Unstoppable by Bill Nye - Book Report #280

Harnessing Science to Change The World

This is THE book that I've been searching for.

Climate change is a big, big topic and most of what I've read has been all about the doom.  But surely, as Peter Diamandis often says, "The world's biggest problems are the world's biggest business opportunities."

I am an optimist by nature and if there is a problem, I like to take the position of; "Okay, what can we do from now on to prevent or fix the problem?"  It does the world no good to constantly claim that the sky is falling.

If there are better ways to do things how can we go about doing them?

Bill Nye holds no punches but also doesn't go about blaming or pointing fingers.  We, as a society, went about our ways in what we believed at the time to be the most effective way to grow, progress and thrive.  And we've done exactly that.  But we were not looking at the whole picture.

As humans, we've always believed that the world was limitless because, when there were much fewer of us the planet could actually sustain us - to a point.  We were doing things from the very start that put us on a path to where we are today.  I'm talking about CO2 here.

The book tackles a multitude of problems and explains how it came about but more importantly how to move forward from here.  Energy production, transportation of goods and people, food production, desalinating seawater and the importance of space as a resource are all explored here.

There is a wonderful portion in the book where Bill, I feel that it's okay to call him Bill, walks the reader through his house to show all of the ways he's making changes to reduce his personal carbon footprint.  Can he do all of this because he has money?  Of course.  But it serves as an inspiration to try to make changes around your own home.  Rain barrels are a fine example of a cheap way to conserve water and not spend a lot of money creating the system.

The book is clear, concise and with a dash of humour along the way.  This is the kind of book you'll refer to and lend to your friends.

Buy it.

Bill Nye's website - https://billnye.com/

Undeniable by Bill Nye - Book Report #176

Yes!


This was a wonderful treat.

It was read by Bill Nye himself, who has a terrific voice and was able to inflect a lot of humour.

The book is directed straight at the creationists of the world.  It debunks and exposes all the faults in their beliefs.

Nye is never afraid to stand toe-to-toe with them and tell them, straight out, they are wrong.

Science baby!  The scientific method.  This is the route to true knowledge.

What I found endearing was how he was able poke creationists in the eye instead of simply punching them in the jaw.

The book borrows heavily from his 2014 debate with Ken Ham at the Creation Museum.  He also follows Charles Darwin's On the Origins of Species throughout.

I was cheering him along all the way through.  It was refreshing to hear somebody simply say, "You are wrong, sir."

Point by point Nye was able to pull apart every belief brought forward by creationists and exposed them for the fiction it is.

Obviously I am not a creationist so the book spoke directly to my own beliefs.

At no time did I feel Nye was disrespectful to these folks but he wasn't afraid to point out where their beliefs depart from the scientific evidence.

The debate itself can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6kgvhG3AkI

Bill Nye's website is here - http://billnye.com/#home