The Big Fix: Seven Practical Steps to Save Our Planet

by Hal Harvey, Justin Gillis

Overview

An engaging, accessible citizen’s guide to the seven urgent changes that will really make a difference for our climate—and how we can hold our governments accountable for putting these plans into action.

Dozens of kids in Montgomery County, Maryland, agitated until their school board committed to electric school buses. Mothers in Colorado turned up in front of an obscure state panel to fight for clean air. If you think the only thing you can do to combat climate change is to install a smart thermostat or cook plant-based burgers, you’re thinking too small.

That’s where The Big Fix comes in, offering everyday citizens a guide to the seven essential changes our communities must enact to bring our greenhouse gas emissions down to zero—and sharing stories of people who are making those changes reality.

Energy policy advisor Hal Harvey and longtime New York Times reporter Justin Gillis hone in on the seven areas where ambitious but eminently practical changes will have the greatest effect: electricity production, transportation, buildings, industry, urbanization, use of land, and investment in promising new green technologies. In a lively, jargon-free style, the pair illuminate how our political economy really works, revealing who decides everything from what kind of power plants to build to how efficient cars must be before they’re allowed on the road to how much insulation a new house requires—and how we can insert ourselves into all these decisions to ensure that the most climate-conscious choices are being made.

At once pragmatic and inspiring, The Big Fix is an indispensable action plan for citizens looking to drive our country’s greenhouse gas emissions down to zero—and save our climate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982123987
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	09/20/2022
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Hal Harvey is the chief executive of Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan climate policy firm that advises leaders around the world on how to drive down greenhouse gas emissions. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Stanford University.

Justin Gillis is an award-winning journalist with four decades of experience explaining complex issues in simple language for major daily newspapers, including The New York Times, where he was the lead reporter on climate science; The Washington Post; and the Miami Herald. He was recently a fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Learning Curve 9

Chapter 2 Power Switch 37

Chapter 3 Where We Live and Work 67

Chapter 4 Overa Barrel 93

Chapter 5 An Urban Planet 117

Chapter 6 People, Land, and Food 141

Chapter 7 The Stuff We Make 165

Chapter 8 Inventing Tomorrow 183

Chapter 9 Saying Yes 213

Acknowledgments 239

Notes 249

Selected Bibliography 271

Illustration Sources and Credits 281

Index 285

Editorial Reviews

05/30/2022

Harvey (Designing Climate Solutions), CEO of an environmental policy firm, and New York Times reporter Gillis make fighting climate change feel a bit less intimidating in this down-to-earth look at ways the average citizen can make a difference. While they encourage green consumer choices (“recycling diligently, installing smart thermostats, eating less meat”), the authors are realistic about the limited impact of such steps. Instead, they argue that individuals must become “green citizens” who focus “on a relatively small number of public policies that can, over time, bring about sweeping change.” Such policies include designing urban spaces that discourage car use, incentivizing the implementation of climate-friendly technologies, and putting smart electrical grids in place. As for realizing such goals, the authors recommend attending public utility companies’ planning hearings, calling representatives to advocate for clean energy, and organizing behind new transit taxes when they’re on ballots. They cite numerous successes, including a push by Arizona students to have their school board buy electric buses, while still being mindful of political realities in the deeply partisan moment. This is a useful guide for budding activists. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Full of illustrative stories and compelling evidence, The Big Fix outlines an ambitious yet feasible guide for addressing the climate crisis. Business leaders, activists, and policymakers at all levels will find inspiration from the pragmatic approaches outlined in this book.”
—Al Gore, chairman of The Climate Reality Project, chairman of Generation Investment Management, and former vice president of the United States

“Smart, honest, and down-to-earth, The Big Fix addresses the crucial issue of our time: how citizens can compel action on climate change.”
—Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction and Under a White Sky

“Nobody grasps climate policy—and what can actually work—better than Hal Harvey. Nobody elucidates climate science better than Justin Gillis. Together, they offer a bold blueprint for saving a habitable Earth.”
—John Doerr, chairman of venture capital film Kleiner Perkins and author of Speed & Scale

“A truly comprehensive—and entirely comprehensible—guide to the things we can and must do to transform our use of energy. This book will be of great use to anyone who wants to participate in the greatest technological revolution in human history.”
—Bill McKibben, a founder of grassroots climate-campaign group 350.org and author of The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon

“[Harvey and] Gillis make fighting climate change feel a bit less intimidating in this down-to-earth look at ways the average citizen can make a difference... a useful guide for budding activists.”
—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

01/01/2022

Energy Innovation CEO Harvey and award-winning New York Times reporter Gillis join forces to show how we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero and save the earth, focusing on seven key areas where we-can-do-it change will have the biggest effect. Those areas include electricity production, transportation, buildings, industry, urbanization, use of land, and investment in promising new green technologies. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal