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Also by Joseph J. Romm:

Straight Up, April 2010
Paperback
The Hype About Hydrogen, July 2005
Hardcover

STRAIGHT UP
By: Joseph J. Romm

Island Press
April 2010
On Sale: April 15, 2010
248 pages
ISBN: 1597267163
EAN: 9781597267168
Paperback
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Non-Fiction

In 2009, Rolling Stone named Joe Romm to its list of "100 People Who Are Changing America." Romm is a climate expert, physicist, energy consultant, and former official in the Department of Energy. But it’s his influential blog, one of the "Top Fifteen Green Websites" according to Time magazine, that’s caught national attention. Climate change is far more urgent than people understand, Romm says, and traditional media, scientists, and politicians are missing the story.

Straight Up draws on Romm’s most important posts to explain the dangers of and solutions to climate change that you won’t find in newspapers, in journals, or on T.V. Compared to coverage of Jay-Z or the latest philandering politician, climate change makes up a pathetically small share of news reports. And when journalists do try to tackle this complex issue, they often lack the background to tell the full story. Despite the dearth of reporting, polls show that two in five Americans think the press is actually exaggerating the threat of climate change. That gives Big Oil, and others with a vested interest in the status quo, a huge opportunity to mislead the public.

Romm cuts through the misinformation and presents the truth about humanity’s most dire threat. His analysis is based on sophisticated knowledge of renewable technologies, climate impacts, and government policy, written in a style everyone can understand. Romm shows how a 20 percent reduction in global emissions over the next quarter century could improve the economy; how we can replace most coal and with what technologies; why Sarah Palin wears a polar bear pin; and why controversial, emerging technologies like biochar have to be part of the solution.

The ultimate solution, Romm argues, is bigger than any individual technology: it’s citizen action. Without public pressure, Washington and industry don’t budge. With it, our grandkids might just have a habitable place to live.

Media Buzz

Diane Rehm Show - NPR - August 29, 2011
Diane Rehm Show - NPR - May 13, 2010
Countdown with Keith Olbermann - May 11, 2010
Countdown with Keith Olbermann - April 30, 2010
Countdown with Keith Olbermann - April 22, 2010