Some Climatopolis Book Tour Dates

What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for publishing a book that interests people? Your timing has to be right. During a deep recession, does anyone want to read a book celebrating that capitalism is our best system for achieving a "pareto optimal" allocation of resources? The book itself must be pretty good and say something new. But, what "new things" can an economist say? We don't have any inside info on who was Bob Woodward's "Deep Throat" insider. We are not privy to the inside gossip during the 2008 Presidential Campaign or what "really goes on" at Goldman Sachs.

With that drum roll, I will roll out "Climatopolis" next month. Here are the dates and places where I'll be speaking about it:

Seattle Townhall ---- September 1st for details click here
Stanford Univ. PSED Energy Conference ---- 9/7 details here
San Francisco's World Affairs Council -- 9/8 details here
Hamilton College ---- 9/21
World Bank 9/22
Los Angeles, Zocalo event in Culver City 10/26
UCLA at some point this fall
Claremont McKenna 12/2

I have a feeling that I can be talked into giving a few more talks. I'm waiting for my friends at UC Berkeley and the University of Chicago to offer me slots.

Here is my Description of my new book that I wrote for the University of Chicago's Alumni Magazine:

Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will Thrive in the Hotter Future
ISBN 9780465019267 Basic Books , Business & Economics

This book examines how free-market capitalism will help us to escape the potentially deadly impacts caused by coming climate change. The book's core theme is ironic. Capitalist growth has caused climate change, but the innovation spurred by free markets will allow us to adapt to our changing climate conditions. Why? In the Chicago rational-expectations spirit, forward-looking households and firms have every incentive to anticipate the challenges ahead and take proactive actions. Unlike the free-rider problems inherent in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, mere self interest (to save our ass!) helps us to adapt to climate change. While some of us are Homer Simpson, just a few Spocks will help to protect the entire world from the tough days ahead.

This book is funny. Most economists aren't funny and no climate-change books are funny at all. This book will anger the entire political spectrum. The right will not like this book because I believe that climate change is a real threat. The left won't like it because I aspire to be a minor league Milton Friedman, AM'33, or Gary Becker, AM'53, PhD'55. David Brooks, AB'83, might like it?