@dyslexia,
dyslexia wrote:actually littleK and molga are the only posters here I think would enjoy "Whole Earth Discpline" besides Thomas who I already mentioned it to.
It's an interesting read. Steward Brand's project is to review environmental policies pragmatically, abolishing all ideologies altogether. (Of course, nobody can do that.) And as Dys mentions, his style makes clear that he enjoys pulling environmentalists' legs. Here are some of the propositions he defends:
- Cities are good for the environment. (They use resources more efficiently than agricultural dwellings, defuse the population bomb, power technical progress, and have numerous other environmental advantages.)
- Nuclear power plants are good for the environment, because they operate emission-free,
- Genetically modified plants are good for the environment,
- DDT, while not good for the environment strictly speaking, is sometimes good, sometimes bad, and never as bad as Rachel Carson made it look,
- Global warming isn't really much of a problem. To the extent that it is a problem, humanity could solve it pragmatically by emitting more sulfur into the stratosphere.
I agree with more of Brand's propositions than not. More importantly, I find the book entertaining to read and intelligently reasoned. Even if I didn't agree with much of what he says at all, as I imagine MsOlga would, I would still consider him an answer to John Steward Mill's prayer: "Lord, enlighten thou our enemies. Sharpen their wits, give acuteness to their perceptions, and consecutiveness and clearness to their reasoning powers: we are in danger from their folly, not from their wisdom; their weakness is what fills us with apprehension, not their strength." Although Brand is probably closer to the Republican party than the Democratic party these days, he is not a hack. I definitely found him worth reading.
This is the first I've heard of this book ... and I don't agree with any of the listed dot points. He has his tongue in his cheek, I assume?
I guess the benefit of the book to you, then, may be that it provides an intelligently reasoned case for what your opponents think. I don't expect it to change your mind. But if you enjoy reading outside of your own political persuasion (not all people do), I think you'll like it. As to his tongue being in his cheek, I guess sometimes it is---he clearly enjoys provoking people. But I do think he believes the general message of the book.
