Waking the Frog

"Waking the Frog is a brilliant one-stop account of why climate change is the preeminent global problem of our time, what keeps us from recognizing its seriousness, and how we can solve it. With powerful and beautifully clear writing, Tom Rand weaves together an extraordinary range of knowledge—about nonlinear economies, the psychology of climate denial, and the advantages of enhanced geothermal energy, among many matters. Simultaneously sobering and heartening, it’s a comprehensive and compelling handbook for action." —Thomas Homer-Dixon, author of The Ingenuity Gap and The Upside of Down

"Tom's book was a transformative experience for me, it put words to my anger, and I will not look at this situation the same way. Waking the Frog will appeal to smart people who aren't already in the energy club. Highly recommended." —Ted Riley, former managing director, Alliance Atlantis International

"Energizing, highly informative, and entertaining all at once. " —Alex Wood, Senior Director, Policy and Markets at Sustainable Prosperity

"Tom is a force of nature. He works tirelessly on advancing Canada's cleantech economy: building companies, deploying capital, inspiring entrepreneurs. With Waking the Frog he is raising the stakes again, challenging us to work on a comprehensive response to climate change. An important piece of work from one of Canada's great entrepreneurs and change agents." —Ilse Treurnicht, CEO MaRS Discovery District

"Waking the Frog is an important and readable book by an impressive entrepreneur. Tom obviously cares deeply about the environment, and he seems determined to save us from ourselves. But his perspective is that of a hard-nosed, business savvy investor. This is no naive appeal, but a realistic, practical blueprint to re-wire our economy." —Greg Kiessling, founder, Bullfrog Power & UpCapital

"One of the best things about the very good Waking the Frog is Tom Rand’s relentless, fact-based, optimism. It’s impossible to read this thing and not come away thinking 'Gee, maybe this climate change puzzle is solvable after all!' Highly recommended." —Rick Smith, co-author Slow Death by Rubber Duck, Executive Director, Broadbent Institute

"In this lucid, timely and highly readable exploration of the climate crisis, Tom Rand details the predicament the world finds itself in and the insidious mind traps which make it so hard for us to work our way out of it. Rand argues there is still a way forward, but it will demand deep changes in standard economics and politics for, as Rand puts it, if we don't make radical changes, we'll suffer radical changes." —William Seager, Professor, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Toronto

"Waking The Frog isn't about the science or the economics of the mess we're in as much as it is about us—and the way we have managed to fall asleep at the wheel. How do you wake a species? Put this on your bedside table. " —Laurie Brown, Broadcaster, host of CBC's The Signal

"In Waking the Frog Tom Rand manages to do something that no other book I know of on climate “disruption” has done to date. He takes a multi-disciplinary approach—blending economics, politics, psychology, statistics and business analyses—to thoroughly dissect why inaction on this massive problem is so pervasive, and what urgently needs to be done going forward. Yet his book is no tedious tome for the non-expert to work through. Rather, Waking the Frog charms the reader with Rand’s sharp insight and wit." —Ed Whittingham, Executive Director, Pembina Institute

"An brilliant analysis of why we are stuck in our collective response to climate change—and more importantly, convincing recommendations for solutions and a path forward. A book for business, and a book for those Canadians—the vast majority—who want to see solutions to our climate crisis." —David Miller, former Mayor of Toronto, CEO WWF Canada

"The originality of Waking the Frog is its unique blend of psychological, economic, and technological analysis, a triple punch which leaves climate change deniers and prevaricators no place to hide. In clear and trenchant language, Tom Rand exposes the errors of thinking and economic logic that have brought us to this present dire moment. But in the end, Tom Rand returns us to a place of ambitious but realistic hope. We are not fated to perish from the earth, but we must wake up and get going now, just as we mobilized as a society during World War Two." —John Godfrey, former Federal Cabinet Minister

"Tom Rand's new book Waking The Frog is an engaging, informative and interesting wake-up call for a world that is sleep-walking towards disaster. It's also a surprisingly readable book, without undermining the seriousness of the topic. And finally, it is hopeful, or as hopeful as it is to be in light of the situation we find ourselves in. Tom is able to paint a picture of how we wake the frog that is us!"—Andrew Heintzman, President of Investeco Capital and author of The New Entrepreneurs: Building a Green Economy for the Future