Eric Dean Wilson

The most important job you may never have heard of: the freon broker. The author uses a quest around the country to purchase remaining quantities of the ubiquitous freon so that it can be destroyed before harming our planet as the vehicle for this title. I learned quite a bit about the technical aspects of why freon continues to be a climate nuisance even decades after its manufacture ended, as well as how our desire for indoor temperature control continues to cause issues when industry fulfills that wish.… (más)

After Cooling is an in-depth look at the history of refrigeration (which includes air conditioning), as well as a primer on the basic science of it. But more than that, it is a consideration of the ethical, political, environmental, and cultural issues that surround the use of this everyday technology that most of us give little thought.

The book had some major strengths as well as a few weaknesses. To the plus side, there are a number of factors. The author is a fine writer, with a knack for understanding the subtleties of interpersonal interactions. He also has a good sense of humor -- I found myself smirking or chuckling many times during the course of the book. The narrative flowed along and carried me with it; though this could be a dry topic in places, it rarely felt like it was. His explanations of the science involved seemed solid and comprehensible, though the author is not a scientist himself. The in-depth coverage of the ozone layer crisis was also fascinating. Though this event took place during my lifetime, I learned much about the details of exactly what occurred and how it was dealt with. In short, there's a lot to like here.

With that, there are some aspects that struck me as flawed. I was hoping for some analysis of what, precisely, we might do to wean ourselves off of the prevalent A/C use that is so commonplace, particularly here in the US. The book is short on concrete prescriptions, though. Instead, it tends to focus on the cultural ramifications of A/C use and particularly its effects on people of color. While the author makes some valid points on how A/C use is linked with racial issues, this felt like it was harping on a point that wasn't really central to the main crisis -- that is, how refrigerants are harming our planet and just what we should do about it. The author's bio mentions that one of his focuses is "the radical black tradition" and clearly this is a passion of his, but I didn't feel that much of this discussion really belonged here. I do think that this may turn some people off from the book -- and that would be a shame, because there are a lot of good points worthy of consideration in it.

In short, I think this is an overdue look at our use of air conditioning and the myriad harms that have resulted from it, but I'd like to see more focus on concrete policy suggestions and ideas on what we should about it. But if you're interested in this topic, it's well worth the read.… (más)

I was interested in air conditioning. But not this much.

And talk about your flowery language. I consider myself a bit of a word person. Even if I can't define something to the letter, context will usually let me fill in the meaning. But I declared defeat when I encountered "cathexis of mortido." This sounds like a really bad Batman villain. (It's something Freudian.)

It certainly does contain the best step-by-step explanation of how CFC's deplete the ozone layer, and I do feel better informed than I was before - one would hope for such after 400 pages! And just in time for me to come across a small blurb in the paper: this year's ozone hole over Antarctica is significantly larger than usual. Joyous news. Climate change was going to be bad enough, but, barring a really bad tidal wave, at least SOMEWHAT gradual. A severely degraded ozone layer is going to be super nasty super quick. At least it gets my mind off COVID.… (más)

Interesting History Marred By Marxist Politics And Alarmist Propaganda. In the description of this book, it is claimed that we will get a look at history, science, road trip, and philosophy as it relates to Freon and its history. Well, the philosophy is avowed Marxism (even quoting Marx directly to begin one of the sections) and the "science" is mostly alarmist "Global Cooling" / "Global Warming" / "Climate Change" junk wherein he cites in part some of the very studies that Stephen Koonin's Unsettled - released just weeks earlier - shows to be problematic at best. And unlike Wilson, Koonin is an actual climate scientist, one who worked at a high level under Barack Obama, no less. Instead, Wilson outright declares that it is the stuff of nightmares to think that any form of warming is natural, that man *must* be the cause of *all* warming and that we *must* thus be able to stop it.

These factors noted - and seriously, if you can't stomach a fatal dose of Marxist ideology, don't bother reading this book - the history presented here, even while presented fully rooted in anti-white, anti-capitalist screed form, is actually interesting and worthy of discovery by those who may not be aware of it, such as myself when going into this book. The road trip episodes that frame each section are interesting in and of themselves, as Wilson tags along with a friend who is buying up stockpiles of Freon American Pickers style in order to destroy them to claim the carbon credits under California's Cap and Trade system.

There is a compelling story to tell in the need for better ways to cool and comfort, and there are promising techs and strategies that don't rely on Marxism and government mandate to achieve them. Unfortunately this book ignores all of this.

Finally, the citations and bibliography... are minimal, for such fantastical claims, accounting for barely 15% of the text, and are rarely directly cited within the narrative itself.

It is because of all of these factors that I am quite comfortable with the 2* - without the history and road trip, it would have been half even that - and would be lower than even that, were such possible on review sites. Not recommended.… (más)