000 04162cam a2200421Ii 4500
001 on1312328649
003 OCoLC
005 20220720152743.0
008 220425t20222022nyu e b 001 0 eng
010 _a 2022006318
040 _aLBSOR/DLC
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019 _a1264275335
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020 _a9780593297063
_q(hardcover)
020 _a0593297067
_q(hardcover)
020 _z9780593297070
_q(ebook)
035 _a(OCoLC)1312328649
_z(OCoLC)1264275335
_z(OCoLC)1287033675
_z(OCoLC)1303841027
_z(OCoLC)1306216077
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037 _bPenguin Group USA, Attn: Order Processing 405 Murray Hill Pkwy, East Rutherford, NJ, USA, 07073-2136
_nSAN 201-3975
092 _a303.483
_bS641
049 _aNFGA
100 1 _aSmil, Vaclav,
_eauthor.
_9506
245 1 0 _aHow the world really works :
_bthe science behind how we got here and where we're going /
_cVaclav Smil.
250 _aFirst North American edition.
264 1 _a[New York] :
_bViking,
_c2022.
264 4 _c©2022
300 _a326 pages ;
_c24 cm
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _aunmediated
_bn
_2rdamedia
338 _avolume
_bnc
_2rdacarrier
500 _a"First published in hardcover in Great Britain by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House Ltd., London, in 2022."
504 _aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 235-306) and index.
505 0 _aIntroduction: Why do we need this book? -- Understanding energy : fuels and electricity -- Understanding food production : eating fossil fuels -- Understanding our material world : the four pillars of modern civilization -- Understanding globalization : engines, microchips, and beyond -- Understanding risks : from viruses to diets to solar flares -- Understanding the environment : the only biosphere we have -- Understanding the future : between apocalypse and singularity -- Appendix: Understanding numbers: orders of magnitude.
520 _a"An essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible--a scientist's investigation into what science really does, and does not, accomplish. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check--because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts. In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isn't inevitable--the foolishness of allowing 70 per cent of the world's rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020--and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, such that any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are a fairy tale. For example, each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato has the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel embedded in its production, and we have no way of producing steel, cement or plastics at required scales without huge carbon emissions. Ultimately, Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, this wonderfully broad, interdisciplinary guide finds faults with both extremes. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past, present and uncertain future."--
_cProvided by publisher.
650 0 _aScience
_xSocial aspects.
_9142972
650 0 _aScience and civilization.
_9112548
650 0 _aTechnological innovations
_xSocial aspects.
_9143911
650 0 _aTechnology and civilization.
_965452
994 _aC0
_bNFG
999 _c346522
_d346522