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A Plan to Save the Planet: How to resolve climate change at the lowest cost.
Those concerned about climate change might feel like they are stuck in a bad dream. Like being chased in the forest at 3am and unable to break free. The threat is obvious, yet little is being done. What is happening? Below is a brief summary.
• Decarbonization to zero emissions will not occur unless required by law, and this law does not exist.
• Moving this law forward would require a political coalition that benefits. For example, states that import carbon-based fuels benefit from decarbonization in two ways: (a) they gain local green jobs while carbon jobs are lost elsewhere, and (b) they save money when decarbonization causes fuel price to drop, due to less consumption.
• Past decarbonization efforts have been mild. Alternatively, to get to zero over several decades, the world would need to do massive construction at unprecedented scales. This might sound expensive; however, infrastructure is typically paid for with borrowed money. And loans are repaid with revenue generated by the infrastructure.
• Individuals, companies, cities and states are often encouraged to reduce CO2. However, they rarely have the physical ability to do so at low cost. This is mostly due to overhead costs at each “small” project.
• Power companies can decarbonize electricity at massive scales and at low costs. However, this will not occur unless required by law.
• The fossil fuel industries and their friends oppose decarbonization legislation by spending money on lobbyists and donations. However, the largest obstacle seems to be the failure of government leaders to realize they are led by domestic manufacturers who are focused on their own financial interests, not getting to zero at the lowest cost.
• To fix this, we need: (a) websites that calculate the cost and impact of proposed decarbonization law, (b) more resources that explain how to tackle climate change at the lowest cost, and (c) multiple R&D moonshots.
• Decarbonization to zero emissions will not occur unless required by law, and this law does not exist.
• Moving this law forward would require a political coalition that benefits. For example, states that import carbon-based fuels benefit from decarbonization in two ways: (a) they gain local green jobs while carbon jobs are lost elsewhere, and (b) they save money when decarbonization causes fuel price to drop, due to less consumption.
• Past decarbonization efforts have been mild. Alternatively, to get to zero over several decades, the world would need to do massive construction at unprecedented scales. This might sound expensive; however, infrastructure is typically paid for with borrowed money. And loans are repaid with revenue generated by the infrastructure.
• Individuals, companies, cities and states are often encouraged to reduce CO2. However, they rarely have the physical ability to do so at low cost. This is mostly due to overhead costs at each “small” project.
• Power companies can decarbonize electricity at massive scales and at low costs. However, this will not occur unless required by law.
• The fossil fuel industries and their friends oppose decarbonization legislation by spending money on lobbyists and donations. However, the largest obstacle seems to be the failure of government leaders to realize they are led by domestic manufacturers who are focused on their own financial interests, not getting to zero at the lowest cost.
• To fix this, we need: (a) websites that calculate the cost and impact of proposed decarbonization law, (b) more resources that explain how to tackle climate change at the lowest cost, and (c) multiple R&D moonshots.
- GenresNonfiction
164 pages, Paperback
Published November 29, 2022
3 people are currently reading
2543 people want to read
About the author
Glenn Weinreb
1 book15 followersGlenn Weinreb is the Director of the Manhattan 2 Project, a non-profit that does research on how to resolve climate change at the lowest cost and in a way that is politically feasible. Also, he is the author of “A Plan to Save the Planet”, published in 2022.
In 1982, Glenn Weinreb founded GW Instruments, a company that designs and manufactures products that automate factories and research laboratories. And over forty years, almost every day, he interacted with manufacturing engineers and research scientists at thousands of different organizations.
One morning in 2019 Weinreb awoke with an epiphany. He felt his job was meaningless, and he wanted to do something different. He was tired of chasing money as an entrepreneur, and he instead wanted to help the planet. He thought about how his background was unique and gave him a different perspective on energy, manufacturing and R&D. So he formed The Manhattan 2 Project with some friends. And between 2019 and 2022 he sponsored and managed 25 university R&D students, and published 30 articles on climate change solutions.
In 1982, Glenn Weinreb founded GW Instruments, a company that designs and manufactures products that automate factories and research laboratories. And over forty years, almost every day, he interacted with manufacturing engineers and research scientists at thousands of different organizations.
One morning in 2019 Weinreb awoke with an epiphany. He felt his job was meaningless, and he wanted to do something different. He was tired of chasing money as an entrepreneur, and he instead wanted to help the planet. He thought about how his background was unique and gave him a different perspective on energy, manufacturing and R&D. So he formed The Manhattan 2 Project with some friends. And between 2019 and 2022 he sponsored and managed 25 university R&D students, and published 30 articles on climate change solutions.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 20, 2023
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
Before A Plan to Save the Planet begins, Glenn Weinreb speaks candidly on how he profited from carbon. How he “sold approximately $5 million worth of a device (see “Note From Author” for image) to the petroleum industry. He explains how carbon had its place in history, but now we must move past it and save the planet.
The world is divided into those who are climate change believers and deniers. Those who want to protect the world’s ecosystem fear food shortages, rising sea levels, and extreme weather patterns. The author states that deniers either don’t think climate change is important or want to pass the problem on to someone else. Scientists have very clearly stated that we must decrease carbon emissions. Glenn Weinreb points out that this is not easy or cheap. He does suggest tasking power companies with decarbonizing. I agree!
Glenn Weinreb gives readers much information in the form of charts, graphs, and percentages on various headers. You’d think this would dull the read, but it didn’t. Adding the photos made the text read less like a report. For example, there’s a section where we learn the yearly budget for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. The images will make you feel connected to the location and its developments.
Carbon vs. climate is a political battle. It all comes down to money, as pointed out in the book. Unsurprisingly, “Green Republicans” voted against protecting the planet. I knew Democrats favored going green, using solar and wind power, but not the exact amount. “Approximately 37% of U.S. Senators are Democrats from states that do not produce natural gas or coal (30).”
“The five largest petroleum companies together spend $200M each year on lobbying to block decarbonization.” Wow!
The author suggests several ways to combat carbon emissions. For example: setting up a decarbonization laboratory. At a heft bill of $100M to $10B, it’ll be a hard sale to those who want to make money, not spend it. Even the check amount for hiring a university to write a business plan for a decarbonization laboratory is pricey. Again, money is always a battle in government. “Many wealthy individuals have expressed an interest in saving the planet. However, figuring out how to spend wisely is not easy.”
As the author states, “Thousands of solar farms, wind farms, and hydroelectric dams would consume significant amounts of metal and cement. Fabricating these materials with carbon-based fuels would cause CO2 emissions to increase. Therefore, material fabrication needs to be decarbonized too.” No wonder “climate change is a 100 trillion dollar problem,” and that dollar amount is only increasing!
America relies heavily on coal and oil, so going green is getting a lot of pushback. However, I firmly believe going green is the future. Like our planet, we need to evolve to survive and thrive. While the war against climate change rages on, we see water sources drying up and food prices rising. Due to water shortage, there are fewer crops; therefore, prices reflect the toll of our planet’s rising temperatures. “Government wants a decent number of solar farms constructed each year, investors want to maximize their return on investment (for a given level of risk), electricity customers want to minimize price, and solar farm owners want to maximize profit (133).”
Glenn Weinreb supplied readers with a lot of data, but the information under “What Is Carbon Capture and Sequestration?” fascinated me the most. The section had a lot of data to retain, just like the rest of the book. However, I think it was worth reading.
If you are a climate change believer, read this book!
If you know someone who is a climate change denier, share this book with them!
As much as I appreciated all the time and effort put into gathering and composing the facts about climate change and decarbonizing, this book must be read several times to retain everything presented. I do think it would make great mandatory reading material for environmental science majors.
(Find more reviews/ratings at www.superkambrook.com)
January 16, 2023
A Plan to Save the Planet by Glenn Weinreb is a fascinating research-based book on how to do exactly what it says- to save the earth. This book consists of Weinreb’s ideas on how to live in a more “green” way, using political and capitalist influence to help reduce the number of Carbon emissions into the atmosphere. He acknowledges that he understands Carbon's attractiveness to make a profit. This is the perspective Weinreb takes as he covers each excuse people use against being more “green” while presenting it in a research-based way that is easy to understand. Overall, this book is an excellent look into saving the planet by cutting down on Carbon emissions using real-life examples and potential solutions.
For the most part, this book was an exciting read, but I felt that some of the statements made could make people who may disagree with the ideas in the book less receptive. For example, in the first few pages, the author writes that people who don’t support decarbonization “believe it is unimportant or prefer someone else to be inconvenienced.” When writing persuasively, statements such as this can harm one’s argument, especially if the reader is offended from the beginning of the text.
Despite this, I think there were some great points made throughout. These points are so successful because Weinreb supports them with graphs, data, and other reliable sources of information. I think this book would be an excellent read for people passionate about creating a greener world by reducing carbon emissions, as well as educating those who may not be as passionate about it.
A Plan to Save the Planet: How to resolve climate change at the lowest cost and in a way that is politically feasible is an informative book covering an important topic that affects everyone. The author has presented his findings in a way that the average reader can understand, and will not need a degree in science to understand the process he has laid out. I recommend this book to those who want to make a difference and, as the title says, save the planet for future generations to come.
For the most part, this book was an exciting read, but I felt that some of the statements made could make people who may disagree with the ideas in the book less receptive. For example, in the first few pages, the author writes that people who don’t support decarbonization “believe it is unimportant or prefer someone else to be inconvenienced.” When writing persuasively, statements such as this can harm one’s argument, especially if the reader is offended from the beginning of the text.
Despite this, I think there were some great points made throughout. These points are so successful because Weinreb supports them with graphs, data, and other reliable sources of information. I think this book would be an excellent read for people passionate about creating a greener world by reducing carbon emissions, as well as educating those who may not be as passionate about it.
A Plan to Save the Planet: How to resolve climate change at the lowest cost and in a way that is politically feasible is an informative book covering an important topic that affects everyone. The author has presented his findings in a way that the average reader can understand, and will not need a degree in science to understand the process he has laid out. I recommend this book to those who want to make a difference and, as the title says, save the planet for future generations to come.
December 15, 2022
An important book for everyone to read - and participate in climate change!
Massachusetts author Glenn Weinreb is the director of The Manhattan 2 Project committed to research on climate change. In his Preface he states ‘The world’s current economic decarbonization strategy is to encourage individuals, companies, cities and regions to reduce CO2 emissions,’ and then explains why in his opinion the challenge of labor and auto focus on financial interests complicates the progress. Weinreb’s manner of writing explains the complexities of resolving climate change very well, indeed, underscoring the importance of decarbonization in the struggle against climate control and how that can take place when the government provides the laws needed to decarbonize at a constant rate over the next 30 years. This book provides insights into the research on climate change and impressive graphics that assist understanding, inviting each of us to participate to save the planet - a very fine book for climate control enthusiasts and a solid starting point for all to climb onboard this very important issue. Highly recommended.
Massachusetts author Glenn Weinreb is the director of The Manhattan 2 Project committed to research on climate change. In his Preface he states ‘The world’s current economic decarbonization strategy is to encourage individuals, companies, cities and regions to reduce CO2 emissions,’ and then explains why in his opinion the challenge of labor and auto focus on financial interests complicates the progress. Weinreb’s manner of writing explains the complexities of resolving climate change very well, indeed, underscoring the importance of decarbonization in the struggle against climate control and how that can take place when the government provides the laws needed to decarbonize at a constant rate over the next 30 years. This book provides insights into the research on climate change and impressive graphics that assist understanding, inviting each of us to participate to save the planet - a very fine book for climate control enthusiasts and a solid starting point for all to climb onboard this very important issue. Highly recommended.
February 10, 2023
A very well constructed book on Climate Change and solutions to the problem. The book read like a report with what I assume would be links to additional data if this was a virtual book. The book breaks down the problem into "easy-to-understand" terms and uses graphs, data and images to help express the information contained in each section.
The book is relatively short page number wise, but it is chock full of information. I am actually surprised how condensed the data was. I enjoyed reading about the proposed solutions in the book and how or if they are achievable.
Again, very well done.
*I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway.
The book is relatively short page number wise, but it is chock full of information. I am actually surprised how condensed the data was. I enjoyed reading about the proposed solutions in the book and how or if they are achievable.
Again, very well done.
*I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway.
January 25, 2023
I found this book very interesting, not only because of the solution proposed by the author, because it is a solution where we all work together as a society. All the data provided seemed super reliable to me, and also each piece of information is super well explained. Saving the planet we live on depends on us.
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March 7, 2023Glenn Weinreb, an entrepreneur turned educator, shows practical solutions to save the planet in his innovative book, A PLAN TO SAVE THE PLANET.
Read the full review on Booktrib.com
Read the full review on Booktrib.com
January 22, 2025
A very interesting read. I have shared with other family members and all have been enjoying the information provided.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews