![]() ![]() (Disbelievers are likely the only readers to find wholly new content in this book).įriedman’s discussion of the history of American dependence on oil post-1973 and his emphasis on energy as a national security issue are useful and breezy he includes a straightforward exploration of Islam and oil that plays to his background in Middle East studies. Friedman hits his stride here, and the passages where he addresses climate change skeptics are among the best. The premature start date of the local deer-hunting season prompted even red-blooded Red Staters to contemplate the consequences of global warming. “We are the frog,” he writes of humans confronting climate change, “the pail is getting hot, flat and crowded, and we need a long-term survival plan-a ladder out of the pail.” Or, “the air in the Koran class was so thick and stale you could have cut it into blocks and sold it like cakes.” Or, “We flew to Colstrip through a winter gale that tossed us around like salad pieces.” What?įriedman exploits this shaky trip to Colstrip, Montana to demonstrate an important point: climate change is no longer a theoretical concept, nor a distant mirage. These are not Friedman’s only creative uses of language he also has a way with metaphors. Chapters have headings like “Outgreening al-Qaeda,” “Green Is the New Red, White and Blue,” and “Fill ’Er Up with Dictators.” Like a textbook, Hot, Flat, and Crowded is jam-packed with Friedman’s jargon: Energy-Climate Era, petrodictatorship, Code Green, “abundant, clean, reliable, and cheap electrons,” E.T., and Dirty Fuels System. What is a textbook, after all, but a compilation of information for the uninitiated, written in simple language, stocked with definitions, and calculated to appeal to a wide spectrum of potential learners? This is that book: the global warming manual for readers who missed the Live Earth concerts, coverage of Hurricane Katrina, and the Reader’s Digest “Going Green” issue. As I absorbed these into my analysis, it became obvious that it’s actually the convergence of global warming, global flattening, and global crowding that is the most important dynamic shaping the world we live in today.”įriedman’s main argument in Hot, Flat, and Crowded is that America must lead the world in fighting climate change, not only out of our own self-interest, but also out of our “moral responsibility.” Investing in homegrown energy alternatives, regulating American industry, and beating China in the green innovation race will build the nation-and save the world.Īs Tom Brokaw noted in an interview with Friedman, “it really is a textbook study of what’s going on in the world today.” He’s right. “Two other enormously powerful forces are impacting our planet in fundamental ways,” he writes: “global warming and soaring global population growth. To describe our world, he discovered, he would need a title with more adjectives. It is more careful and complex, in large part because Friedman has revised his own thesis. New York City Ballet: Tschaikovsky CelebrationHot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution-and How It Can Renew America begins where The World Is Flat left off.Other destinations close to The Blueprint Show more Destinations nearby The Blueprint Hotel La Quinta Inn & Suites Brooklyn Central.Hotel Holiday Inn Express Brooklyn - Bushwick.These hotels may also be interesting for you. Show more Interesting hotels nearby The Blueprint ![]() Kennedy, Grand Central Terminal, Pennsylvania Station The Blueprint Nearby attractions include Times Square, Newark Liberty International Airport, Central Park, Lower Manhattan, Midtown, International Airport John F. ![]()
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