Reading Time: 4 minutes If humans weren’t the first intelligent species to evolve on this planet, would we know it?
environmentalism
Posted inEnvironment
Green democracy rising: Latin America and the new environmentalism
Reading Time: 5 minutes On July 26, Colombia’s senate ratified the Escazú Accord, a pan-Latin American and Caribbean agreement that takes a distinctly democratic approach to environmental reform. If the next vote goes as planned, President-elect Gustavo Petro is expected to sign the document after he takes office on August 7. At that point, Colombia will fulfill a commitment […]
Posted inEnvironment
On Earth Day, reasons for climate optimism
Reading Time: 4 minutes The world is really and truly flattening the curve of climate change. Although we can’t stop global warming entirely, we still have a chance to mitigate its effects.
Posted inTech
Why degrowth is (still) wrong
Reading Time: 6 minutes Earlier this month, I wrote an essay against degrowth, the position that drastic reductions to the modern lifestyle are our only hope of saving the planet. I argued that, to the contrary, renewable energy promises a future of greater abundance even as we tread more lightly on the Earth. It’s the very rare case where […]
Posted inTech
Heat pumps will bring secular victory
Reading Time: 3 minutes Fossil fuels pay for Vladimir Putin’s war. The oil and gas that Europe buys from Russia become the bombs and missiles falling on Ukraine. If we had a way to break this dependence, if Europeans no longer relied on Russian gas to heat their homes, we could choke off Putin’s revenue and bring his invasion […]
Posted inTech
Why degrowth is wrong
Reading Time: 4 minutes Americans are obsessed with bigness. We build bigger and bigger houses. We drive bigger and bigger cars. We even eat bigger portions and consume more calories than anyone else, including more meat, the most resource-intensive of foods. In short, we idolize excess. We’re the richest society that’s ever existed, and we consume in a way […]
Posted inTech
Climbing the Kardashev ladder: How civilization survives
Reading Time: 3 minutes The power to control ever-greater amounts of energy is a hallmark of civilization’s progress, and humanity is poised to take the next big step.
Posted inGeneral
The Inflection Decade
Reading Time: 5 minutes This decade is a critical point in the future trajectory of the climate, and we all need to put our shoulders to the wheel
Posted inGeneral
Hurrah for Liberals: Clear Differences
Reading Time: 6 minutes By James A. Haught Many atheists also are progressive “social justice warriors” striving to make life better and more equal for everyone. They include Daylight Atheism contributor James Haught. Here’s a chapter from his 2016 book, Hurrah for Liberals. In tumultuous sociopolitical struggles, a frequent pattern is visible: Conservatives often fight to preserve their own […]
Posted inGeneral
Green Energy Makes Civilization Resilient
Reading Time: 5 minutes Green energy will make civilization more resilient, and fiction and popular imagination hasn’t caught up with this change.