Tag Archives: energy

Of astronomy and nuclear arms

Posted on January 22, 2022 by smellincoffee

This week has seen the fall of two TBR titles that double as my first science reads for 2022. StarTalk Radio is a podcast hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, and features interviews with prominent scientists, policy makers, etc, along with … Continue reading →

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Books books books

Posted on October 14, 2021 by smellincoffee

Between the nonfunctional hospital wifi and the only decent television programs being overtaken by baseball, most of my entertainment last week was good ol’ fashioned books. Midnight at Chernobyl popped onto my radar after I watched the excellent HBO series … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

A Walk Around the Block

Posted on January 15, 2021 by smellincoffee

A Walk Around the Block: Stoplight Secrets, Mischievous Squirrels, Manhole Mysteries & Other Stuff You See Every Day (And Know Nothing About)© 2020 Spike Carlsen336 pages One of my favorite books to think back on is Scott Huler’s On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Too Much Magic: Same arguments, different cover

Posted on November 25, 2020 by smellincoffee

Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation© 2012 Jim Kunstler336 pages Twelve years ago, at the urging of my sociology professor, I attended a lecture on Peak Oil and the Future of Suburbia, by a … Continue reading →

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Whole Earth Disicpline

Posted on November 8, 2020 by smellincoffee

Whole Earth Disicpline: An Ecopragmatist Approach © 2010 Stewart Brand344 pages Sustainability is context, not a gadget or a single technology. From Stewart Brand, a lifelong environmentalist and creator-editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, comes this fascinating argument that the … Continue reading →

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A Bright Future

Posted on October 15, 2020 by smellincoffee

A Bright Future: How Some Nations have Solved Climate Change and How the Rest can Follow© 2019 Joshua Goldstein & Staffan Qvist245 pages It is past time for the global community to take climate change seriously. In order to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Empires of Light

Posted on December 9, 2017 by smellincoffee

Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World © 2004 Jill Jonnes464 pages Empires of Light is less a history of how the United States became electrified and more a biography of three electrical titans – … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Energy Myths and Realities

Posted on October 20, 2017 by smellincoffee

Energy Myths and Realities: Bringing Science to the Energy Debate© 2010 Vaclav Smil232 pages Nothing lasts forever, including coal and oil. Regardless of their environmental impact (as noxious fumes or released greenhouse gases), ultimately humanity will have to transition away … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Infrastructure: A Field Guide

Posted on September 14, 2017 by smellincoffee

Infrastructure: A Field Guide to the Industrial Landscape© 1999, 2014 Brian Hayes544 pages Here at last is a book for those of us who constantly gaze out the car window at the fixtures on utility poles, or drums mounted in … Continue reading →

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The Works

Posted on November 25, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Works: Anatomy of a City© 2005  Kate Ascher240 pages Cities are, for my money, mankind’s most astonishing invention. Their complexity is stupefying — system within system, handling tons of material at any given time, whether the subject is cars … Continue reading →

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