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Science. Nonfiction. HTML: Just as World War II called an earlier generation to greatness, so the climate crisis is calling today's rising youth to action: to create a better future. In UNSTOPPABLE, Bill Nye crystallizes and expands the message for which he is best known and beloved. That message is that with a combination of optimism and scientific curiosity, all obstacles become opportunities, and the possibilities of our world become limitless. With a scientist's thirst for knowledge and an engineer's vision of what can be, Bill Nye sees today's environmental issues not as insurmountable, depressing problems but as chances for our society to rise to the challenge and create a cleaner, healthier, smarter world. We need not accept that transportation consumes half our energy, and that two-thirds of the energy you put into your car is immediately thrown away out the tailpipe. We need not accept that dangerous emissions are the price we must pay for a vibrant economy and a comfortable life. Above all, we need not accept that we will leave our children a planet that is dirty, overheated, and depleted of resources. As Bill shares his vision, he debunks some of the most persistent myths and misunderstandings about global warming. When you are done reading, you'll be enlightened and empowered. Chances are, you'll be smiling, too, ready to join Bill and change the world. In Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World, the New York Times bestselling author of Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation and former host of "Bill Nye the Science Guy" issues a new challenge to today's generation: to make a cleaner, more efficient, and happier world..… (more)
User reviews
Like Nye's previous book, Undeniable, this book focuses on big ideas and represents and appeal from the author directly to his readers to stop fearing or denying science because it only serves to hurt us as a society. His great sense of optimism and wit permeates every chapter so that even those portions that casual readers may find dull have their share of entertainment. As Nye proved on the Science Guy show, humor is an effective tool in education. That said, he is serious when the topic calls for it. Unstoppable should serve as a wake-up call to readers around the world to get actively engaged not only in petitioning their governments to do something about climate change, but to implement many of the small-scale ideas that Nye is already using in his own home. Together, we can change the world!
Favorite Quotes
“so long as we each focus only on our individual decisions and their short-term consequences, we will act like renters, not owners of this Earth.” —
“We can be a lot smarter and more capable than a lot of the technology doubters and climate deniers assume. The people who dismiss concerns about global warming seem to be the pessimists who would rather give up than own up to the problems we have all created. The people who worry most about what we are doing to the planet are the optimists who believe we also have the intelligence—we, as a species, working together—to come up with powerful solutions to the problems we’re working on that will change the world for the better. Which way of looking at the world is going to produce a Next Greatest Generation? Will it be the ones who give up, or the ones who get going?”
“The less we do to address climate change now, the more regulation we will have in the future.”
5 Dewey's
Didn't have to review this one - as usual just gotta share my opinion on books
Some of his suggestions are larger, more sweeping, and outside the power of any one individual to accomplish (at least one who isn't a billionaire). The only thing most of us can do is vote for politicians who at least are willing to admit there is a problem and that we should do something about it.
And we can. Most of what he suggests can be done now. We have the technology. We just need the societal will and the political commitment.
Side note: I think the chapters are meant to be read in any order, or on their own, so there is some repeated information that can get a little tedious when you read straight through. I am now well aware that Nye is the CEO of the Planetary Society, and that he has a friendly rivalry with his neighbor Ed Begley Jr., and that he refers to his house as Nye Labs. Once I realized that each chapter is written without assuming that you've read the rest of the book, I found these little repetitions less annoying.
While I like the attitude, I did have slightly mixed feelings about the book itself. Much of it involved some rather simplified basic science lectures about things like electrical power generation, although possibly I should have expected that. But, after spending so much time on the basics, I think a lot of his explorations of different kinds of technologies and the changes they might bring about are kind of shallow. This may still actually be a good introduction to people who don't have any kind of science background and haven't read very much on those subjects before, so if that happens to be you it may be just what you want. But I think I was hoping for something with just a bit more depth. I did get a little bit of a kick out of the chapters where he describes his slightly over-the-top competition with his neighbor, Ed Begley Jr., over who has the most eco-friendly house, though.