January 1, 2014
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmBook Review: Windfall
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By Rachel Feltman
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Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming
by McKenzie Funk
Penguin, 2014
Can climate change make for good business? Entrepreneurs all over the world are counting on it, claims journalist Funk in his new book Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming. The effects of a shifting climate, he says, can be divided into melt, drought and deluge (that is, rising sea levels), each of which would mean big paydays for different industries. From companies in Israel using by-products of massive desalination plants to capitalize on ski resorts in need of fake snow, to private firefighters working for California insurance companies, to Dutch architects designing floating cities, Funk's reporting brings him face-to-face with individuals who are investing in planetary crisis. Far from vilifying these opportunists, he attempts to see the warming world through their eyes.
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