Sunny Side Up
An engineer and optimist sees technology triumphing over disastrous climate disruptions.
Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World
By Bill Nye
St. Martin’s Press. 2015, 351 pages
Best known for his 1990s PBS show for kids, “science guy” Bill Nye has devoted his career to promoting STEM education through television and video, speaking gigs, and White House science fairs. That his new book tackles global warming comes as no surprise – the issue has long been a concern of Nye’s, who addresses it in public appearances and lectures, and through his involvement with California’s Chabot Space & Science Center and the nonprofit Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He even teamed up with Arnold Schwarzenegger for a recent National Geographic Channel special in which the former California governor played a cigar-chomping therapist helping his patient, Nye, move through denial and other stages of “climate change grief” to confront the problem head-on.
In his latest effort, Nye delivers a serious yet familiarly upbeat message: Many of the devastations associated with global warming are unstoppable, but measures can, and should, be taken to offset future problems. “The young people, the innovators, the entrepreneurs, the engineers, and just plain hard workers are among us,” he declares. Trained in mechanical engineering at Cornell University, Nye wears his engineer badge proudly. Citing weather records, computing ability, and geospatially tracked buoys and submersibles, he asserts that humans have never been so empowered as now by “the technical means to watch over our home planet and take responsibility for our own fate.” The “Next Great Generation,” Nye argues, will “change the world – for all of us, together.”
Opening with the “rules of the road” from Bill Nye, The Science Guy, the book follows a format reminiscent of his popular TV show, with each entertaining chapter delving into different aspects of climate change. Some address the science, others various solutions, and still others the political issues. Chapter 5, for example, describes the carbon cycle, what happens when coal is burned, and how scientists measure CO₂ emissions. The detailed scientific discussion is enlivened through everyday connections, such as the screeching feedback of a microphone in a school gym, as well as jokes. “Don’t panic,” Nye reassures the reader as he launches into another explanation, “it really is simple.” By the end of the chapter, he has covered mass spectrometers, the forces shaping Earth’s climate system, and the impacts of four decades of melting Arctic sea ice. Moving on to a discussion of thermodynamics in Chapter 6, he notes that “the next five or six pages are of vital importance,” but assures readers that if the information feels “more complicated than you’d like to deal with right now,” they can “skim along.” By Chapter 7, he begins exploring various solutions, from geoengineering to nuclear energy and reactors, solar and wind power, grid transformations, and biofuels.
As might be expected, Nye emphasizes the need for further education and political involvement and action. He stresses the importance of involving boys and girls in science and engineering education, and levels forceful criticism against climate change deniers – notably in Chapter 3, which highlights then counters the “spurious and distracting” uses of the data some have employed. Nye also reproduces correspondence he sent to Fox News after receiving an email in 2009 from commentator and global warming skeptic John Stossel, whose confrontational demands “struck me as a challenge, and one that I would enjoy taking on.” Despite – or perhaps because – of Nye’s eagerness to engage, Stossel never responded to pursue an interview.
While Unstoppable offers a lively overview of climate change issues, the book’s narrative is uneven. Certain chapters feel unrelated and more like distinct, isolated episodes of Bill Nye, The Science Guy. A criticism of NASCAR inefficiency in Chapter 19, for example, bears the hallmark of Bill Nye’s bubbly persona but makes unsteady shifts, sometimes striving to connect to young readers while at other times conveying greater sophistication and depth. Nonetheless, Nye has concentrated considerable useful information in this volume about the issues and persuasive arguments for further awareness and action. The easy manner in which he relates the complexities of science, technology, and public policy can serve as a fine model for engineering academics.
Review by Robin Tatu
Robin Tatu is Prism’s senior editorial consultant.
Image Courtesy of Amazon