Review of Vaclav Smil book by Mark Neely
Vaclav Smil, How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future (New York: Viking, 2022), 326 pp. Vaclav Smil, a member of the geography department at the University of Manitoba, in this well organized and clearly written book, argues that globalization and what he calls “the four material pillars of modern civilization,” plastics, steel, concrete, and ammonia, are central to understanding the problem of climate change. The problem, simply put, is that all of them are carbon intensive. … Read More »Review of Vaclav Smil book by Mark Neely