This, from the NY Times, about pioneer environmentalist philosopher Stewart Brand--now a self-proclaimed "environmental heretic" who supports nuclear energy, genetic engineering, population growth and megacities.
Contrasting "rational" and "romantic environmentalism," he says: “My trend has been toward more rational and less romantic as the decades go by,” he says. “I keep seeing the harm done by religious romanticism, the terrible conservatism of romanticism, the ingrained pessimism of romanticism. It builds in a certain immunity to the scientific frame of mind.”
The flight of villagers to burgeoning third-world megacities, he says, will allow farmland to revert to forests and nature preserves. That has occurred to me; but what about the godawful, slummy quality of life of those crowded billions? Or will they all soon have cars (earned at their tech-support and help line jobs), allowing them at least to visit those nature preserves on weekends and holidays--if the traffic congestion on their future expressways isn't too discouraging?
Brand says global population growth is slowing too quickly, which will lead to a shortage of young people. I think a (peaceful and healthy) global population reduction would be a good thing. And in vew of some of the qualities of Kids These Days, that shortage of young people just doesn't worry me all that much.
FYI: Mr. Brand has also been kind enough to endorse my thriller novel of nuclear power, which is based on my twenty years in the US nuclear industry and is designed to provide a good overview of the topic for a lay person. I cover the good AND the bad. It is available free online and also in paperback via online retailers.
"I'd like to see Rad Decision widely read." - Stewart Brand
http://RadDecision.blogspot.com
Posted by: James Aach | February 27, 2007 at 09:49 PM