An environmentalist (and SF legend) named Stewart Brand is beginning to imbue some rationalism into his environmental politics.
Stewart Brand has become a heretic to environmentalism, a movement he helped found, but he doesn’t plan to be isolated for long. He expects that environmentalists will soon share his affection for nuclear power. They’ll lose their fear of population growth and start appreciating sprawling megacities. They’ll stop worrying about “frankenfoods” and embrace genetic engineering.
My biggest fear about environmentalism is what I see as a certain Luddism -- that problems are best solved by moving to old ways. Organic farming is one example, resistance to nuclear power, empowering government to make more economic decisions. What all these have in common is a strong traditionalism and change aversion. They show a lack of confidence in humanity's ability to adapt and make choices.
It is very much the opposite of my view of the world. I think that humanity's prospects are greatly improved by people making more of their own decisions, especially economic ones.
Mr. Brand seems to understand this. He almost sounds libertarian, not by having moved across the spectrum from left to right, but perhaps by wrapping around the back. After all, "left" at one time was a position of rationalism -- not so these days, of course. But guys like Brand are hoping to reclaim the mantle and righties should welcome it.
Some examples of Mr. Brand's new rationalism:
“Sure, nuclear waste is a problem, but the great thing about it is you know where it is and you can guard it. The bad thing about coal waste is that you don’t know where it is and you don’t know what it’s doing. The carbon dioxide is in everybody’s atmosphere.” [...]
He sees genetic engineering as a tool for environmental protection: crops designed to grow on less land with less pesticide; new microbes that protect ecosystems against invasive species, produce new fuels and maybe sequester carbon. [...]
He now looks at the rapidly growing megacities of the third world not as a crisis but as good news: as villagers move to town, they find new opportunities and leave behind farms that can revert to forests and nature preserves. Instead of worrying about population growth, he’s afraid birth rates are declining too quickly, leaving future societies with a shortage of young people. [...]
Give the whole thing a read.
Back in the late 70's and early '80s when I was a young nuclear engineer living in Mill Valley, the social handicap of my profession was very clear. In more than one case, landlords refused to rent to me, just to show their environmentalist purity. It took a very broadminded Lady Marinite to date a guy like me (not to mention the matched plaid outfits I sported.)
While I welcome Mr. Brand's change of heart, I fear too much enthusiasm in the pro-nuclear direction.
Having seen the injustices committed in the name of environmentalism, I'm extremely discomforted by having them on my side of the argument now.
Posted by: Whitehall | 01 March 2007 at 03:13 PM