The Endless World
by Jean-Marc Jancovici and Christophe Blain
Dargaud, 196 p., 27 €
Christophe Blain is a curious mind. After sneaking behind the scenes at the Quai d’Orsay, or the kitchens of Alain Passard, he immersed himself in greenhouse gases with Jean-Marc Jancovici.
→ VIDEO. The designer Christophe Blain exhibits in black and white
A specialist in energy and climate issues, the polytechnician invented the “carbon footprint”, which has become a global standard for measuring carbon emissions. Popularizer known for his sense of formula, which hits the mark at popular Internet conferences, the engineer responds to the cartoonist’s anxieties in the face of global warming.
A matter of choice
The subject is serious but nothing prevents to laugh about it. With his malicious and lively line, Christophe Blain slips into the costume of a Candide disguised as Iron Man (with a helmet modified to fit the author’s big nose)! Embodiment of this «endless world» where we have almost forgotten the massive use of energy as it is part of everyday life, the superhero can, like man, do almost anything: fly far, dig deep, never be cold or hot … , “There is no green energy, neither pink, nor black, neither clean, nor dirty», says the engineer.
It’s all about choice, with each source having advantages and disadvantages. While calling for greater energy sobriety, Jean-Marc Jancovici votes for nuclear power, the least bad remedy for gently decarbonizing human activity. A position that is debated but helps to feed it usefully, at the end of this dense and masterful course, in every sense of the word.
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