Overall a fascinating book EXCEPT for the section on transportation (pp 216-231); it reads like a PR piece for the U.S. automobile industry and/or a junior high report. Very strange, considering the quality of the rest.

I recommend this book to those people who are in any way swayed by economic arguments as to the cost of tackling climate change. As with the advent of any new technological change from the spinning loom on; there are entrenched interests who will fight tooth and nail to stop change on the basis of societal cost. This book does a good job of proving that changing of our energy usage and improving our energy efficiencies can be beneficial - to our wallets and to our children's future. Try to recommend it to a politician or captain of industry near you.

Fred Krupp's environmental activism has given him an extraordinary view of what it takes for business and greens to collaborate for mutual success. His group, Environmental Defense, shook up McDonald's with a consumer revolt over plastic containers and 10 years later Krupp shook hands with McD's CEO on having done the right thing for both the environment and business. In 2007, he helped negotiate a reasonable path forward for a dirty coal power plant. C-suite executives, their sustainability people and communicators have no better guide through the current war on carbon than Krupp's book.

Overall, a very good discussion of technologies that, at some point, will help meet the world's energy needs. Unfortunately, too many environmental groups, like author Fred Krupp's Environmental Defense Fund, refuse to even consider nuclear power, a technology that is already available and widely used around the world to produce huge amounts of essentially greenhouse gas-free electricity. The book devotes about two pages to nuclear power near the end, but they read like a half-hearted afterthought. Nuclear is not 100% pristine and risk-free, but no energy source is, they all have pluses and minuses. Certainly let's pursue solar, wind and other renewables, but let's be realistic and explore all the options.

This book details the global crisis stemming from our energy usage and the related carbon emissions, and pushes cap and trade standards/policy as the optimal solution. Although the primary concern here is the environment, the economic & defense implications are also clear. Chapter by chapter, it delves into various alternative sources of cleaner energy by detailing accounts of multiple entrepreneurs and scientists in each field. The science gets a little technical for a layman at times, but I learned enough as I read to keep me going. Overall, I am much more informed for having read it, and hopeful that some of these new technologies will improve the future.

Earth: The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming, is an excellent book and should be read by all Americans. It gives a good overview of the different types of alternative energy sources. It is a valuable resource for all of us to better understand the issues surrounding energy and global warming.

Thank you for this book and the knowledge about what is actually being done about reinventing energy and kudos to environmentalists and scientists. We should impeach all of our senators and reps, not to mention Bush and CHaney and get some real, honest people in charge of our `world'.

The shear volume of emerging technologies described in this book is astounding and inspiring. It quickly becomes apparent that there are no more excuses for continuing our business-as-usual fossil fuel economy. There are so many clean energy solutions right on the brink of success. All they need are the right incentives and investments. A strong and compelling argument is made for a carbon cap-and-trade system, which would go a long way in helping to achieve a meaningful reduction in greenhouse gases and the migration to a clean (and cheaper) energy future. This needs to happen now and it should be the first priority of the new administration. I highly recommend this book.

Earth: The Sequel The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming by Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund, and Miriam Horn, is a good place to acquaint yourself with many of the alternative energy technologies currently under development. The style is easy to read and Krupp and Horn do a good job of explaining the complexities of a given technology in simple, easy-to-understand language. The focus is on future technologies that, in many cases, are still not proven, i.e. biofuels from algae, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS).

The book's one notable flaw is that there is virtually no discussion of wind technology. In one sense this may be good news given Krupp's enthusiasm for new technology. Perhaps he regards wind as too simple and well established to merit detailed discussion in a book dedicated to complicated technical solutions to the problems posed by fossil fuels. Nonetheless, it's a curious omission.

The authors describe in detail a number of ongoing alternative-energy projects and the scientist-entrepreneurs who are developing them. Attention is paid to the challenges faced by these entrepreneurs in technology development, permitting and arranging the financing that they need to make their projects a reality.

At the end of the book, the authors discuss the policy changes they believe it will be necessary to implement if these projects are to succeed, chief of which is the enactment of some form of cap and trade program. They also briefly revisit some of the options already discussed, this time with a more critical eye, (I suspect the last chapters were written quite a bit later than the first ones) particularly as regards ethanol and hydrogen, both of which can now be clearly seen to have been way overhyped.

Most books on Global Warming are depressing - not "Earth: The Sequel." Krupp's summary of actual projects underway to reduce global warming brings a welcome sense of positivism and excitement to the topic.

He believes that a transformation of the world economy is on the horizon that will generate the great fortunes of the 21st century while securing the world against the dangers of global warming. The "bad news" is that the federal government devotes only $1 billion/year for R&D on renewable energy, less than ExxonMobil earns/day, and the $6 billion/year that oil and gas industries receive in government benefits. On top of this are large ethanol subsidies and mandated usage.

Krupp's positive examples begin with solar power - nanotech, printable films, and layered films that capture varying light wavelengths, combined with low-cost production in China and Mexico and rising energy prices make solar power a strong candidate for alternative energy production. Krupp also points out that solar-power costs should be compared with peak power costs, not lower average power costs, as well as added costs of removing CO2 from coal-fired plants. On the other hand, transmission lines required cost about $1 million/mile, and are further handicapped by being used only half the day. The book then goes on to cover thermal solar - its advantage is the ability to store heat for evening use.

Krupp's coverage of biofuels is particularly enlightening. Switchgrass, a cutting-edge energy crop, converts 0.3% solar energy vs. Spectrolab's 42% for PV cells. Such crops also require enormous water, plus nutrients, and labor for harvesting, processing. Production also requires considerable input power and creates pressure to level rain-forests to provide growing fields. Twenty-five gallons of corn ethanol requires the same grain as would feed a person for a year, and only produces 25% more energy than put into its creation. Another problem is it can't be transported in pipelines because it absorbs water within them.

Alternatively, sugar is converted to ethanol in Brazil at a cost of .60/gallon, getting 8 BTUs back for every BTU put in; corn is only 1.3:1. Cellulose is 36:1, though still being scaled up - not an easy task.

Another exciting experiment is growing algae with the CO2 emitted from power-plant exhaust while also removing nitrogen from waste water used as coolant. Dried algae has as many BTUs as coal on a weight basis.

Other possibilities include wave, tidal, river current, nuclear, and geothermal power. Surprisingly, electric-powered vehicles charged from coal-fired plants would also reduce pollution - about 25%.

Bottom Line: "Earth: The Sequel" is an exciting and enlightening book.

This book reviews the various technologies available to reduce the effects of Global Warming. While dealt in an evenhanded and balanced manner the bottom line for most of these technologies is to be subsidized by government or industry.

I, for one, don't see why these technologies should not stand on their own merits without subsidies. Look at what the government has done with ethanol (covered in the book) and you'll understand why.

Earth: The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming I purchased the audio version of this book and listened to it driving to and from work. For someone interested in hearing about cutting edge research into new sources of energy, this book was written for you. It was packed full of stories about amazing research projects and the brilliant and often wacky people heading up the projects. The stories were highly entertaining, and the tech talk was in-depth enough to make one feel like an insider without going over the head of anyone who enjoys reading science articles in newspapers or popular magazines. I plan to buy several more copies as gifts for friends.

Although it was tough slogging for a non-technical reader like myself,the book does provide practical alternatives to the grim prospect of an oil-starved world. The plausible energy substitues detailed by the authors offer a measure of hope to this 88-year-old grandfather of ten; hopefully their children and grandchildren can continue living in heated, well lit homes with solar-powered cars in the garage. As a published author of books about Colonial American, I am impressed with the huge amount of research needed to create this important journal.


Alfred E Kayworth, author
Abenaki Warrior
Legends of the Pond
The Scalp Hunters
Iceman to the Internet

Really opens your eyes as to what is out there and what to push for. We need to act now to save our planet for future generations. This book details the possibilities.

"Earth: The Sequel" is both an informative look into the future of alternative energy and argument for a federal cap-and-trade energy policy. Fred Krupp is President and Miriam Horn a staff member of the Environmental Defense Fund, the organization that The Economist called "America's most economically literate green campaigners." EDF is famous for its advocacy of market-based solutions to environmental problems, and its proposed solution to climate change is to galvanize the market in the service of alternative energy sources by legislating caps on all industrial carbon emitters while allowing cleaner companies to sell their extra carbon allowances to companies who need them, thereby spawning innovation and making it profitable to reduce pollution. Cap-and-trade. Better than the old subsidies and mandates, because it is more flexible, encourages innovation, and because lawmakers don't need to know which technologies to bank on. The market will sort that out.

It's a strong argument for cap-and-trade, and the authors offer examples where similar policies have benefited industry and explain how cap-and-trade will help alternative energy entrepreneurs. Although it never stops waving the cap-and-trade flag, the bulk of the book is dedicated to the often surprising future of alternative energy sources: photovoltaic and thermal solar energy, biofuels, harnessing wave and tidal energy in the oceans, geothermal, and methods of reinventing energy from coal. I have read about some of these energy sources before, but much of this information was new to me: Biofuels from reprogrammed yeast, from algae, harnessing wave power using underwater pistons and floating turbines, low-temperature geothermal energy, coal gasification, and many more. "Earth: The Sequel" explains how each technology works, its limitations, challenges, what is being done to meet them, and, of course, its economics.

The goal is to show readers an array of alternative energy sources and to emphasize that these are real and viable technologies. By introducing us to the inventors and companies that are leading the way, Krupp and Horn have created and optimistic primer on the energies of the future that will inspire more people to take up these challenges. Wind power is conspicuously absent from the discussion, perhaps because it is technologically mature. The authors take a dim view of corn-based ethanol, as do I. I was disappointed with the coverage of electric cars, which gives no indication that major car companies have already made electric cars or that a battery can currently be put in virtually any car. For that story, see the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?. I have always thought solar the most promising energy technology because it can be easily upgraded, moved, and doesn't require a huge initial investment. "Earth: The Sequel" hasn't dissuaded me from that view, but solar is not suitable for all climates, and this book presents some amazing alternatives.

Good synopsis of efforts to find energy alternatives that are currently going on world-wide. Analysis of pros and cons.

The book blunders with its first calculation with watts, on page 10, where we read " ...to meet China's stated goal to derive 10 percent of its electricity from renewable sources (not counting large hydroelectric projects) by the year 2010 will require 6 gigawatts of electricity -- more than two years of output from all the solar cell factories in the world today."

According to the Earth Policy Institute, 3.8 gigawatts of solar-cell capacity was produced in 2007. From the Wikipedia's ''solar cell'' we learn that, for an installation in Southern California, the capacity factor is typically 20%. So approximately 0.72 GW of potential solar-cell production occured in 2007. China consumed 2.82 x10^12 kWh of electricity in 2007 (from the Wikipedia and elseswhere), or 321 gigawatts. If China were to derive 32 gigawatts from solar-cells in 2007, it would need to install 160 gigawatts of solar-cell capacity, or 42 times the global production that occured in 2008.

Skimming the rest of the book, I did find some potentially useful information.

Earth: The Sequel is an absolute must for anyone interested or concerned about the growing effects of global warming. This book brings to light the current technological advancements in alternative energy, and how very possible it is for us to cut off our dependence on fossil fuels. If the global energy industries were to introduce these new alternative energy solutions into the current grid, we could easily become a much greener planet: Earth. Then there would be no need for a sequel.

From what I have read so far, the book enumerates the state of researched and applied sources of energy that will not (mostly) increase greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. I would recommend this book to those interested in our options for energy for the future.

An incredible wealth of knowledge! Well worth its price for anyone interrested in looking to the future.

The authors provide some interesting perspectives
on how to alleviate climate change. They see
new industries, new jobs, investments and virtual
fortunes being made to alleviate climate change.

The authors conclude that a square of land
100 miles has the capability to produce enough
energy to power the USA. I guess that you could
just about do that in the Mojave Desert !
The book states that a 3 kilowatt solar panel
system could cost $21T dollars; however, the
government does provide energy grants to facilitate
this process.

The theory of solar energy is described by negative
flows through a conduction band reuniting with holes
to produce an electric current. Crystalline silicon
absorbs light more slowly.

In the aggregate, the authors believe that we should
do the following:
o reconsider burning cleaner coal due to the
considerable supply
o geothermal energy can create power from the earth
itself
o solar energy has a virtual infinite capacity to
store heat i.e. desert and hot environments
o bio-fuels fermentation
o oceanic energy
o the sterling engine powered by thermal heat

The book presents some companies which could profit
from the current trend toward alternative energy
production:

o Kyocera Group
o Sun Tech
o Solar Tech

The authors present some excellent ideas on how to
deal with current energy exigencies which are
slated to occur early in this century.

I think the best thing about this book is that it doesn't just sound another alarm about the problems of global warming, the energy crisis, and environmental degradation. Rather, it chronicles all of the hopeful new technology out there that can help to save us all, if only our elected leaders have the wisdom and moral strength to act. Granted, the current administration is just a front for big oil, and will leave our country and the world in a much worse state than when they started. But hopefully, our next administration and Congress will use this kind of information to make enlightened decisions for all of us. A courageous book, which will probably be attacked by those most responsible for the mess we're in. Krupp always speaks truth to power. Bravo!

This is an excellent review of current and up-and-coming lesser-known alternative energy options. It is an optimistic book and introduces the reader to some very creative people interested in slowing global warming and exploring/using/marketing alternative energy options. It goes from most developed alternatives to most speculative and definitely provides one with fuel for thought (pardon the pun) and a sense of hope.

At last, a book on possible solutions to the greenhouse effect caused by our dependence on carbon-based fuels. In this book are numerous methods of creating energy without a carbon footprint, methods that are in progress and in use all over the globe. Instead of the usual depressing "we are such bad people and we use so much energy and deserve to die" attitude we see in Global Warming books, this book actually supplies a view of what progress is being made in the race to achieve carbon-free energy. Only the enormous political power of Big Oil and the Automotive Industry are keeping us headed down the path of climatical disaster, but if the citizens of the world band together to move in a different direction, there are alternatives out there. Now if only people actually cared...

I like this book and recommend it for students of any age from high school to the geriatric crowd that I represent. It has a super index but no mention of Lester Brown or Herman Daly, but that is offset by back cover recomendations from E. O. Wilson, Mark Lewis, and Michael Bloomberg.

Highlights from my fly leaf notes:

+ 1977 Clean Air was a command and control one size fits all that did not pass the market test

+ Lead author and others with the Environmental Defense Fund were instrumental in getting the 1990 Clear Air Act passed.

+ Making clean air a commodity makes the environment a profit center

+ Although there is no mention of Paul Hawkin's "true cost" meme, Hawkins does get listed in the index twice, see his Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World; the author mentions the urgency of accounting for the cost of pollution.

+ USA must cut its emissions by 80%

+ The author is fully aware that Acts of God are in fact Acts of Man. Another book, I cannot remember which, tells us that changes to the planet that used to take 10,000 years now take three. Not only do we need real time science, but we also need The Precautionary Principle: A Critical Appraisal

+ Clean energy is described by one sources as "the mother of all markets."

+ The author considers the energy markets to be completely "rigged" and notes that grain based ethanol, which I have called idiocy on more than one occasion, exists because of lobbying from Archer Daniels Midland among others.

+ In 2005 solar power grew by 45%.

+ Solar is distributed power, storage is a major obstacle.

+ The author clearly excited by Silicon Valley nano-tech, and also cautious about what we do not know when it is destabilized.

+ The solar energy industry is shooting for the Home Depot marketplace, stuff so simple I could install it. The author also tells us that banks are starting to get into power purchase agreements that will finance clean energy the way a home or car might be mortgaged. Home depot level will also mean graceful degradation and no "crash" or energy equivalent of Bill Gate's "blue screen of death".

+ Concentrating the sun is another promising approach. The author tells us that solar energy is six times more land efficient than wind energy.

+ Cuba is sitting on a sugar cane gold mine, biofuels with zero emissions are on the way from sugar modification.

+ Algae is covered, as well as bacteria.

+ Ocean power is also making headway, and is consistent, predictable, and has a high energy density.

+ Earth thermal includes hot water that comes with oil, previously considered a nusiance.

+ Coal is getting a make-over, and biomimicry is helping. It must get a make-over because it is an essential part of the mid-term power solution.

+ Sequestration is working and will work long enough to matter.

+ Regenerative reserves (e.g. the Amazon) are an essential part of the future. More more on this see the lovely and informative Climate Change and Biodiversity

+ Manure is turning into a major league energy source (when it's not contaminating our spinach, there is a whole land under surface water use deal here that we just do not understand.

+ Energy efficiency, hybrid cars, and smarter land use (compacting towns and cities to increase efficiency of public transportation) are part of the solution.

+ All parties will spend $10 trillion over the next thirty years to achieve clean energy.

See Other books I recommend:
Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, Third Edition
Ecological Economics: Principles And Applications
The Future of Life
The Mighty Acts of God
The Republican War on Science
Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature
Green Chemistry and the Ten Commandments of Sustainability, 2nd ed

This is a fine book. See also the WIRED Magazine Cover Story from 2000, it came out the same month Dick Cheney was meeting secretly with Enron and Exxon executives.

This book should be required reading in schools!
This book clearly shows how we can turn Global Warming and our Energy Crisis into a booming economy...
We have an opportunity to prove to LIFE that Humans are not just a CANCER to this planet.
There is HOPE, but little time left so turn off Rush Limbaugh and read for yourself.

This book is an outstanding resource if you want to learn about a huge amount of work going on right now in alternate energy and all those doing it.

Krupp makes it abundantly clear that alternatice energy is on the move and will be a major source of profit investments while reducing global warming and providing energy to the customer at avordable prices.

This book is well written, funny, interesting, and very enlightening. It shows that there is a great deal going on in our "capitalistic" society which can prevent or reverse global warming while making economic sense. This is a plea for the cap and trade concept--and a very well constructed plea at that.

In this book, Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn offer a series of insightful looks at energy innovations and disruptive technologies that hold economic promise while delivering on environmental objectives. In most cases, they revert to the central argument that implementing a cap and trade mechanism for carbon will catalyze copy cat replications and produce a more robust capital market for these earth-friendly energy systems. The book is an easy and entertaining read, drawing from personal experience that adds a human dimension to the struggle for market penetration and product acceptance in a industry dominated largely by entrenched monopolies and monolithic incumbents.

I bought this book thinking it would deal with the generic issues and possibilities related to climate change. Unfortunately, the author spends a great deal of time anecdotally discussing inventors and entrepreneurs. Still it is somewhat worth while.

This is a well researched vehicle which makes a lot of sense if the U.S. government gives up its militaristic approach to economics. All the breakthroughs previewed in the book are possible, but need capital which is now going down the wartime drain, and the paranoic need to keep our country defended militarily. While we have the strongest military, we now have the weakest economy. When we change our economic priorities we may be able to create industry which really meets the needs of our people!!

Can this planet-wide civilization find a way to survive or will it collapse like the Mayans or Easter Island as overpopulation & resource depletion reach irreversible levels? I've personally seen this crisis coming since 1950, when I was in high school. World population has tripled in my lifetime, fossil fuel consumption growth has been even worse, the energy & mineral resources that underlie technological civilization become ever scarcer & more costly, and our pollution of the atmosphere threatens to cause catastrophic alterations in the global climate. While it's too late to avoid a lot of serious pain, there is still time to avert massive collapse if (a big if) we can get political & economic leaders to shift course promptly.
This book, Earth: The Sequel, spells out the range of paths that could lead us to succeed. The authors have sought out the people & companies who are working on affordable, non-polluting energy of all sorts. The book is full of fascinating stories about creative people who are inventing the technologies that can get us off fossil fuels & avert world disaster. It is well written & as readable as a novel. Get one now; give copies to your friends & your legislators.

Robert Orser (using my wife, Teri Davis' e-mail & Amazon acct., through which I ordered the book.)

Gave me reason to feel somewhat positive about the world's future (a rarity these days). It's a slow read for non-scientists, best taken in small bites.

This book put optimism into my thinking about global warming. It made me look to the future with renewed hope for the world my grandchildren will inherit.

Earth the Sequel offers hope at a time when it's in short supply from a direction you might hate and least expect.

Do you believe corporations are soulless and are responsible for all our modern ills including the climate crisis? Do you think the entrepreneurial spirit leads down the road to damnation? Read this book and you may have second thoughts.

Increased consumerism and the disproportionate use of our limited earth resources is a topic not addressed in this book, while it does beg that question. Still, Krupp leaves us with hope that the entrepreneurial spirit may buy us enough time to address global warming in the near future and that corporations will find it in their best intrests to change their wasteful ways.

Krupp introduces us to modern day Ben Franklins who are engaging and engaged and shows us some possible solutions that may work. He doesn't say any of these specific ones will, just that some of them might, and that given sufficient financial incentives, if not these, then other solutions will be found.

Krupp's is a point of view definitely worth considering.

Are you getting depressed about the gloom and doom news of climate catastrophe? Then read this book and you will awaken to the endless possibilities of the future that is being worked out silently by a huge number of entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers who are the pioneers of the next industrial revolution - the cleantech revolution.

This book surveys the main sources of alternative energies- solar, biofuel, wind, geothermal and oceanic. Then goes into considerable depth into describing various works going on into each area. For example, in solar energy alone, the book details over half a dozen approaches to make solar energy an efficient, cheap and viable solution. The authors describe the technology in simple terms, but with sufficient depth. At the same time, they mention the business viability and political issues. A very well rounded approach indeed!

One recurring theme throughout the book is the necessity of a carbon cap and trade program. Without a price on carbon emission, the playing field between the fossil fuels and renewable energy sources will remain uneven and the renewables will not have a chance to flourish. Free market is an wonderful instrument, but is completely dumb. Information has to be injected into the market system regarding the cost of everything.

Currently, the polluters dump the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere without a price tag. The result is sea level rise, destruction of natural habitats, melting glaciers, agricultural yield reduction, increase of diseases, environmental refugees and on and on. Doesn't these all have a price tag? Once this price tag is attached with pollution, the underlying strength of innovation and free market will unleash and get a chance to save this civilization that faces the greatest challenge in many centuries - the global warming.

This book will be enjoyable by the environmentally conscious readers, the entrepreneurs, the science lovers and just about anyone who is interested in keeping abreast of this next frontier of technology. Do not miss it, we are at the door-step of a new era of the civilization, this does not happen with every generation, read the book and make other people read it!

This book is meant for people like me who have an interest in all things scientific, environmental, political, and financial; but unlike me, have not bothered to pursue the topic of global warming beyond all the doom and gloom rhetoric the main stream media portrays. If that is you, then this book just may be inspirational as most reviews suggest. However, I have found the book to be mere review for information I have read in more engaging forms (both from a technical perspective and from a human insterest perspective) from other sources such as magazines like popular mechanics and popular science, among others. As such, I found it a very slow read. I would give the book 3, maybe 4 stars if the information contained within was not a review for me. Don't fool yourself either, there are a lot of technologies with great potential but many have significant barriers (not all having to do with the fiscal advantage of fossil fuels) or they would already be widely utilized. Nice reminder that we can change the world, but it's not going to happen just by reading this book.

For anyone interested in where we go from here regarding global warming, Fred Krupp has my heartfelt support for the book Earth: The Sequel.

The book is well crafted and clearly written. After a a bit of the history of how we got into this mess, he gets right to the point.

His next 2 chapters (solar energy) are akin to the entrepenuerial spirit of the early computer and other 20th century technology days. I really connected with this, since I spent nearly 30 years on the vanguard on new technologies such as satellite, cable TV, laser optical, and more.

I recommend this highly as a handbook for learners, and career changers, interested in renewable energy. Earth: The Sequel is a highly enjoyable read, plus it is well-written from a caring expert who has made industry and government pay attention to this urgent concern.

I don't know what it is about book sub-titles these days but they all have them, and this one generously has *two*, "The Sequel" and the common "The Race To.." (at least it's not "..That Changed the World"). I very often avoid books with these sub-titles because I know exactly what to expect: a long magazine article that would have been better in a magazine and not as a book. However in this case I took the chance because one of the co-authors is Fred Krupp, President of the influential Environmental Defense Fund, and the publisher is W.W. Norton. Even though it is indeed written like a magazine article (very skillfully I assume mostly by Miriam Horn) with lots of human interest stories and non-fiction narrative techniques, the content is well worth it.

Essentially it is a survey of the current technologies, companies and people involved with alternative energy in the United States. Even though I follow this stuff in the news and blogs there was tons of new stuff here I never knew about. Some of the people involved are really fascinating. Some of the companies are much further along than I realized. Others are probably not the solutions I thought they may be. My copy is marked up with people and companies to watch.

If the book has a re-curring message it is this: free markets work, but only if there is a cap and trade system to adjust the cost of fossil fuels upward, so that alternative technologies have a chance to develop and compete. If there is no cost to pollute, than obviously clean technologies are at a disadvantage. This has to change, and soon.

The book was very well-written and thought out. It was so interesting to read about these innovative companies coming out of the woodwork to find better and cheaper ways of utilizing alternative earth-friendly energy sources. It wouldn't be surprising to see these companies rise to the forefront of the international energy race in the next few years and decades. They are proof that we are starting to have a shift in the way we view our relationship with the environment: Nature is not to be overcome, but rather to be our ally.

This book is a bit more on the technical side for the average reader, but it goes int some details about the very positive things that are being done by US businesses and entrepreneurs to combat rising carbon emissions and global warming.

By HibernianDigger "CelticMiner" (southwestern Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

I am a veteran of "Wall Street" and of the mining business. I was on the brink of despair when an e-mail telling me of the publishing date of the book: "Earth-The Sequel", found its way into my inbox.
For the first time since 1970 when I was awakened, like Saul on his way to Damscus, to the vision of the apocalypse where we no longer controlled our enrgy destiny, I saw hope. We had been in trouble because of our dependence on oil. It would soon be worse because we would be dependent on foreign oil. (Texans are bad but not half as bad as Arabs!)
Since then I have been trying to come up with a solution to the energy problem. The answers are of course, obvious. Drive less miles, drive smaller vehicles, develoip new technology. But I have been demoralized by the ignorance of the politicians you folks have been sending to Washington, D.C., never mind the idiots you send to your state capitals.
Then along comes this book that presents a picture of the turbulent activity on the boundaries of technology. Our brilliant sons and daughters may have identified the technologies that may show us the way back to the Garden of Eden! We may have the solution to the energy crisis that now confronts us. We will never solve the problem of global warming. Nobody cares about that. However, we must keep, our vehicles, (the bigger the better!). So we must must solve the energy crisis and if the global warming problem is solved as a result so be it.
I must say that this book gives me an optimism that I have not felt since I closed down my coal mines in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky in 1983. The case studies and examples identify real developments by, no kidding, the guys who used to be the kids in silicon Valley, California, USA. Go figure!

Before I read this book I knew very little about things like renewable energy, carbon trading, and cap-and-trade. Miriam is able to take tough subject matter and bring it down to earth where we can all understand it. I would love to see the ideas and stories, in this book, written so that children could make sense of them.

A powerful book, well written and informative. Everyone should read. Timely, especially in this season of presidential elections.

Earth: The Sequel is a fascinating portrayal of state of the art advances in alternative energy production. The sun, the wind, the oceans, geothermal, biothermal - there are a host of ways that we can replace fossil fuels, and many highly creative people are working hard to make it happen. It becomes clear, through reading this extraordinary book, that we can do it, that the economy will thrive as we make this transition, and that the earth can be saved from global warming as we do this. This book portrays the nuts and bolts of the incredible effort that mankind must now make to save the earth from destruction.

In Earth: The Sequel, Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn take a trip around the world to find the bold energy solutions that the world needs to combat Global Warming and boy, do they succeed! New breakthroughs in solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, nuclear and wave energy are the stars of this book and the entrepreneurs that are working on these breakthroughs are nothing short of inspiring. The problem, however, is that none of these breakthroughs are likely to advance in our energy marketplace without the help of a Carbon Cap and Trade program, which will set a true price for emitting Carbon Dioxide and provide incentives for developing green energy.

Readers who find the idea of a emissions trading offensive may want to stay away from this book. On the other hand, they may want to read it and rethink their position because the breakthrough's highlighted by Krupp and Miriam are just too important for our future.

The only real criticism I have about Earth: The Sequel is that many may find it too confusing or dry. That's a shame because the message needs to be heard beyond the sphere of eco-geeks (like me) who eat this stuff up. On the Environmental Defense Fund site, there is a video promo for the book which, if expanded on, would make a good movie (ala An Inconvenient Truth) or television show. In other words, television and the big screen should be the sequel to Earth: The Sequel.

As a recent college graduate entering the private sector of the work force, I believe Krupp and Horn have created a window into the future. They abandon the uninspiring lectures of climate change's past, and immerse the reader in the inspiring and explosive world of renewable energies. For the first time our looming changing climate and energy obstacles are presented as what they truly are: opportunities.

Krupp and Horn illustrate how the combined efforts of entrepreneurs, legislators, and the free market economy will revolutionize a mutli- trillion dollar industry, rewarding handsomely those who take notice now, while leading us where we need to go. However, they emphasize this is not a leisurely exercise and we are rapidly losing time.

The authors have successfully reframed the climate and energy crisis from one of blame into one of unimaginable rewards for those who grasp this generation defining opportunity. It is truly inspiring and is without a doubt one of the most important books I have ever read. This is not a book for environmentalists (myself not being one), but a book for everyone. I especially suggest those of my young generation to pick it up for it is our future of which they speak, and it will soon either be our fault, or our glory. This book will surely help us reach the latter.

This book illuminates how politics, economics and science can come together to wildly accelerate our ability to save the planet and spare the next generation from the catastrophic effects of global warming. I love that Fred Krupp & Miriam Horn argue in favor of channeling the profit motive to create a gigantic tipping point in commercializing alternative energy sources. They chronicle amazing scientists, visionary business people, and forward-looking politicians whose integrated efforts have the potential to save our collective you-know-what.

I'm with John Doerr whose blurb on the back cover draws a parallel between the billions made in the recent tech revolution, and the opportunity inherent in the environmental revolution. He says that in 20 years some 35-year old will be a billionaire because s/he read the book at 15. I plan to read it out loud to my 10 year old.

Writer Miriam Horn could make a common shopping list engaging and enlightening. We are all lucky that she has not squandered her talent on shopping lists, but has, along with Fred Krupp, written an informative and fascinating account of the exciting work being done to save us from our own excesses. The stories in the book will make you reconsider the dark idea that perhaps the human race is getting what it deserves. This is a vitally important book to buy and a total pleasure to read.