Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto
Stewart Brand is a progressive icon. From his work with the Grateful Dead and life as one of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters in the 1960s to his launch of the seminal Whole Earth Catalog, his participation in creating the WELL, to his involvement in the Long Now Foundation Brand has continuously been ahead of the curve. He has an uncanny knack for seeing into the future. It's because of this long history of intelligence and progressive values that those who lean green should pay attention to this book. Brand is at his contrarian best in this "ecopragmatic manifesto," making the case for nuclear power, larger cities, genetically modified crops, and geoengineering. Before you reject these ideas outright, read the book.
Why this is progressive/liberal: It's true that there is a lot of tribal allegiance among progressives, just as there is among every ideology. No one can read and understand everything, so we often resort to accepting an idea just because of its label, or because it's endorsed by an authority we trust. It's hard to find progressives who endorse nuclear power, however, more important than ideological allegiance is keeping an open mind and studying the evidence. In this book Stewart Brand makes a progressive argument for nuclear power, genetic modification of crops, and moving to the city.
Buy the Kindle version: Whole Earth Discipline: Why Dense Cities, Nuclear Power, Transgenic Crops, RestoredWildlands, and Geoengineering Are Necessary
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