On Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0": A Disturbing Vision of the Future

So I must first confess that I am NOT a Thomas Friedman fan, which I think makes my enthusiasm more authentic for his nonfiction book Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0: Why We Need a Green Revolution—And How It Can Renew America. Why am I not a fan? As a columnist for the NY Times, and author of The World Is Flat (2005), among others, Friedman sometimes seems a bit of a Globalization huckster, arguing how the U.S. should be more like India and China (which I think is becoming true, that Globalization is having that effect, of all countries becoming more like each other, sharing the problems of disproportionate wealth, for one thing). But, begrudgingly, I agree with much of what he says, and at times I think I simply find him rather unctuous, perhaps too self-promoting—smug, even. So big deal.
Hot, Flat, and Crowded (the updated version, published in 2009, which has been retitled Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0: Why We Need a Green Revolution) is simply quite good—clear thinking, wise, and cautious. I don’t agree with everything he says, but his overall point is right on target. Our politicians should be reading it. He dissects the current financial turmoil, our oddly symbiotic/parasitic relationship with China, and the dangerous path we’re on to devastating climate change.
On that subject, check this out, a rather disquieting fact: Greenhouse gas emissions rose (we should be making them drop, obviously) by a record amount last year. (How do they calculate such a thing?) See here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/04/greenhouse-gases-rise-record-levels
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/11/09/364895/iea-global-warming-delaying-action-is-a-false-economy/