Time to Think Small: How Nimble Environmental Technologies Can Solve the Planet’s Biggest Problems

Myers (Eco-Fads), director of the Center for the Environment at the Washington Policy Center, surveys the technology that’s making waves in the fight against climate change in this thought-provoking if uneven outing. In the 1970s, government agencies such as the EPA were able to “address large, single sources of pollution,” Myers writes. But such “big solutions aren’t working” anymore, and personal technology allows people “to address environmental problems in remarkable new ways.” His tour of eco-friendly innovations takes in eWATERservices or “PayPal for water”; Buoy, a device that tracks water usage and can shut off a house’s water system with just a click; InvestEGGator, a device that resembles a turtle egg and can reveal an animal poaching network’s location; and SeaBins, which float in marinas and have already collected four million pounds of trash. The author emphasizes that incentivizing consumers “to be a good environmental steward reduces the influence of competing interests like self-image.” However, Myers is heavy on jargony, technical language, and the frequent topic hops and deluge of information can be overwhelming. There’s much to think about, but nonspecialists will have a hard time parsing the otherwise quality information. (Nov.)