Powering the Future

Alternate energy, when it finally arrives, will not be green. Nobel Laureate Laughlin does foresee changes in the way we power our lives, but he stresses that there's no perfect answer to our energy needs. Narrator Traber Burns injects an optimistic note into Laughlin's rundown of the many options. Laughlin balances his argument between analysis of human behavior and the pros and cons of each potential power source. The book has some scientific explanation--and it can get complicated despite Laughlin's attempts to keep it simple. Still, there are places where Burns makes discourse on something like "microbe economics" fascinating and occasionally amusing. Laughlin's conclusion that climate change and pollution are inevitable may dishearten some listeners, but his arguments are worth hearing. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine