Whole earth discipline
an ecopragmatist manifesto
by Stewart Brand · first published 2009
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Covers environmental problems with pragmatic, sometimes contrarian takes on nuclear power, GMOs, and cities; its chapter on dense cities is singled out as perspective-changing for readers interested in sustainability.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
An icon of the environmental movement outlines a provocative approach for reclaiming our planetAccording to Stewart Brand, a lifelong environmentalist who sees everything in terms of solvable design problems, three profound transformations are under way on Earth right now. Climate change is real and is pushing us toward managing the planet as a whole. Urbanization—half the world's population now lives in cities, and eighty percent will by midcentury—is altering humanity's land impact and wealth. And biotechnology is becoming the world's dominant engineering tool. In light of these changes, Bra
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Mentioned this in another thread, but I've been reading Stewart Brand's "Whole Earth Discipline" [1], and it's very interesting. In particular, I feel persuaded that nuclear power is our big shot at bringing atmospheric levels of CO2 down to manageable levels. Brand was one of the first "Greens".…
on “2014 Was Hottest Year on Record, Surpassing 2010” ↗I read Stewart Brand's 'Whole Earth Discipline' about five years ago, and came away pretty convinced by his pro-nuclear arguments. The price situation has definitely changed dramatically in the last few years, with solar dropping remarkably. So some…
on “Activists who embrace nuclear power” ↗At risk of being redundant (I've mentioned this book a few times), I highly recommend Stewart Brand's "The Whole Earth Discipline". [1] Brand, for those unfamiliar, was a key player in the personal computer revolution of the 1970's. He created the "Whole Earth Catalog", which inspired many of the internet's pioneers, and was a…
on “May is Earth's hottest on record” ↗Stewart Brand in his book "Whole Earth Discipline" — a book I've mentioned countless times here — talks about his role in the early environmentalist movement, and from that vantage point discusses how good intentions lead to a lot of unfortunate outcomes…
on “America’s Top Environmental Groups Have Lost the Plot on Climate Change” ↗A few that I've read recently and liked: Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely Mostly about cognitive biases. Helps you think better by knowing your shortcomings. Whole Earth Discipline by Stewart Brand About protecting the environment, but with interesting takes on nuclear power, GMOs, cities and slums, etc. Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes Made me re-think a lot of things…
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗The Whole Earth Discipline by Stewart Brand is worth reading if this subject interests you. [1]. Brand created the Whole Earth Catalogue, which inspired the first wave of Silicon Valley PC pioneers (Steve Jobs most famously). It's…
on “Cloud brightening experiment tests tool to slow climate change” ↗A good list. I'd add Stewart Brand's book Whole Earth Discipline [1], although some (not me) take issue with him on his support for nuclear power. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Earth_Discipline
on “Learning How to Die in the Anthropocene (2013)” ↗If you're interested, Stuart Brand released a book in 2009 that he calls an "eco-pragmatist manifesto". ( http://www.amazon.com/Whole-Earth-Discipline-Ecopragmatist-M...) the thrust of it is that it's too late to save the earth from humanity; its time to focus on saving humanity from the earth. He comes out in favor of cities, nuclear power, and GM…
on “'Whole Earth Catalog' Demise Party: The Night They Couldn't Give It Away (1971)” ↗Stewart Brand has an interesting take on this in Whole Earth Discipline (which is quite a read) - this is energy we don't know how to use yet. In 100 years, we'll be digging this stuff right up again, because there's energy in there. I'm not typically as utopian - techno…
on “Finland's plan to bury spent nuclear fuel for 100k years” ↗…political beliefs. The less we need to depend on rural land for food, the more people move into cities, the more efficient everything becomes. [1] I'd recommend reading the chapter on Dense Cities from Whole Earth Discipline - totally changed my perspective on cities.
on “The Science Is Clear: Dirty Farm Water Is Making Us Sick” ↗I'm reading Stewart Brand's book "Whole Earth Discipline" right now [1]. Prior to reading the book, I would have had a similar assumption. Turns out that population collapse is potentially very dangerous to the environment. Why? Because a rapid collapse in…
on “Japan’s sexual apathy is endangering the global economy (2013)” ↗> Nuclear power > I didn’t mention nuclear because I don’t know much about it. > See Stewart Brand’s book Whole Earth Discipline for an optimistic > take from a recent convert. (Ironically published five months > before Fukushima, but his points still stand.) I haven't read the book (Whole Earth Discipline), but it seems…
on “What can a technologist do about climate change?” ↗In Stewart Brand’s book “Whole Earth Discipline” he says that a person’s entire lifetime worth of nuclear waste would fit in a can of soda. And from my understanding, that spent fuel can be reused after a certain amount of time. Yucca Mountain is…
on “Bill Gates promises to add his own billions if Congress does nuclear power push” ↗…of solving climate change. As much as I want something like the green new deal to work, it probably won't even make a dent in the grand scheme of things unless they go full nuclear. [1] Stewart brand whole earth discipline
on “We Need a Nuclear New Deal, Not a Green New Deal” ↗…according to what I have read about the favelas it’s like a shadow society basically. I.e. they have their own rules, companies, infrastructure. IIRC the book I read it in was probably Stewart Brand’s “Whole Earth Discipline”.
on “Young people from Brazil's favelas set out to conquer digital world” ↗