Sunlight and Seaweed , the most recent book by Tim Flannery is a must-read book for all who want to look straight ahead at climate change and its effect on our planet and our lives. Importantly it is a book that presents hopeful solutions in the face of these challenges. Flannery believes we cannot now avoid the 2% warming level but he goes on to show that already there is innovative technology and initiatives which, if embraced in time, can mitigate the legacy we have created.
Central to the solution is a new and much more powerful method of collecting sunlight and one that allows storage of heat despite the disappearance of the sun each night. Access to such clean and abundant power, along with other developing technologies, can solve many urgent problems. For example, it will allow the cleanup of the swaths of polluted and unusable soils on the planet and of the mass of toxic rubbish in the ocean as well as giving access to unlimited use of desalinated water from the sea. Flannery also predicts that food production in the future will rely on extensive use of hydroponics as well large scale seaweed farming, the latter being also a way to substantially reduce carbon in the atmosphere. Each of the initiatives presented is already in operation and the book gives accessible detail about methodology and current development stage.
Flannery is sure that where we live and how we produce our food will all change dramatically and soon. He paints a picture of life in 2050 that is very different but quite liveable. The width of Flannery’s perspective is astonishing. The book is practical, visionary and positive.
Nola Firth
*** Now in stock at CEC
