Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit

10 Clean Technologies to
Save Our World

By Tom Rand

“When humankind really wants to do something, our ingenuity, resources and determination are breathtaking. We put a man on the moon! We unlocked the power of the atom! This challenge represents our generation’s turn to carry the baton forward.
 It won’t be easy, but it is possible.”
- Tom Rand

Tom Rand is an engineer, businessman and philosopher – a politically neutral technology expert. Yet in his richly illustrated and accessible book Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit, he urges that we need to kick the fossil fuel habit, and quickly.

Appealing to a broad range of readers on multiple levels, Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit offers easy-to-understand explanations of the ten leading clean energy technologies. By taking advantage of these technologies, Rand claims that we can kick the fossil fuel habit. Here are some examples of how:

• Solar energy can deliver energy at a lower cost than the Tar Sands
• Electric cars will form the backbone of an Energy Internet
• Enhanced geothermal (energy from the earth) could one day replace our coal plants
• Biofuels are not the answer – there’s just not enough biomass to go around

Each section of the book, focusing on a different clean energy technology, features an introduction to the technology, a detailed explanation of how it works, its potentials and pitfalls, and “The Trillion-Dollar Question,” what you get for $1 trillion. Also included is gorgeous large-format colour photography, making this gift book one-of-a-kind.

Ultimately, Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit is about positive options, not doomsday predictions. Even though the climate change problem has been left too long and the problem is huge, we can solve it for future generations if we act now.

Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit, by Tom Rand
Published by Eco Ten Publishing Inc.
ISBN 978-0-9812952-0-6
10x10, 240 pages
Finest quality Forest Stewardship Council certified paper and printing

Tom Rand currently acts as Lead Cleantech Advisor at the Toronto-based MaRS Discovery District, which supports the commercialization of Canadian research and development. Before joining MaRS, Tom was a successful entrepreneur, founding Voice Courier Inc. in 1991, a telecommunications software company. He led its expansion to more than 100 employees in three countries. In 2005, he started VCi Green Funds, a private venture fund to provide angel and venture capital to companies developing emission-reduction technologies. This included taking hands-on leadership roles in clean-tech companies ranging from geothermal and wind to green buildings and hydrogen. As co-founder of Planet Traveler, the greenest hotel in North America, Tom exhibits his talent for innovation. He also has broad experience on leading clean-tech organizations and was the manager for the Green Bonds public policy team, a high-profile initiative presented to federal and provincial governments in Canada. Recently, Tom was appointed an Action Canada fellow. Tom has a bachelor of science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, a master’s in science from the University of London, and a master’s and PhD in Philosophy from the University of Toronto. He lives in Toronto and can often be found navigating the busy streets on his trusty bicycle—even through the Canadian winter.