{"title":"Guillaume Pitron","description":"\u003cp\u003eDiscover the thought-provoking works of Guillaume Pitron, a distinguished author and journalist known for his deep exploration of complex global issues. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for unraveling intricate narratives, Pitron delves into subjects that lie at the intersection of science, technology, and society.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Rare Metals War\u003c\/em\u003e, Pitron takes readers on a riveting journey through the world of rare metals, exposing the hidden geopolitical and environmental stakes tied to their extraction and use in modern technology. This groundbreaking book raises awareness about the crucial resources that fuel our digital and green revolutions, urging us to reconsider our reliance on them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Dark Cloud\u003c\/em\u003e further cements Pitron's reputation for tackling timely and pressing topics. This compelling work examines the environmental impact of digital technology, challenging readers to reflect on the unseen costs of our ever-increasing data consumption. By revealing the cloud's true environmental footprint, Pitron encourages a dialogue on sustainable digital practices.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGuillaume Pitron's writing is essential for those fascinated by the interconnectedness of science and nature and the profound implications of technological advancement. His work is both an eye-opener and a call to action, making it a must-read for environmentally conscious individuals and tech enthusiasts alike.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-dark-cloud-by-guillaume-pitron-9781922585523","title":"The Dark Cloud","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA gripping new investigation into the underbelly of digital technology, which reveals not only how costly the virtual world is, but how damaging it is to the environment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA simple 'like' sent from our smartphones mobilises what will soon constitute the largest infrastructure built by man. This small notification, crossing the seven operating layers of the Internet, travels around the world, using submarine cables, telephone antennas, and data centres, going as far as the Arctic Circle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt turns out that the 'dematerialised' digital world, essential for communicating, working, and consuming, is much more tangible than we would like to believe. Today, it absorbs 10 per cent of the world's electricity and represents nearly 4 per cent of the planet's carbon dioxide emissions. We are struggling to understand these impacts, as they are obscured to us in the mirage of 'the cloud'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSome telling numbers:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eIf digital technology were a country, it would be the third-highest consumer of electricity behind China and the United States.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eAn email with a large attachment consumes as much energy as a lightbulb left on for one hour.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eEvery year, streaming technology generates as much greenhouse gas as Spain—close to 1 per cent of global emissions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eOne Google search uses as much electricity as a lightbulb left on for up to two minutes.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eAll of humanity produces five exabytes of data per day, equivalent to what we consumed from the very beginnings of the internet to 2003—an amount that would fill 10 million Blu-ray discs which, piled up, would be as high as the Eiffel Tower.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt a time of the deployment of 5G, connected cars, and artificial intelligence, \u003cem\u003eThe Dark Cloud\u003c\/em\u003e, the result of an investigation carried out over two years on four continents, reveals the anatomy of a technology that is virtual only in name. Under the guise of limiting the impact of humans on the planet, it is already asserting itself as one of the major environmental challenges of the twenty-first century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Guillaume Pitron recalls the origins of digital technology and explains how this new communication tool has catastrophic consequences on our environment ... What happens when you send an email? What is the geography of clicks? What ecological and geopolitical challenges do they bring without our knowledge? This is the subject of \u003cem\u003eThe Dark Cloud\u003c\/em\u003e ... For two years, the journalist followed, on four continents, the route of our emails, our likes and our vacation photos.\" — Margherita Nasi, Le Monde\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"It reveals the environmental cost of a dematerialised sector. Between the strategies of the giants who keep us in the illusion of a clean Internet and the difficulty of feeling pollution that has no taste or smell, the investigator reveals the underside of the Internet.\" — Marina Fabre, Novethic\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePraise for \u003cem\u003eThe Rare Metals War\u003c\/em\u003e: \"Exposes the dirty underpinnings of clean technologies in a debut that raises valid questions about energy extraction.\" — Publishers Weekly\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46342744670444,"sku":"9781922585523","price":36.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781922585523.jpg?v=1743939270"},{"product_id":"the-rare-metals-war-by-guillaume-pitron-9781761380952","title":"The Rare Metals War","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe resources race is on. Powering our digital lives and green technologies are some of the Earth's most precious metals - but they are running out. And what will happen when they do?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe green-tech revolution has been lauded as the silver bullet to a new world. One that is at last free of oil, pollution, shortages, and cross-border tensions. Now updated after several years of research across a dozen countries, this book cuts across conventional green thinking to probe the hidden, dark side of green technology.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy breaking free of fossil fuels, we are in fact setting ourselves up for a new dependence - on rare metals such as cobalt, gold, and palladium. They are essential to electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, our smartphones, computers, tablets, and other everyday connected objects. China has captured the lion's share of the rare metals industry, but consumers know very little about how they are mined and traded, or their environmental, economic, and geopolitical costs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Rare Metals War\u003c\/em\u003e is a vital expose of the ticking time-bomb that lies beneath our new technological order. It uncovers the reality of our lavish and ambitious environmental quest that involves risks as formidable as those it seeks to resolve.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe journalist and filmmaker warns against the optimistic belief that technology is the solution ... At a time when many claim to be \"citizens of the world\" or retreat into naive or hypocritical protectionism, Pitron's book is an attempt to open people's eyes to the consequences of their societal choices and lifestyles.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ccite\u003e- Green European Journal\u003c\/cite\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFrench Writer and analyst Guillaume Pitron warns about growing reliance on rare-earth metals - which are necessary to build high-tech products ... He shines a light on \"the untold story\" of the energy and digital transitions.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ccite\u003e- European Scientist\u003c\/cite\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eExposes the dirty underpinnings of clean technologies in a debut that raises valid questions about energy extraction.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ccite\u003e- Publishers Weekly\u003c\/cite\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46342794051820,"sku":"9781761380952","price":41.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3110673482815.jpg?v=1743943754"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/guillaume-pitron.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}