I recently wrote that environmentalism was fading fast as a meaningful movement, and argued that only green modernists could resurrect it. The piece got bounced around a lot on twitter and elicited both praise and barbs. Discover magazine asked if I would do my promised follow-up for them. Here’s a teaser from the opening: If…Continue Reading…
There is a battle underway for the soul of environmentalism. It is a battle between traditionalists and modernists. Who prevails is likely to be determined by whose vision for the future is chosen by a new generation of environmentalists. The green traditionalist has never had a sunny outlook. Forty years ago, he warned about a…Continue Reading…
There’s been numerous waves of apostasy breaking over environmentalism in the last decade or so. Stewart Brand, a countercultural icon, is perhaps the most famous example. Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus crashed down on the green movement in the mid-2000s, forcing it to swallow a hard, introspective reckoning (which, unsurprisingly, it didn’t appreciate). More recently, George…Continue Reading…
Here is one view of the path humanity is on, which is implied by a recent conference. Another view is markedly sunnier. Is there room for another perspective, one that does not downplay ecological concerns or put them in irreconcilable conflict with humanity? If so, this would be it.
Before I get to that question, ask yourself this: What does the climate debate have to do with WMD’s (weapons of mass destruction) and the Iraq war? Tom Fuller offers an answer on this recent thread: One of the saddest consequences of 9/11 was the wholesale manipulation of both the media and public opinion to generate…Continue Reading…
Several years ago, my oldest son (now 7) came back from preschool one day and announced that we shouldn’t drive our car anymore. “It causes pollution and that kills animals,” he said. I tried explaining to him that things were a bit more complicated than that. It didn’t help that our family (which includes my…Continue Reading…
The Economist has an excellent article about the “fate of India’s amphibians” and what is a universal conservation paradox: As economic growth has accelerated so, it appears, has the destruction of [India’s] forests. The Centre for Science and the Environment, a lobby group, reckons that the pace at which clearance permissions have been granted has…Continue Reading…
In the early 2000s, when the Bush Administration started formulating its domestic energy policy, they snookered U.S. environmental groups with a classic bait & switch. Bush & company made a lot of noise about opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which has long been a symbolic icon for green groups. Environmentalists promptly went…Continue Reading…
On Friday, when most environmentally-inclined people were despairing about the the torturous climate talks in South Africa (since ended, good roundup and assessment here), a short op-ed appeared in the NYT, arguing that despair over the fate of the planet was getting a bit stale. The three authors of the piece–a journalist and two scientists–don’t…Continue Reading…
It’s really a shame that the U.S. environmental community doesn’t have anyone with the chops or reputation of George Monbiot, the popular British columnist. Monbiot, who has a high profile perch at the Guardian, combines essential talents for a communicator: He is lucid, engaging, and smart. He is also not afraid to call out his…Continue Reading…