Smelling Land [Paperback]

I just finished the book Smelling Land. I strongly suggest it for anyone with an interest in energy and public policy. The author, David Sanborn Scott, covers all of the hot topics today: global warming, the end of oil, nuclear power and the way forward.

Let's start at the beginning, the core reason to discuss this subject is catastrophic climate change. The author briefly goes over the well known evidence: CO2 levels are at the highest for thousands of years, climate models, ice core samples, recent climate trends, etc. However, he adds another element that I've only rarely heard. The concept of meta-stability. This is vital for understanding why humanity hasn't faced a greater climate change yet. Our planet can absorb the atmospheric addition of CO2, but only to a point. After that point, the climate will change to find a new stability. The only problem is, we don't know what that will be.

The most damning part of this book is the myth-busting. The author holds no bars as dismantles our fears of the end of oil. One dramatic diagram shows how humanity has never projected more than a 40 year supply of oil. The diagram goes back 100 years though! Another myth popped is nuclear energy. There is much to fear in an invisible force that has the power to mutate our very DNA. However, there are many baseless fears that are now accepted. Things like the danger of terrorists with "nuclear material" stolen from reactors, the danger of another Chernobyl and the general fear that man can not control this nuclear energy. The author, while acknowledging realistic concerns, manages to show how minor they really are.

Lastly, Scott shows a possible answer. This is my favorite part of the book, because the press and popular media are very good at describing crisis, but horrible at prescribing solutions. The author shows how through the use of non-fossil sources can be used to solve all of our energy needs through hydrogen. These non-fossil sources are hydraulic, nuclear, wind and solar. The author argues that we should use reliable sources, like nuclear and hydraulic to supply our electricity needs. The unreliable (in other words, not necessarily there when you need it), solar and wind, should be used to generate hydrogen. The advantage is that hydrogen can be stored to produce electricity later, or can be transported. And by transportation, I mean in cars, buses, trains and planes, as well as pipelines.

The only bad part of this book is the needless interlude in the middle of the book. It was a completely self-indulgent chapter that distracted from the otherwise finely crafted argument of the author. I almost stopped reading the book it was so unreadable and boring. So my advice to others is, skip that chapter but keep reading! It's worth it!

This must be the most important book written on THE ONLY ANSWER to Climate Change.

Pity about the Title. The Sub-Title would have been enough.

And yet there is an important analogy here. The Cabin Boy had the temerity to approach the Admiral of the sailing fleet, not once but twice telling him that he could SMELL LAND - that the storm was blowing the fleet onto the rocks. First he was rebuffed and the second time hung from the yardarm. How similar the concern of the public and how deaf the international authorities. Nero fiddles while Rome burns. For this is not an issue to be left to the market to solve but one that requires at least the effort that the USA, shocked by Pearl Harbour, put into the Manhatten Project to end the Second World War.

The book was published in 2007. If shocked awake, the author reckons that it would take two decades for us to get to the HYDROGEN AGE. Eight years down the line and where are we? Liquid hydrogen took us to the Moon in 1969. It is the only energy currency that will drive aeroplanes without carbon dioxide as an exhaust product. Scott coins the word "Hydricity" for the reversible reactions of electrcity through water produces hydrogen and hydrogen through fuel cells produces electricity on any scale from operating your mobile phone to driving heavy transport.

He writes clearly choosing the right words. It should be compulsory reading for all delegates to the Conference of Parties of which COP17 has just ended in Durban. The emphasis at these conferences should not be on legally binding agreements to reduce greenhouse gases within a certain time frame, but the bottom up approach of how each country can contribute to an element of the Master Plan to reach the Hydrogen Age as soon as possible.

H2? OH! Hydrogen Now!

My cousin Bryan, a mining geologist in Canada, recommended Dr. David Sanborn Scott's latest book to me. I immediately purchased my copy at Amazon.com. Since reading "Smelling Land: The Hydrogen Defense Against Climate Catastrophe - Enhanced Edition" I have made "Hydrogen NOW!" my mantra. So, I ask again, H2? OH! Hydrogen is the answer to many of our largest world problems... even some wars! This book is very well written and it is easy to understand the economic principles to which I had not been previously exposed. The science presented as well as our need to embrace and advance Hydrogen technology were very clearly conveyed. This book is a must for everyone. I would recommend this book to teachers, scientists, government employees, innovators, investors, economists, students, voters, and anyone who cares about energy, the environment, the economy, or global warming. Please buy this book for someone you care about today.

Respectfully yours,
Steven J. Wamback,
Biologist, Geologist, and Environmental Scientist

Related topics include: Hydrogen, environmentalism, science, environmental collapse, environmental science, al gore, global warming, ecology and nature, energy, david sanborn scott, economy, chemistry, physics, government and politics are all concepts related to this book: "Smelling Land: The Hydrogen Defense Against Climate Catastrophe - Enhanced Edition" by Dr. David Sanborn Scott

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