Global warming and the nitrogen crisis are the same thing, right? No!, thought Roel Grit, who heard a Member of Parliament say it on television. That is not the same problem. And the fact that this politician does see it that way is a problem.
Politicians have to make decisions about just about everything. That is their profession, but the policy on these subjects is too important to do without thorough background knowledge, according to Grit. Science is not an opinionis a refresher course for politicians and all other people who want to understand more about the problems of our time.
It is textbook-like† That is sometimes a bit irritating in terms of formatting, with apparently random italics words† The content is nice, it provides a good overview, in manageable short paragraphs. In an accessible way, Grit guides the reader along the most important chemical reactions, nitrogen precipitation and the effect of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It is clear that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Solar and wind energy are so erratic that supplementing with other sources (nuclear energy, with associated waste?) or intermediate storage (batteries, although difficult to recycle?) is necessary. And yes, you can do a lot with hydrogen, but with each conversion an enormous amount of energy is lost.
The concept of EROI is often used. It stands for energy return on investment and comes down to the question: how much energy does it cost to produce energy? For once no financial view (subsidies cloud, Grit believes), but a natural scientific view. In 1999 you could still extract 35 barrels of oil with the energy of one barrel of oil, in 2006 only 18. The EROI of wind energy is 16, and if the energy has to be stored in the meantime, it even drops to 3.9. Nuclear energy? 75.
Sometimes Grit jumps off the bat quite a bit. Why does the chapter on the energy problem start with a section on kinetic energy? Why does the (actual) chapter on global warming result in a summary of social unrest? And what does the chapter on nutrition suddenly do at the end?