Skip to content
Menu
Lucky's Bookshelf
  • Browse
  • About
Lucky's Bookshelf

Book Review: The Pipeline and the Paradigm by Samuel Avery

Posted on December 17, 2019April 10, 2022
Topics: Current Events, Nonfiction

Rating: 6.8/10.

The Keystone pipeline runs from Alberta down into the US into Texas and the Gulf of Mexico, and has attracted a battle between environmentalists and the oil industry. In this book, the author (an environmentalist who installs solar panels) interviews various people involved in the pipeline. There is first the local concern of environmental damage from extraction and risks of chemical exposure when the pipeline leaks; then, there’s the global concern of climate change and the effect of extracting so much oil and carbon emissions. The oil industry downplays the concerns, citing that climate change is uncertain and that the oil sands only plays a small role in the global economy, and favoring economic growth.

The author divides people into two paradigms: one which favors economic growth and consumption at any cost, and one which limits consumption to what the environment can handle. To me, this way of thinking seems unnecessarily divisive, as it leaves little room for moderate consumption and gradual raising of carbon taxes. The book presents the issue as black and white, either you’re a hardcore environmentalist or greedy capitalist. The views in the book are fairly extreme: the author presents worst-case scenarios for climate catastrophe, and encourages acts of civil disobedience to raise awareness of the issue.

Ultimately, we shouldn’t blame the oil/gas companies since we consume so much, and this sends a ripple signal throughout the economy that the oil/gas industry is simply responding to. The only real solution is to reduce consumption and the demand for oil will decrease.

See more reviews on Amazon.com

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter

Most similar books:

Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide by Cass R. Sunstein Notes on a Foreign Country by Suzy Hansen

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Enjoying these books?

Join our mailing list to receive weekly book reviews!

No spam, unsubscribe at any time

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Subjects

  • Meta (2)
  • Topics (227)
    • Arts and Music (12)
    • Business / Finance (25)
    • Canada (11)
    • China (17)
    • Current Events (8)
    • Data Science / ML (8)
    • Economics (11)
    • History (27)
    • Indigenous (9)
    • Linguistics (17)
    • Mathematics (5)
    • Medicine / Health (14)
    • Natural Sciences (20)
    • Philosophy (15)
    • Self-Help / Career (12)
    • Social Sciences (12)
    • Software Engineering (3)
    • Startups (12)
    • World (22)
  • Type (244)
    • Classics (18)
    • Nonfiction (162)
    • Novels / Fiction (29)
    • Textbooks (36)

Lucky’s Bookshelf is a participant of the Amazon Affiliates Program.

©2023 Lucky's Bookshelf | Powered by SuperbThemes & WordPress