Ending Dirty Energy Policy: Prelude to Climate Change

  • Joseph P. Tomain
CAMBRIDGE UNIV. PRESS: 2011. 320 pp. £19.99

Weaning society off its fossil fuel dependence presents enormous regulatory challenges. Focusing on the United States, this book by Professor of Law Joseph Tomain puts forward the case that a real change in the energy mix can only be achieved by transformative energy policy. Regulatory systems need to be redesigned, he argues, to open up new markets and promote competition and investment in renewable and efficient technology.

The Agile City: Building Well-Being and Wealth in an Era of Climate Change

  • James S. Russell
ISLAND PRESS: 2011. 312 pp. £25.00

Climate adaptation and mitigation should start with housing, argues journalist and urban analyst James Russell. In this book, Russell writes that change undertaken at the building and community level to adapt towns and suburbs offers a far more effective approach to reducing climate risks and carbon emissions than tax gimmicks or massive alternative-energy investments.