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Smaller faster lighter denser cheaper : how innovation keeps proving the catastrophists wrong

Title
Smaller faster lighter denser cheaper : how innovation keeps proving the catastrophists wrong / Robert Bryce.
Author
Bryce, Robert, 1960-
Publication
New York : PublicAffairs, [2014]

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TextUse in library JBE 18-1004Schwarzman Building - General Research Room 315

Details

Description
xxvi, 371 pages : illustrations; 25 cm
Summary
"In the face of today's environmental and economic challenges, doomsayers preach that the only way to stave off disaster is for humans to reverse course: to de-industrialize, re-localize, ban the use of modern energy sources and forswear prosperity. But in this provocative and optimistic rebuke to the catastrophists, Robert Bryce shows how innovation and the inexorable human desire to make things Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper is providing consumers with Cheaper and more abundant energy, Faster computing, Lighter vehicles, and a myriad of other goods. That same desire is fostering unprecedented prosperity, greater liberty, and yes, better environmental protection. Utilizing on-the-ground reporting from Ottawa to Panama City and Pittsburgh to Bakersfield, Bryce shows how we have, for centuries, been pushing for Smaller Faster solutions to our problems. From the vacuum tube, mass-produced fertilizer, and the printing press to mobile phones, nanotech, and advanced drill rigs, Bryce breezily demonstrates how cutting-edge companies and breakthrough technologies have created a world in which people are living longer, freer, healthier, lives than at any time in human history. In an entertaining narrative enhanced with sharp graphics and numerous photographs, he shows that the push toward Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper is happening in multiple sectors. He profiles innovative individuals and companies, from well-known ones like Ford and Intel to upstarts like Aquion Energy and Khan Academy. And he zeroes in on the energy industry, separating fact from sentiment. Wind and biofuels may be the political darlings of the moment, but Bryce proves that the future belongs to the high-power-density sources that can provide the enormous quantities of energy the world demands. Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper demonstrates that the tools we need to save the planet aren't to be found in the technologies or lifestyles of the past. Nor must we sacrifice prosperity and human progress to ensure our survival. The catastrophists have been wrong since the days of Thomas Malthus. It's time to ignore the fearmongers. It's time to embrace the innovators and businesses all over the world who are making things Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper because, well, that's what we humans do"--
Subject
  • Technological innovations > Popular works
  • BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Industries / Manufacturing Industries
  • TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Electronics / Microelectronics
  • SCIENCE / Nanostructures
  • TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / History
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages 351-354) and index.
Call Number
JBE 18-1004
ISBN
  • 9781610392051
  • 1610392051
LCCN
2013049381
OCLC
2013049381
Author
Bryce, Robert, 1960-
Title
Smaller faster lighter denser cheaper : how innovation keeps proving the catastrophists wrong / Robert Bryce.
Publisher
New York : PublicAffairs, [2014]
Edition
First Edition.
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 351-354) and index.
Research Call Number
JBE 18-1004
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