Author │ Investigative Journalist │ Energy & Environment Expert“The greatest danger we face is not technological hubris, but human apathy.”
—Jeff Goodell
Through years of research, acclaimed author and investigative journalist Jeff Goodell has established himself as an expert on the coal industry and now geoengineering--which offers the most ambitious solutions to o
ur planet’s environmental crises. As the price of oil soars and energy independence and global warming become ever more urgent political and ecological priorities, Goodell offers a vital perspective on what the stakes are and how to stem the tide of environmental disaster.
In his highly regarded book
Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future (2006), Goodell takes a frank look at coal, which has been hailed as the cheap energy solution of the future. Building on exhaustive research on the history of the U.S. energy industry and the environmental, political and economic issues underlying coal, Goodell exposes its many hidden costs—greenhouse emissions, pollution, toll on the environment, miners and mining communities, industry collusion that stifles innovation—and discusses how we, as well as developing nations like India and China, will have to confront these pressing problems as global energy demand surges.
“Long after we have run out of oil and natural gas, we will still have coal. As Jeff Goodell compellingly documents, this is a blessing that is also a curse.
Big Coal should be read by anybody who owns a microwave, or an iPod, or a table lamp, which is to say everyone.”
—Elizabeth Kolbert, author of
Field Notes From A CatastropheGoodell’s latest book,
How to Cool the Planet: Geoengineering and the Audacious Quest to Fix the Earth’s Climate (2010), establishes a disturbing truth: climate change may well be the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced, and at this point simply reducing greenhouse gas emissions may not be enough to prevent climate catastrophe. We may have to turn to geoengineering, a field which governments and corporations are already researching aggressively.
How to Cool the Planet focuses on the scientists who are trying to minimize the devastating impact of global warming. But they’re not designing hybrid engines or fuel cells or wind turbines. They’re trying to lower the temperature of the entire planet with huge contraptions that suck carbon dioxide out of the air, machines that brighten clouds and deflect sunlight away from Earth, and even artificial volcanoes that spray heat-reflecting particles into the atmosphere.
This is the radical and controversial field of geoengineering, which only five years ago was dismissed as a fringe fantasy. But as Goodell points out, the current economic crisis combined with ominous geopolitical realities has made these ideas seem perfectly sane—even inspired.
Goodell himself started out as a skeptic. After all, geoengineering raises serious moral and ethical questions. We can’t even predict next week’s weather, so how can we change the temperature of the entire planet? What if a wealthy entrepreneur takes it upon himself to send particles into the stratosphere? And who gets blamed if something goes terribly wrong? Perhaps the most troubling possibility is that of wars being waged with climate control as the primary weapon. The risks are undeniable, but Goodell persuades us that the alternatives could be even worse. His compelling tale of scientific hubris and technical daring is sure to jumpstart the next big debate about the future of life on Earth.
Jeff Goodell is a contributing editor at
Rolling Stone and a frequent contributor to
The New York Times Magazine and Yale University’s
Environment 360. He covers environmental issues including the Gulf oil spill and is the author of
The New York Times bestseller
Our Story: 77 Hours That Tested Our Friendship and Our Faith, based on the terrifying hours nine Quecreek miners spent trapped underground. His book
Big Coal is the subject of a feature documentary called
Dirty Business.
Selected Lecture Topics
- The Gulf oil spill
- Geoengineering and climate change
- America’s energy future and coal
Selected Writings
- How to Cool the Planet: Geoengineering and the Audacious Quest to Fix the Earth’s Climate (Houghton Mifflin, 2010)
- Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)
- Our Story: 77 Hours That Tested Our Friendship and Our Faith (Hyperion, 2002)
- Sunnyvale: The Rise and Fall of a Silicon Valley Family (Vintage, 2001)
Selected Periodicals
Awards2011 Grantham Prize's Award of Special Merit,
How To Cool The Planet2000 New York Times Notable Book,
SunnyvaleMedia
Jeff Goodell discusses
How To Cool The Planet for which he won the Grantham Award of Special Merit
Jeff Goodell discusses the future of coal in Kentucky with the University of Kentucky School of Engineering: