Whole Earth Discipline_An Ecopragmatist Manifesto Read online

  Table of Contents

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  • 1 • - Scale, Scope, Stakes, Speed

  • 2 • - City Planet

  • 3 • - Urban Promise

  • 4 • - New Nukes

  • 5 • - Green Genes

  • 6 • - Gene Dreams

  • 7 • - Romantics, Scientists, Engineers

  • 8 • - It’s All Gardening

  • 9 • - Planet Craft

  AFTERWORD

  RECOMMENDED READING

  Acknowledgements

  INDEX

  Praise for Whole Earth Discipline by Stewart Brand

  “If Mr. Brand is right, maybe some greens will rediscover the enthusiasm for technology expressed in his famous line at the start of The Whole Earth Catalog: ‘We are as gods and might as well get good at it.’ ”

  —John Tierney, The New York Times

  “Brand’s scary analysis is the setup for a hopeful, though controversial message: All may still be well if we get really good at using tools many greens love to hate. . . . Brand’s case for parting ways with environmentalism’s old guard rests largely on surprising developments that, he freely acknowledges, have shown some of his former views were wrong. . . . While some of his positions cry out for debate, no one has brought more breadth, clarity, and cogency to bear on the biggest issue of our time.”

  —David Stipp, Fortune

  “Stewart Brand defines iconoclastic, and has now raised the bar with the most important work of his lifetime, likely one of the most original and important books of the century. As the title connotes, the writing is about disciplined thinking. Shibboleths, ideological cant, and green fetishes are put to the side with the clarity and expertise gained by years of research and forethought, a mindbending exploration of what humankind can and must do to retain the mantle of civilization. The highest compliment one can give a book is ‘it changed my mind.’ It changed mine and I am grateful.”

  —Paul Hawken, author of Blessed Unrest

  “A thoroughly researched, highly entertaining manual that takes on many of the environmental movement’s biggest taboos, among them nuclear power and genetically modified food, and argues that, far from the scourges they are portrayed to be, they should be embraced wholeheartedly and as fast as possible. His message is, in short: get real.”

  —Danny Fortson, The Sunday Times (London)

  “The twenty-first century has seen the emergence of a different type of green campaigner who embraces science as an essential tool for tackling the world’s environ- mental woes. . . . Now the new style of environmentalism has a worthy prophet, Stewart Brand, and a bible, Whole Earth Discipline. . . . You do not have to agree with Brand to enjoy [the book]. . . . Overall the writing is so entertaining and thought- provoking that I can see it being quoted thirty years from now, just as the Whole Earth Catalog is today.”

  —Clive Cookson, Financial Times (London)

  “This brilliant, elegant treatise by a veteran defender of the earth’s health will be a challenge to those parts of the environmental movement that loathe nuclear power, believe that cities are wasteful and dehumanizing, distrust GM agriculture and technological ‘fixes’ in general. But anyone with an open mind and a free spirit will be deeply stirred by Brand’s passionate realism and measured optimism. There isn’t much time, climate science keeps telling us. If that is the case, one urgent priority would be to read this deeply engaging book and be prepared to do some serious rethinking.”

  —Ian McEwan, author of Atonement and Solar

  “True fans of the Whole Earth Catalog should have seen Whole Earth Discipline coming—as Brand once gave space to organic farming as a tool to counter the ills of industrial agriculture, he now champions genetically modified crops to solve an impending world food crisis. In both cases, Brand begins with a goal—mitigating climate change tops the list—and finds the best way to get there, regardless of romantic green ideology. Brand sees himself as a pragmatic fox, in philosopher Isaiah Berlin’s formulation, open to change and evolution, compared with the hedgehogs of the environmental movement, blinded by old assumptions.”

  —Bryan Walsh, Men’s Journal

  “Brand’s book is thoroughly exhilarating, which is a slightly odd thing to say about a text that doesn’t for a moment diminish the threat of global warming and which actually argues that we’ve already left things too late. . . . It’s one of those books that you want to press on people and insist they read, partly because it exemplifies in action what it urges on its readers. . . . On nearly every page, its seems, received opinion is upended and dogmas examined at their foundations—which are frequently found to be worm-eaten. . . . Whole Earth Discipline does not present itself as the only road map, but I doubt you’ll encounter a more entertaining or thought-provoking one.”

  —Tim Sutcliffe, The Independent (London)

  “This extraordinary and provocative book resets the terms for the discussion about climate change. It’s clever, concise, and clear—a pleasure to read—but perhaps its greatest achievement will be to reframe this global crisis as an opportunity for civilizational regeneration.”

  —Brian Eno, musician and artist

  “Brand’s new book builds up into a lucid big picture put together with experience, wisdom, and optimism. Brand tackles touchy issues such as the importance of urbanization, the potential of genetic engineering, and the practical case for nuclear power, fully aware that many of the environmentalist readers he hopes to reach will start out disagreeing with him. He refuses either to pander to their prejudices or to take delight in shocking them, preferring engagement, reason, and a leavening of wit. He simply argues persuasively, on the basis of wide reading, for the positions he thinks will best allow humans to shore up nature so that nature in turn can help preserve humanity.”

  —Oliver Morton, Nature

  “Eclectically informative . . . Brand builds his case skillfully, weaving together a wealth of sources. The most novel material concerns cities, now home to more than half of humanity. . . . Brand’s arguments are good, and his mind-changing, let’s-all-learn-from-my-mistakes rhetoric is pretty persuasive. . . . There will be long, impassioned arguments along the way, but this wise book is a great start.”

  —Jon Turney, The Guardian (London)

  “This is a short course on how to change your mind intelligently. Stewart Brand is the master guru of following the early warning signals of first adopters and the rough edges of science wherever it might lead. In this book he reveals how this discipline has landed him at the very front of cultural change once again.”

  —Kevin Kelly, author of What Technology Wants

  “In the face of climate change, a founding father of the greens argues the movement must embrace whatever works—even if that happens to be nuclear power, mass urbanization, or genetic modification. . . . The environmental left needs to view the world afresh. Once it has done so, Brand writes, it is likely to see that many of its most cherished notions are inconsistent with reality.”

  —Mark Williams, Technology Review

  “It’s not what Stewart Brand says that is important (and there is quite a bit I disagree with in the book). It is the open-minded and pragmatic way that he goes about questioning the down side of the romanticism that has dominated the environmental movement of the last forty-eight years. He points out where scientific environmental pragmatism and skepticism has been submerged by quasi-religious faith in big ideas that are often wrong. It is these wrong ideas that are now harming both people and harming the reputation of e
nvironmentalism. . . . Brand’s discussion of genetic engineering of crops and food production is perhaps the best single exposition for the intelligent general reader why genetic engineering is needed for pragmatic solutions of important environmental challenges. . . . Fortunately Brand’s wonderful book will not be ignored because it makes its statements in a highly direct controversial fashion.”

  —David Tribe, Biofortified.org

  “I adored this book. Even the few parts I disagreed with. Stewart Brand’s mind is exhilaratingly clear, rational, and passionate. His pen is, too.”

  —Matt Ridley, author of Genome and Nature Via Nuture

  “On the first page of this landmark book, the lateral-thinking, San Francisco tugboat-based ecologist Stewart Brand sums up his philosophy in a single line: ‘We are as gods and HAVE to get good at it.’ It’s a staggeringly arrogant statement, guaranteed to offend everyone from religious fundamentalists to those at the mystical, misty-eyed end of the green spectrum, but after reading Whole Earth Discipline, you’ll find it difficult to disagree.”

  —Roger Cox, The Scotsman (Edinburgh)

  “Brand has now issued a bold challenge to the very movement he helped create: Can you forsake ideology for the good of the planet? Whole Earth Discipline contains every reason why they should: three hundred pages of data, anecdotes, and arguments that illustrate, in withering detail, the scale of ecological problems we face today, and the utter inability of faith-based environmentalism to fix them.”

  —Maywa Montenegro, Seed

  “Yet again, in a single book Stewart Brand provides us a clear catalog of everything important on Earth.”

  —Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us

  “In these pages, Stewart Brand lays out a mind-blowing vision for the planet’s salvation: migration to the cities, power generated by mini-nuclear reactors, healthier crops through genetic engineering. This may well be the most important book I’ll read this year. Certainly, it’s the most aggressively optimistic book that’s also closely reported.”

  —Jesse Kornbluth, Headbutler.com

  “An important book on the collision between humanity and earth’s limits—on the facts, the problems, the passions, the politics, and the realistic possibilities for better outcomes. . . . Fresh. Important. Wise. Readable and information-dense . . . Brand kicks intellectual butt on both sides of most issues, but does so respectfully and from a principled moral center that itself demands respect. . . . A book about how to think more coherently and effectively about what may be the greatest challenge of our time.”

  —Eric Drexler, Metamodern.com

  “After spreading the gospel of self-sufficiency with his inimitable Whole Earth Catalog, Stewart Brand now embraces science and engineering as the disciplines that will see us through the fast approaching crisis of global warming. Brand’s new book is like the man himself: smart, practical, wise, and full of goodwill.”

  —Richard Rhodes, author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb

  “Immensely entertaining . . . the book brilliantly defines our present predicament—our need to deploy science to clean up the mess made by science. . . . Brand lives in hope and this is a very upbeat book. He plainly thinks we’ll get there in the end. The greens are going to have to grow up. This book should help get them out of the nursery.”

  —Bryan Appleyard, Literary Review (UK)

  “The brilliantly original Stewart Brand, in his new book Whole Earth Discipline, has a whole chapter on the environmental movment’s age-old divide between the ‘romantics’ and the ‘scientists.’ He also sees a new category emerging: the ‘engineers.’ His view: the environmental movement now needs more problem-solving engineers, fewer idealists or detached scientists. And his point is well taken as we look to mitigate climate change in the coming years. The hardheaded engineers of the future may be the last best hope for a green energy revolution.”

  —John Wihbey, Huffingtonpost.com

  “Brand confronts the lazy illusions of fundamentalists. His messages are vital: reconciling the protection of the global environment with the reasonable aspirations of poor countries will require tough thinking.”

  —Paul Collier, author of The Bottom Billion

  “A rich, compelling guide to how old school wisdom can combine with new technologies to help civilization survive man-made climate change. But it should be read as much for its dissection of the way ideologies distort decision making on science and technology.”

  —Becky Hogge, The New Statesman

  “This is an absolutely seminal work, extraordinarily well written, a tour de force of so many interconnected worlds and lives and studies. It could be one of the most important books of the decade.”

  —Larry Brilliant, president, Skoll Urgent Threats Fund

  “Rethinking and recalibration are hard, and there is a lot about Whole Earth Discipline that will be argued, vehemently. Brand, a challenging but trusted thinker, is a good place to start an essential rethinking process. Brand’s Whole Earth Catalog and Coevolution Quarterly were innovative crystallizations and guides to the ‘back to the land’ movements of the late ’60s and early ’70s. . . . Reinvention: are we up for that? We’d really best get started.”

  —Scott Walker, Orion

  “Orthodoxy is the enemy of invention. Despair an insult to the imagination. In this extraordinary manifesto, Stewart Brand charts a way forward that shatters conventional thinking, and yet leaves one brimming with hope. It has been years since I have read a book that in so many ways changed the way I think about so many fundamental issues.”

  —Wade Davis, author of One River

  “In the face of imminent climate change, we must search for innovative high-tech solutions and embrace what Brand calls ‘the freedom to try things.’ This thoroughly researched and highly readable book presents a compelling if controversial argument for how best to confront the challenges ahead.”

  —Aaron Cohen, The Futurist

  “If you care about the future of the planet or about the contest between dispassionate discourse and crusading zeal, read this book from cover to cover and get ready to join the fierce debate it will spark.”

  —Paul Romer, economist

  “A tour de force of persuasion, using the urgency of climate change to re-examine environmental orthodoxy . . . Even if you disagree with Stewart’s conclusions, though, you will be far smarter by the time you finish the book. It is a backstage tour of a remarkable mind. Read it, pass it on, act on it.”

  —Tim O’Reilly, Goodreads.com

  “Arguably Brand’s most important and certainly his most urgent [book] . . . dire scenarios are followed by bold solutions.”

  —Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

  “Cities are green. Nuclear energy is green. Genetic engineering is green. Don’t believe it? Read the book and be convinced. Stewart Brand’s pragmatism could save the planet and us.”

  —Sir Gordon Conway, author of The Doubly Green Revolution

  “This year’s must-read for anyone who considers himself an open-minded green.”

  —Mark Lynas, author of Six Degrees, in The New Statesman

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  WHOLE EARTH DISCIPLINE

  Stewart Brand trained originally as an ecologist. His legendary Whole Earth Catalog (1968-1985) won the National Book Award in 1972. Brand, whose previous books include The Media Lab, How Buildings Learn, and The Clock of the Long Now, is the president and cofounder of The Long Now Foundation and cofounder of Global Business Network. He lives with his wife, Ryan Phelan, on a tugboat in San Francisco Bay.

  PENGUIN BOOKS

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  First published in the United States of America by Viking Penguin,

  a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 2009

  Published in Penguin Books with a new afterword 2010

  Copyright © Stewart Brand, 2009, 2010 All rights reserved

  Portions of Chapters 2 and 3 appeared as “City Planet” in Strategy + Business, Spring 2006.