Interview with Eric Lonergan, author of Supercharge Me: Net Zero Faster
Eric Lonergan, co-author of Supercharge Me: Net Zero Faster recommends some brilliant books! Before jumping into the interview, please check out Eric's book:
Review from Book Depository:
Almost everyone agrees on the need to transition the global economy to net zero. But how do we do it? And how do we do it faster? If you feel demoralized, depressed or confused about the climate crisis this book will provide answers - and ones that don't involve punishing lifestyle changes, the end of capitalism, or a much higher tax bill.
(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Supercharge Me: Net Zero Faster
Supercharge Me is grounded in relentless realism about how governments, businesses and individuals actually behave. It draws lessons from what has worked so far: extreme positive incentives and smart regulations. Through a series of fast-paced dialogues, the authors introduce practical ideas for change that will embolden activists, reinvigorate the disheartened, and reframe the climate crisis as an opportunity.
Buy On:
Easons €18.19
Book Depository €16.36
Waterstones £12.99
Wordery $17.54
Q. Do you have a favourite smart thinking book (and why that book)?
Manias, Panics and Crashes by Charles Kindleberger, is my favourite smart thinking book. Why? If you only read the title, you have already learnt a lot. Kindleberger’s history of financial mania is required reading for any student of human behaviour. It reveals deep, recurring, features of collective psychology. It is also a great introduction for anyone trying to understand stock markets, cryptocurrencies, or Pokemon cards.
Review from Book Depository:
This seventh edition of an investment classic has been thoroughly revised and expanded following the latest crises to hit international markets. Renowned economist Robert Z. Aliber introduces the concept that global financial crises in recent years are not independent events, but symptomatic of an inherent instability in the international system.
(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Manias, Panics, and Crashes : A History of Financial Crises, Seventh Edition
Buy On:
Book Depository €27.57
Waterstones £19.99
Wordery $26.11
Q. What's the most recent smart thinking book you've read (and how would you rate it)?
Mark Jacobson’s textbook for the general public, 100% Clean, Renewable Energy and Storage for Everything. It’s the most important book I have read in decades, and the only textbook I know which is a page-turner. If you want to know how to collapse emissions, Jacobson makes it very clear that we only have ourselves to blame. My only complaint is with Jacobson’s discussion of the cost of capital - he omits to mention that faced with a huge investment challenge to make our energy system sustainable, we happen to blessed with the lowest cost of borrowing to the state in history. That is quite important and something we discuss in Supercharge Me.
Review From Book Depository:
Numerous laws - including the Green New Deal - have been proposed or passed in cities, states, and countries to transition from fossil fuels to 100% clean, renewable energy in order to address climate change, air pollution, and energy insecurity.
(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
100% Clean, Renewable Energy and Storage for Everything
This textbook lays out the science, technology, economics, policy, and social aspects of such transitions. It discusses the renewable electricity and heat generating technologies needed; the electricity, heat, cold, and hydrogen storage technologies required; how to keep the electric power grid stable; and how to address non-energy sources of emissions. It discusses the history of the 100% Movement, which evolved from a collaboration among scientists, cultural leaders, business people, and community leaders.
Finally, it discusses current progress in transitioning to 100% renewables, and the new policies needed to complete the transition. Online course supplements include lecture slides, answers to the end-of-chapter student exercises, and a list of extra resources.
Buy On:
Easons €55.99
Book Depository €53.51
Waterstones £39.99
Wordery $53.98
Q. Do you have a favourite childhood book?
My earliest book-related childhood memory is sitting at my mother’s feet listening to her reading The Odyssey, and being spellbound.
Review From Book Depository
This is the epic tale of Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War forms one of the earliest and greatest works of Western literature. Confronted by natural and supernatural threats - shipwrecks, battles, monsters and the implacable enmity of the sea-god Poseidon - Odysseus must use his wit and native cunning if he is to reach his homeland safely and overcome the obstacles that, even there, await him.
(All links earn commission from purchases that help fund this site. Prices accurate at time of writing)
The Odyssey
Buy On:
Book Depository €16.81
Waterstones £14.99
Wordery $16.18
Q. Do you prefer reading on paper, Kindle or listening to an audiobook?
I have a hierarchy. Special books only in physical in form. Kindle for convenience and travel. Being Irish, there is a special role for audiobooks. Some classics - such as Flann O’Brien’s At-Swim-Two-Birds and Joyce’s Ulysses only work for me if read out loud.
Q. Do you have a favourite bookshop (and why that shop)?
Hodges Figgis in Dubin. My father used to to take me there as a child.
Many thanks to Eric for recommending some brilliant books! Please don't forget to check out Eric's book Supercharge Me: Net Zero Faster.
Daryl
Image Copyrights: Agenda Publishing (Supercharge Me), Palgrave Macmillan (Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises, Seventh Edition), Cambridge University Press (100% Clean, Renewable Energy and Storage for Everything), Penguin Books Ltd (The Odyssey).
< Home
