and aviation. Before getting onto the task of fixing our situation before it gets worse, he spends a chapter on the current data and where it will lead us, and on the ?denial industry?. This chapter alone is worth your time. It is engrossing, enlightening and actually quite entertaining.

For all his sources, Monbiot does a thorough background check. This process, of following individuals and organisations from their comments all the way to who is funding them, adds a detective element to the book ? a bit like the tv show House. It also serves to add legitimacy to the people Monbiot does quote ? although he makes a point of being sceptical of anyone who is selling something.

One of the other truly great chapters in this book is on public transport. Using models put forward by other thinkers, Monbiot restructures the English transit system, making it more user-friendly, affordable, quicker, and drastically reduces not only the amount of cars on the road, but also the amount of road. As with the aviation industry, more money is being spent on expanding roads, which will only fill up with twice as many cars, than on finding other transport solutions or ?greener? cars.

His chapter on fuel, especially his breakdown on so-called ?green fuels?, is less heartening. Although he remains incredibly optimistic throughout the book, his conclusions regarding our fuel options are downright depressing. Still, we can only persevere. Likewise, the amount of energy a supermarket uses to keep the fridges on while at the same time heating the place, is shocking, but not surprising. What is really shocking, is that we are all so accustomed to it that no one even thinks about the waste of energy our expectations of convenience cause.

HEAT moves nimbly past all the bickering politicians and scientists and everyone else with an opinion, and looks at ways we can save the planet without sacrificing as much as we will if we do absolutely nothing. But his final point is clear: as long as we refuse to change our lifestyle, make some cuts in our own way of living, we are going to be pretty adverse to politicians regulating ? as Monbiot says they need to do ? and also give them a good reason to not even try.

As a manifesto, HEAT provides a great deal of clear-headed, well-researched and rational information. When one of our politicians decides to take the situation seriously, they would do well to start here....less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Franco

Franco rated it:

(review of isbn 0141026626)

09/22/07

Read in September, 2007

Making the choice
After reading on the internet a number of unsatisfactory articles about climate change, I decided to read a good book on this essential topic. I compared them basing my choice on the information I could find about the three books I’d been proposed, and on the need to verify some of my opinions: first, the opinion I had since thirty years ago that the industrial revolution has an important negative effect on climate - this lead me to easily trust those who fifteen year...more Making the choice
After reading on the internet a number of unsatisfactory articles about climate change, I decided to read a good book on this essential topic. I compared them basing my choice on the information I could find about the three books I’d been proposed, and on the need to verify some of my opinions: first, the opinion I had since thirty years ago that the industrial revolution has an important negative effect on climate - this lead me to easily trust those who fifteen years later said that the reduction amount agreement in Kyoto was just a symbolic act because of the irrelevant quantity; second, the opinion that the data published by the FAO about animal farming, which would be responsible of 18% of the CO2 equivalent emissions, is correct and is just a little further confirmation we need to considerably change our lifestyle.

I scannedd 'Heat!' in a library to find the data I was looking for. What I read on the internet about it made me sure it was at least good for an important step: understanding the real needs in terms of reduction.
One of the first things I read were the tables at the end of the book. I got the impression that the book was not very good for me: it seemed not to mention the animal farming contributes, ascribe to the traffic part of the emissions which are probably due to other fuel combustion and one of the first things the author says is he doesn’t want to change his lifestyle. But, he sais, It’s possible and easy to quickly reduce the emissions by 90% and save the human race this way. In my quick search I couldn’t find positive suggestions or solutions, but only the demolition of suggestions made by others, and an apparently useless report on untrue writings. No way to believe it would say the things I wanted to find. Anyway, it certainly said something important. Well then, I thought, I’ll have to read it all.

Surprising though known
Monbiot chose very well his sources and writes very well. He points out that science reports need to be selected by peer review to be considered valid, while politicians and journalists (not scientists) make a tremendous confusion and get victims of false reports especially for a main reason: they attribute the more importance and credibility to a speaker the more he appears in the media. He shows how some big industries like Philip Morris and Exxon can manipulate the public opinion. It’s enough to get the information selected by peer review, that is, all the articles published by scientists’ magazines as Science and Nature to understand what is happening and will happen in the very next decades according to all scientific contributes, none excluded.

At the end of the second chapter, Monbiot even easily explains the psychology that brings scientists to accept politicians’ decisions even if they know they are a simply ridiculous and mad suicide.

Achieved results
The quick reduction of greenhouse gases emission must become the most important task of our governments. We must ask for this. The reduction must involve everybody. Most of it has to take place before 2012.

Monbiot succeeds in his scopes: convince that in the case of climate change and fighting is worth the trouble, and find the most politically efficacious ways to reduce our energy need and its CO2 content. His comparison among all the suggested solutions brings to evidence which are the best solutions for behaviours and policies in the main fields to take into account: energy production and use, transport and building trade. Only in one sentence, though, it speaks about animal gases production, and as in the case of Al Gore not a word is spent to say how important vegetarianism among the necessary solutions. We can forgive him just because of its starting point (I don't want to change my lifestyle), which he thought so important to attract readers. He got me, and I'm happy about that.
...less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Tai

Tai rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

12/05/07

bookshelves: read-and-owned

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: tetrapods.

This is a thorough and careful book, but also amusing in places. Monbiot manages this well. He is unafraid to call a spade a spade, and correctly diagnoses the wishful thinking that sometimes afflicts environmental activists. Rooftop wind turbines are no solution to anything.

He makes a compelling case that that we should all demand that our economic system be issued new rules. Like NHL hockey players, no one (country/individual/business) wants to be the *first* to put on the helmet, yet we ...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Laurel

Laurel rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

10/11/07

Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: everyone

I was amazed by the thoughtfulness, thorough research, and full disclosure that Monbiot exhibited in his effort to show us how we can stop global warming by cutting our carbon footprint by 90%. I was especially affected by his chapter on transportation (save the world = stop flying).

Unfortunately, since so many of his specific suggestions rely on government policy and on governments "doing the right thing" for the environment, I'm not especially optimistic that his suggestions wil...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Frederik

Frederik rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

04/14/08

Read in April, 2008

Monbiot offers governments, industries and people like ourselves some valid solutions to fight global warming. But we lack the political will and insight to deploy them. In the mean time, the clock is ticking relentlessly...

I like Al Gore's documentary ('An inconvenient Truth') better. Unless you're a real and proactive global warming fighter, these matters can get a tad tedious. Especially when extended over more than 300 pages of depressing figures and estimations.

Our only hopes not to...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Lee

Lee rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

07/28/08

I expected a jeremiad, but this is a patient, empirical exploration of whether we can live a sustainably low-carbon life and preserve the benefits of industrial/technological civilization. Monbiot's conclusion: yes, but just barely, and it will require the kind of determined, concerted efforts that one might well doubt our governments are capable of. Monbiot admits he's not a scientist, but he tells you where he gets his info and how he comes to his conclusions. Best book I've read on climate ch...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Anthony

Anthony rated it:

(review of isbn 0141026626)

07/06/07

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: climate change activists

Monbiot embarks on a quest to determine how the UK can cut its carbon emissions 90% by 2030 from the current level. Examining various sectors like transportation, cement production, retail, and housing, he comes close to what he feels is the necessary recipe to combat what would be a disaster-causing temperature shift if carbon levels are not stabilized at current levels, let alone allowing them to push 450 or 500ppm as many IPCC scientists are suggesting.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Tariq

Tariq rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

06/26/08

Read in October, 2006

George Monbiot pulls out all his mental energy once again, trying to save the planet.

Focusing this time on everything Britain can do to reduce it's GHG emissions, by the 90% that will be necessary. Remarkably, he works out a way it could actually be done.

Highly influential. Always good to see sugestions instead of problems. Some very original suggestions in here too. Particularily liked the one for our transport system.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Ashanan

Ashanan rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

12/27/07

Read in December, 2007

This book was something of an eye opener. The first 12 pages are, essentially, 100-odd citations of scientific papers that say how fucked we'll all be if we don't cut our carbon emissions by 90% in the next 20 years. He then spends the rest of the book demonstrating that the necessary cuts are actually techinically and economically possible, provided sufficient political will can be found. All I can say to that is we're fucked.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Lesley

Lesley rated it:

(review of isbn 0141026626)

03/24/08

George Monbiot is an British environmentalist. At a talk he gave he mentioned the need for Britain to reduce emissions by 90% if the planet was to be saved from irreparable damage. Someone in the audience asked how they could do this. His book is the answer to that question. It's fascinating and has ingenious but simple solutions.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Kim

Kim rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

07/18/08

Read in July, 2008

recommends it for: Everyone

Every single human being must read this book, if for no other reason than it's a stunning example of how to think about the entirety of an issue. Of course, there are more reasons than that, not the least of which is that Monbiot paints a picture of how humanity might innovate to right its climate-related wrongs. Go. read. it. now.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Tristesse

Tristesse rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

06/10/08

Read in February, 2007

recommended to Tristesse by: cbc
recommends it for: yes

I was forced into looking at the environmental crisis the planet is facing after reading this book. I found it helpful because rather than focusing on the hopelessness of the situation Monbiot really looks at possible solutions with intelligence and a great deal of research.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Charnello

Charnello rated it:

(review of isbn 0896087794)

11/01/08

bookshelves: environment

Read in September, 2008

Describes what it's going to take to meet the current scientific consensus on an "acceptable" CO2 ppm.

I'm not optimistic we'll make it.

However, great analysis of how it could be done, as well as arguments anyone can use.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next »

recent status updates | recommend it | blog it

combine
other editions (8)

More editions...

groups with this book

More groups...