Audiobook9 hours
Energy for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines
Written by Richard A. Muller
Narrated by Pete Larkin
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
The near-meltdown of Fukushima, the upheavals in the Middle East, the BP oil rig explosion, and the looming reality of global warming have reminded the president and all U.S. citizens that nothing has more impact on our lives than the supply of and demand for energy. Its procurement dominates our economy and foreign policy more than any other factor. But the "energy question" is more confusing, contentious, and complicated than ever before. We need to know if nuclear power will ever really be safe. We need to know if solar and wind power will ever really be viable. And we desperately need to know if the natural gas deposits in Pennsylvania are a windfall of historic proportions or a false hope that will create more problems than solutions. Richard A. Muller provides all the answers in this must-listen guide to our energy priorities now and in the coming years.
Author
Richard A. Muller
The P.J. Zondervan Professor for Doctrinal Studies in Historical Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Reviews for Energy for Future Presidents
Rating: 4.4374999375 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
16 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Easily the best non-scientist's science book I have ever read. Accessible, interesting, thought provoking and relevant. Plus a great conceit that never lets up - the author addresses the President right to the very last page. Highly, highly recommended, especially as a follow up to anyone who's recently read more depressing books like The World Without Us (which I also recommend.) But if I were to own only one single science book, this would be it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is the book to read to be informed about the scientific issues that confront Obama. From terrorism to environmental disaster Mr. Muller, a physics professor at UC Berkeley, explains the science behind the headlines and the options that a president will have available to choose from. So far Obama has stumbled by closing down the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Now there really is no solution for nuclear waste, but what to do with all those spent fuel rods ...Watch for Ocean Acidification to be the next environmental battle cry to hit the headlines.Richard Muller for Science Advisor!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sometimes I see a book title that is so brilliant that I can't help feel (as a writer) 'I wish I'd thought of that.' This is just such a title. It's a brilliant concept - the physics any decent US president really ought to know to be able to make the decisions that face him or her.What's more, the contents live up to the title. Physics professor Richard A. Muller delivers some real surprises, separating what many of us think we know from reality. In five sections, handling terrorism, energy, 'nukes', space and global warming he delivers some devastating truths, putting across information that it's hard to believe any president has really grasped - yet it's so important that they do.I don't want to go into too much detail - read the book - but, for example, in the terrorism section he points out that petrol (and aviation fuel) has more energy per tonne than TNT. This was why the Twin Towers came down on 9/11 - not because of the impact of the planes, but the energy released by the burning fuel. Each section uses the main theme as a starting point, but then pulls in other ideas. So, for example, while the space theme has plenty about the fact that manned spaceflight is not undertaken for scientific reasons (he argues strongly against it, encouraging much more unmanned space work), he also covers the use of gravity for remote detection, and the use of non-visible light (infra-red, radar etc.) in intelligence gathering.One small gripe and one big one. The small gripe is that it's a shame there isn't a European edition of the book. Muller has used US units throughout, rather than scientific units (Fahrenheit temperatures instead of Celsius, for instance), which is ideal for the target audience of would-be US presidents, but less helpful over here. The big one is I think there is one big section missing - pure physics. It doesn't really come through that there's any need to do physics without an immediate application. In the past this has meant passing the crown for nuclear physics from the US, with the cancellation of the Superconducting Super Collider, to Europe with the Large Hadron Collider (due to go live days after this review was written) - future presidents should understand the implications of not putting money into such valuable research.All in all, without doubt, both the best concept I've seen in ages and an excellent fulfilment of the promise of the title.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What information does a president of the United States really need to know to make informed decisions about some of the most important issues we are facing as a nation and as a global community? Richard Muller believes that some of this knowledge should be an understanding of the basic principles of physics. I loved the format of this book. Muller writes this book as though the reader was the next president of the United States. The book applies basic physics to a better understanding of five key areas: terrorism, energy, nukes, space, and global warming. I found this book to be truly enlightening. Almost daily I am bombarded by news stories featuring the challenges we are facing in at least one of these areas. Muller presents the facts, in a fair and balanced manner (honestly, I really can't tell which political party he favors) , allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. For example, Muller explores why the greatest threats we face from terrorists are not "dirty bombs" or stolen nuclear weapons, and why solar powered cars are not really feasible, at least with our current technology. Personally, I was especially intrigued by the section on global warming, and I felt that this section alone would have justified the purchase price of the book. In each section he also presents a brief historical perspective with an emphasis on the physics involved in each situation. I was totally fascinated by his exploration of the facts surrounding the anthrax attacks which followed the 911 attacks. Muller's writing style is pleasantly conversational, almost as though you were having a discussion with your own personal science advisor. He also strikes the right balance between simplifying the physics to the level of easy understanding without insulting the intelligence of the reader. I enjoyed this book so much that I lent the copy I borrowed from our local library to my husband, who promptly purchased a copy midway through reading the book. This was a great read, and one that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend, even to our current president.