Vollmann nonfiction covering global warming, the energy economy (fuels, generation, useage, waste), the modern industrial economy in general, & the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. Also asks some philosophical questions around the energy economy; specifically, the morality of externalizing the costs of pollution, and of ignoring the future costs of our economy & way of life.

The part of the book the "No Immediate Danger" title comes from is kind of a travelogue through Fukushima Daiichi's fallout, & including conversations with the people who live with it. Full of data comparing fuels' economy, global warming impacts, & radioactivity measurements in various locales, including Sacramento, Washington DC, & the Fukushima Green, Yellow, & Red Zones.

While No Immediate Danger is full of great information, & asks important questions, it could have been organized better, & the style was odd, to say the least. I think it was good that Vollmann didn't shy away from including himself & his own place in the global economy & the climate crisis, & it was fine his observations of Fukushima & Hanford took the form of 1st person travelogues, I think they could have been done better. Vollmann could have cut out 75% of his self-flagellation over his participation in modern transport, consumerism, & energy usage, & still conveyed the urgency of the climate crisis. The constant apology for his personal consumer choices distracted from the real political reasons we are in the midst of a climate crisis. Additionally, Vollmann presented himself as a sort of bumbling confused "Sitcom Dad" character as he toured the contaminated zones near Fukushima Daiichi, interviewing officials and evacuees. Was his idea that by affecting the perspective of a fool, he would ironically expose the foolishness of official calculations of risk & cost-benefit? Did he think he would give the readers some chuckles? Strangely, he often noted (whether in Sacramento, London, Tokyo, or Fukushima) when he noticed "pretty" or "beautiful" women, & he mentioned that A radiation detector makes a sound like his "sweetest girlfriend's" climax. Again, I have to wonder what Vollmann was attempting. What was the editor thinking? (I joke, books don't have editors anymore.) These odd narrative & language choices were off-putting, and detracted from a book otherwise full of good information & valuable perspectives.

Since No Immediate Danger was full of important info & ideas, I'll probably try to find the companion Volume "No Reasonable Alternative", although I do not relish finding out where next Vollmann will make an amusing gaffe, or where he will tell me he spotted a pretty girl.