Miriam Horn

Horn introduces us to a Montana rancher, a Kansas wheat farmer, a Mississippi River barge captain, and some commercial fishermen/shrimpers who are working tirelessly to create environmentally-friendly, sustainable, and profitable businesses in the increasingly complicated food industry. Each has sacrificed their own time and money successfully brokering mutually-beneficial compromises between philosophically divergent neighbors, business leaders, government officials, scientists, community activists, environmentalists to help effectively manage interconnected natural resources and to regenerate lands and waters that have been harmed by past overuse. I found it inspiring, informative, and refreshingly balanced. I would have liked to see a convenient consolidated list of recommended advocacy groups/organizations/web sites at the end of the book just in case a reader had the desire to chip in and help one of these important causes, but otherwise I thought it was very well done. A recommended read for all.… (more)

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. 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.

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2008 cc-by-nd… (more)