One thing everyone can agree on is that 2020 has been a rough year for the people of planet earth. Covid-19 has taken its toll on all of us in one way or another and finding a bright side is challenging. But if there is one, it must be that for once we have been forced to come together as species to collaborate on a single shared experience. As dark as its been to have pandemic as the thing to bring us all together it shows that its possible for people work together to make a difference and that is good news! Unfortunately, there are other issues still on the table that need this sort of global collaborative response, global warming taking the prize for the number one slot.
As an industrial designer, my role in global warming has become unavoidably clear recently as I have dug in on the history of the profession. When I made this discovery I knew I needed to understand the problem more in order to shift gears and begin to make a difference. Reading this book is my initial attempt at gaining that new understanding of the issues that have been created since the Industrial Revolution and hopefully a glimpse into some of the issues that need to be addressed. Not surprisingly, Gates does a good job in the book of laying out just that. There is a very clear laymen vibe to this book and that made it easy to digest and eye opening as I am sure it was intended.
I was swayed early on as I was given the New York Times review by 350.org boss and noted climate change activist Bill McKibben. He didn’t have a very good review. I’m not surprised there’s is a clear divide between billionaires and environmentalists. McKibben’s critique makes the claim that Gates skirts the very important aspect politics plays in effecting climate change and he is correct. Gates does seem to only brush up against this topic as opposed to pushing it up to the front of the line in terms of importance. McKibben also states that information Gates presents in the book is quite behind the times. Again I think he is correct here. The book feels like an introductory guide to climate change as opposed to a genius level instruction manual for getting to 0. As a climate newbie myself, I found the book to be very informative. I think this is McKibben’s biggest mistake in his review. Despite his divorce and sordid past it cannot be denied that Bill Gates is an above average intelligent human. Beyond that he is surrounded by and has access to the world’s smartest people as McKibben points out. “Why doesn’t he know more” McKibben whines. But clearly Gates is no dummy. This is not meant to be a genius level instruction manual for getting to zero. This is a public service announcement. It’s a dumbed down refinement of some very complicated topics written to be inspiring, educational, and accessible to the masses. I don’t think an additional 100 pages on politics would fit here. Honestly it could have been a deal breaker. McKibben should understand this and lightened up his review. His misunderstanding of the books aim lead to criticism that almost completely turned me off from the start. Luckily I was able to look past it and give the book a chance. I learned a lot, and actually found myself more engaged with the topic when I finished. Something I am sure McKibben would be happy to hear.
If you’re like me and you need a beginner’s crash course on a serious issue that affects us all I would highly recommend starting here. If you’re expecting this book to hold the golden ticket to solve the world’s problems, you’ll still have some searching to do once you’re done. As the head of Stanford’s D school Bill Burnett tells us “Start where you are”. No matter where that is climate change is real and I am positive both Gates and McKibben would agree, we are all going to need to get involved immediately.
