Hot, Flat, and Crowded - Thomas Friedman

Thomas Friedman is at it again - this time writing a very drawn out analysis on the intersection between the climate crisis (hot), IT powered globalization (flat), and population growth (crowded). Similar to The World is Flat, I found the topic and all of Friedman's analysis really interesting and pretty spot on - albeit sometimes overly imaginative and his writing style is frustratingly redundant. While I don't consider patience to be one of my stronger virtues, I like to think I'm on the positive end of the spectrum compared to most*. And after only 100 pages I was constantly checking how many pages were left (which is really tough to gauge with a Kindle - btw).

As a quick recap, my favorite and least favorite bits:

Vision of the energy internet:
His chapter on the energy internet - exploring the intersection of IT and its potential in energy transmission, generation, and consumption - was great. Basically, Friedman put together a hypothetical day for someone post-energy-revolution and described how all of the systems (grid, plug in cars, refrigerators, etc.) worked together.

Outgreening al-Qaeda
This seemed like a little bit of a stretch to me. His point, simply put that by being green we are undercutting al-Qaeda, was valid and there wasn't anything overly objectionable to it, but using the fight against terrorism as a rational for a major overhaul in our energy infrastructure and lifestyle seems fluffy. Sure, we'll stop enabling petrodictators with our dollars - which will help, but I think we should focus on the 'right' reasons for this change. Said differently, if our military and state department miraculously rooted out terrorism tomorrow, I wouldn't want to lose any supporters in an energy/climate overhaul.

China
Quite obviously, China encompassed a big block of pages in a book about climate change, globalization, and population growth. In my view, this was probably the best written section (two actually: China and America). There were plenty of fresh ideas that kept the flow smooth and didn't leave me wondering "Did I already read this part?" One notable point was Friedman's assessment in comparing China and the US - specifically how the two governments work and what it would take for the two of them to institute a massive energy infrastructure overhaul. The gist: democracy is slow and painful - especially for decisions that need to be made quickly.

Government
Friedman didn't have a section devoted to the role of government in this 'revolution' - possibly for that very reason - but its presence and importance underpinned the entire book. As the President of Exxon noted, "Socialism collapsed because it did not allow the market to tell the economic truth. Capitalism may collapse because it does not allow the market to tell the ecological truth." In my view, it is up to government to serve two basic needs related to business: 1) Fund basic research (e.g. new materials) and 2) set up the environment in which everyone can compete. The former is easy - just throw money at it. The latter is really difficult and nobody has gotten it right. "Too much regulation" or "ignoring a problem (e.g. climate impact)" are the two points of feedback I hear the most. But however difficult the task is, again in my view, this will be the crux of whether or not Friedman will see his Green Revolution come to life. Do we or will we have strong, smart, and dedicated top-down leadership to address this and save capitalism. The jury is out, and will be for the next 50 years.

To wrap this up, I love reading non-fiction , but, I still like surprises. The best non-fiction I've read ties everything together at the end - almost in an 'ah-ha' moment. Friedman pulls the rabbit out of the hat too quickly. I need more of a storyline from him. Feedback aside, a great topic and a good read.

Recommended.

* That may be a completely bogus observation - I'll leave you to judge.