Book Review: Earth the Sequel
Authors: Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn
Edition: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, New York, 2008
Reviewer: Linda Bouzembrak
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The New York Times bestseller book, Earth the Sequel, by Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn, is a fascinating book. Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, and Miriam Horn, staff member of the Environmental Defense Fund, explore how inventors and entrepreneurs are creating industrial solutions that could stabilize our climate and save our planet. The authors followed numerous entrepreneurs in their adventures to develop clean energy solutions.

Based on their research and observations, Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn argue that the world needs a second industrial revolution in order to save the planet. By examining in depth several companies and their research towards a clean environment – from harnessing the sun to new sources of biofuels, ocean energy, and power from the earth, the authors realized that entrepreneurs are facing significant barriers.

For instance, lack of incentives from financial institutions and challenges in engaging carbon dioxide heavy industries in their projects are key obstacles. Therefore, in order to provide American green-innovators a fair chance to develop, the authors of Earth the Sequel strongly advocate for a cap and trade system on carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. According to Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn, this system, if implemented properly, would ensure the health of our planet’s future.

Moreover, according to a report published in November 2007 by McKinsey & Company, the United States can reduce its projected 2030 greenhouse gas emissions by half by simply implementing the right policy tool soon enough.

To achieve such a level, the authors highlight the need to implement a high enough tax system that would provide strong incentives for industries to significantly reduce their carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, this system would induce entrepreneurs to search for new green technologies. However, paralysis in Washington seems to be the biggest obstruction to a cap and trade system in the United States. Thus, American innovators developing green technologies are facing a competitive disadvantage compared to their counterparts in Europe or Japan, who have already imposed this system on their economies.

Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn are pressing the need for the United States to pass laws that will impose a hard cap on global warming pollution emissions. Thanks to such laws, the United States of America could become the leader in green technologies, creating a new multi-billion-dollar market and saving our planet at the same time.