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Rays of Hope: The Transition to a Post-Petroleum World
Explores possible methods of harnessing and using solar, wind, and water energy and the ways in which shifting to such sustainable energy sources will affect our lifestyles, diets, jobs, and economy
240 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 31, 2018
My friend bought this for me as a joke, not thinking I'd actually read it... I did though, and found it interesting, a fascinating historical document sure, but also incredibly relevant to now. Top this, Russ!
June 7, 2017
Book 8 of Nuclear Studies
While not a book purely on nuclear energy, it is discussed some. Hayes is not fervently anti-nuclear. His biggest concerns lie in waste management and weapons proliferation. He would rather we not jump straight into nuclear as a substitute and instead start the transition to renewable and sustainable sources now. I felt that his argument was generally balanced; the points he made regarding nuclear energy's downsides were and are mostly relevant even today, even though I feel some of his concerns have been mitigated in years since.
This book is primarily interesting because of the perspective it offers of the issues of climate change and sourcing energy in 1977. Reading it almost 40 years after its publication in a nation where climate change is still denied and where fossil fuels still run the show, parts of it read ominously. If things were this bad then, how much have things been exacerbated now? Other parts definitely show their age. Hayes offers many different "groundbreaking" technologies to the readers as solutions. I had a lot of fun Googling some of the technologies and reading about their fates. Some never got off the ground or were abandoned only a few years later. In the chapter on transportation, electric vehicles are mentioned in a long list of other potential technologies like the steam engine (yes, in a car). Even though the statistics and content are mostly dated now, I was still entertained and came away having learned something. It honestly reminded me a lot of Bill Nye's book Unstoppable, only 40 years earlier.
I'll end with a quote from the book that I found all too relevant:
"Many elected politicians consider the next election to be the most important of all horizons; anything that produces ill effects beyond the next election matters little. Thus, all tax cuts precede elections, and consequent inflation follows them. Votes are won by ensuring the greatest possible current prosperity at the lowest possible prices, and political decisions that impede consumption are exceedingly rare, while those that encourage rapid exploitation are the rule. The jingle of the cash register can drown out the voices of the unborn."
While not a book purely on nuclear energy, it is discussed some. Hayes is not fervently anti-nuclear. His biggest concerns lie in waste management and weapons proliferation. He would rather we not jump straight into nuclear as a substitute and instead start the transition to renewable and sustainable sources now. I felt that his argument was generally balanced; the points he made regarding nuclear energy's downsides were and are mostly relevant even today, even though I feel some of his concerns have been mitigated in years since.
This book is primarily interesting because of the perspective it offers of the issues of climate change and sourcing energy in 1977. Reading it almost 40 years after its publication in a nation where climate change is still denied and where fossil fuels still run the show, parts of it read ominously. If things were this bad then, how much have things been exacerbated now? Other parts definitely show their age. Hayes offers many different "groundbreaking" technologies to the readers as solutions. I had a lot of fun Googling some of the technologies and reading about their fates. Some never got off the ground or were abandoned only a few years later. In the chapter on transportation, electric vehicles are mentioned in a long list of other potential technologies like the steam engine (yes, in a car). Even though the statistics and content are mostly dated now, I was still entertained and came away having learned something. It honestly reminded me a lot of Bill Nye's book Unstoppable, only 40 years earlier.
I'll end with a quote from the book that I found all too relevant:
"Many elected politicians consider the next election to be the most important of all horizons; anything that produces ill effects beyond the next election matters little. Thus, all tax cuts precede elections, and consequent inflation follows them. Votes are won by ensuring the greatest possible current prosperity at the lowest possible prices, and political decisions that impede consumption are exceedingly rare, while those that encourage rapid exploitation are the rule. The jingle of the cash register can drown out the voices of the unborn."
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews