Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert

Humans of gone to great effort to engineer nature to their designs. While this has often worked well in the short term, the long term is quite a different story. There are many cases of plants or animals that were introduced to help with a local issue, only to have caused even greater issues. People have also built many structures to combat one problem only to have another problem surface. The water control structures in Louisiana have helped prevent floods (when they work). Yet, the floods are what deposited sediment to keep the land.

After discussing the many unintended consequences of engineering the planet, the book pivots to climate change. We have spewed so much carbon into the atmosphere that we are impacting the climate. By some accounts, even if we stop all carbon emissions we are still on a bad path. That leaves reducing carbon in the air as a potential solution. How could that go wrong? The book first explores various carbon sequestering schemes in a positive light. Then puts on the cautious hat. Humanity does not have a good record looking at all the long-term consequences and impacts of the big projects. Alas, we are still continuing down the route. Will switching to electric cars really make a difference when the freeways themselves are impacting ecosystems? Could carbon captures just encourage more bad behavior? Or will it lead to a negative feedback loop in the other direction? Climate change does not have easy solutions.

Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment

Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment by Grady Hillhouse

We see complex engineering everywhere, but rarely pay attention to it. This well-illustrated book covers much of what is available in "plain sight", as well as the hidden parts that are enabled. There are chapters on roadways, electricity, telecommunication, water and even general construction. It is concise and provides just enough detail to allow an understanding of what you are seeing. The illustrations even include a bit of subtle humor.

Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World (in a Big Way)

Nuts and Bolts, is not a bad book, but I was expecting more. It talks about simple inventions that helped shape the world. Included are such things as nails, rivets, screws and springs. It does take side trips to look at how some of these were used in inventions. The washing machine was invented by a woman in the 1800s because she wanted to make it easier to complete her chores. Other attempts developed by people without the vested need did not have similar success.

The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World

Precision engineering is critically important for our modern world, yet usually taken for granted. However, it has become an integral part of our society. In this book, Simon Winchester traces how things have become more and more precise. Then he takes a step back and looks at the benefits of the non-precise. (Japan provides a good case of a culture that celebrates both the ultra-precise and the non-precise.) When there is a big disaster, such as a tsunami, the "precisely engineered" often fail, while the giant trees and other things that have redundancy survive.

Precision has enabled us to make things much smaller and more efficient. Microchips are so small that a spec of dust can ruin one. Airplane engines are both simple and complex. Minute details allow for the engine to be cooled down to prevent it from overheating. (One chapter discusses the story of an engine explosion that was caused by a minor impression in an engine.)

Attempts at providing precise measurements can be challenging. The metric system has gone through various systems of getting a more precise measurement of a meter. Precisely engineered parts allow for mass production in manufacturing. As technology advances, precision can be increased. This can be beneficial for society, but also create greater challenges when precision fails. 

Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time-- the Building of the Panama Canal

[September 2009] This book goes in to great detail on the 'prehistory' of the canal. The competing European and American plans and interests are well covered, as is the French canal building experience. The initial American experience (and the reptition of many French mistakes) is also well covered. Then in a few words, 5-10 years pass by and the canal is open and operating. It feels that the author ran out of time and sent the book out with only the executive summary of the last 10 chapters. Thus we know, in fairly strong detail what the French did that didn't work, but we know very little about the actual engineering behind the currently existing canal.

The part of the story that is complete also suffers from a disjointed narrative. At times the author inserts long excerpts from the journals of workers on the canal, but fails to convincingly connect them to the surrounding story. Various 'subplots', such as the plight of the West Indian workers, the Panamanian revolution and the medical efforts to eradicate mosquito-born diseases are interesting stories of there own. However, they seem to be artificially patched in to this work, rather than part of a complete narrative.

I also found the production of the audiobook to be less than stellar. The narrator occasionally tried to talk with 'accents' appropriate to the characters, though many of these felt half-hearted and annoying. (Thank goodness there were no attempts at French accents!)