A modestly encouraging prediction that technical progress and the free market can ensure a tolerable, if hotter, future.Kahn (Economics, Public Policy/UCLA; Green Cities: Urban Growth and the Environment, 2006, etc.) accepts the evidence that the world will be three to ten degrees warmer late in the 21st century; rain and weather patterns will shift; melting ice will raise the sea level. Humans prefer to live in coastal cities with a vibrant culture (London, New York, Boston), perhaps with a pleasant climate (Los Angeles, Miami), but rising oceans and increasing storms will flood low-lying areas. Already short of water, Los Angeles is predicted to receive 50 percent less rain. So far, Kahn warns, governments have done exactly the wrong thing: building levees and sea walls, subsidizing flood insurance, refusing to zone low-lying or fire-prone areas to keep people out, pouring money to rebuild after disasters that are guaranteed to recur. Leaders proclaim that we must conserve, develop clean power sources and reduce our carbon footprint, yet they aggressively encourage waste and discourage innovation by keeping water, energy and gasoline prices artificially low. Kahn makes a convincing case that new technology and a free market are essential and that government should not interfere. Unfortunately, his prescription requires government action that would be political suicide. Leaders must allow water, energy and insurance rates to rise to market levels, he writes, and they must pass a carbon tax and increase gasoline taxes.Realistic conservation tactics that may not resonate with today's fervently anti-tax advocates and their compliant representatives.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Kahn (Green Cities) takes a sanguine look at how cities will fare under climate change. He admits that global warming could be catastrophic, but "a small cadre of forward-looking entrepreneurs will be ready to get rich selling the next generation of products that will help us all to adapt" and that "the story will have a happy ending." Analyses of global cities yield such scattershot observations as that by helping people rebuild in disaster-prone areas such as flood zones, governments "actually put more people at risk;" that "due to its recent economic development, China will be spared horrible outcomes faced by other developing nations;" and that globalization will protect us against local agricultural failures (and if crops fail everywhere, entrepreneurs will have incentives to provide dried fruit instead of fresh). On how the urban poor will cope with climate change, Kahn shrugs his shoulders writing, "the truth is that this group has always faced hardship.the question is, how much worse will their quality of life be?" In comparison with the abundance of thoughtful and astute books predicting life under climate change, this one is remarkably shallow. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

As the scientific consensus continues to grow about Earth's dramatically rising temperatures, the media's vision of global warming's likely catastrophic effects on mankind has become increasingly gloomy. Kahn, a UCLA environmental economics professor, doesn't question most climatologists' dire predictions, but argues here that mankind is resilient enough to adapt and even thrive despite the coming geographic disruptions. Kahn's main focus is on urban areas where he anticipates that forward-looking entrepreneurs will take advantage of crisis-driven opportunities to offer innovative goods and services. Kahn begins by looking at historical examples of cities that bounced back from war and natural disasters, and moves on to analyze green cities and water usage economics as a windup to forecasting how specific cities like L.A. and New York might adjust to scorching temperatures or flooding. Kahn makes several assumptions that will no doubt anger environmentalists, including the notion that globalization will compensate for widespread agricultural failures. Yet compared to the global warming worst-case scenarios offered by Hollywood, his optimistic emphasis on humanity's ingenuity and adaptability is refreshing.--Hays, Carl Copyright 2010 Booklist

Climatopolis is an economist's examination of the climatological implications of global warming for urban development. In plain language, Kahn (UCLA) examines the ways in which the economy interacts with heightening risks to life and property and generates spatial responses from people, communities, and local, state, and national governments. The climate future will be unlike the past (it is thought), and the "new" future could start immediately, or it may arrive gradually (this is uncertain). People know that modern society will not (and cannot) wait for the changes to reveal themselves. They also know that doing nothing in preparation for the possibilities is foolish. Many question the wisdom of specific adaptations. There are many ways in which human lives will be affected--most are financial impacts or will be impacts on things that people value or must pay for; this explains an economist's interest. As a popular press publication, the writing is devoid of complicated terminology and concepts, and readers can receive a rather succinct view of academic scholarship addressing climate change issues. The price of admission to this "view" however, is to endure endless entertainment references and irritating quips and observations. Summing Up: Recommended. General, public, and undergraduate libraries. J. P. Tiefenbacher Texas State University