Quotes and anecdotes from the industrial, scientific, and world leaders Thomas Friedman has interviewed on the topics surrounding climate change make Hot, Flat, and Crowded a great background book for anyone with a desire to see America become a leader in sustainable energy and environmental practices.
The book’s organization, however, sometimes makes for difficult reading (perhaps reflecting the difficulty of tackling this global problem). Within the Chapter that calls out hot, flat, and crowded as the three big problems causing a “perfect storm”, Friedman names five more big problems stemming from the first three (and then covers them in following chapters):
• Energy and natural resources supply and demand
• Petrodictatorship
• Climate Change
• Energy Poverty
• Biodiversity Loss
All of these are widely recognized (if debated) issues except Energy Poverty, which Friedman contends is a largely unrecognized problem receiving little to no attention (and those who follow the news can’t disagree).
What is Energy Poverty? Living outside of any energy grid – in parts of Africa, India, and other poorer countries – and thus unable to compete and prosper in the “flat” world.
Following columns on Sunroom Desk will cover Friedman’s perspectives on these problems, and how they are reflected in media headlines this summer.