A Bright Future

As climate change begins to take a serious toll on the planet—with much more damage yet to come—a solution to our warming problems is hiding in plain sight. We need to commit to de-carbonizing our economy, and do so immediately, but so far we have lacked the courage to really try. Our fears of nuclear energy have grown irrationally large, even as our fears of climate change are irrationally small. In this clear-sighted and compelling book, Joshua Goldstein and Steffan Qvist come bearing good news: a real solution, one that is fast, cheap, and provably works. Based on Sweden's success cutting their carbon emissions in half, Goldstein and Qvist argue for a policy that combines nuclear and renewable energy sources. From 1970-1990, Sweden replaced coal power plants with nuclear ones, and slowly integrated renewable energy alongside it. During that same time period, the country generated more electricity than ever and its economy grew by 50 percent. They have had no nuclear accidents, nor has any of their uranium been stolen by terrorists. Separating facts from doomsday scenarios, Goldstein and Qvist force a real and meaningful dialogue about what the best energy policy is, and the dangers of remaining on our present path. And they offer an answer that really could work—if only we'd give it a try.