April 28, 2020

Michael Moore's controversial new film on the environment

We haven't seen the film, but while we have been one of the few progressive journals noting the usually unmentioned role of population growth in ecological crises, and see this - along with obsession with economic growth - as an important negative matter, we don't think attacking ecologists for their other choices makes much sense.

We do agree with director Jeff Gibbs who said, "I think many young people realize that growth itself – perpetual economic growth on a finite planet is essentially suicide, and that we have to find a different model for how we measure growth, happiness and prosperity."

This does not have to be in place of current environmentalism but in significant addition to it.  

The controversy

2 comments:

amaranth farm said...

It should be required watching. 15 years ago I was writing newspapers and congress critters on the inextricable link between "green" means of energy and fossil fuels. Also the madness of infinite growth on a finite planet. I have written Mckibbon on his hipocracy. I have written you and him on the toxicity of Lithium Ion batteries. Our collective denial of death is too great to make a dent in even the discussion of our situation.

That denial is laid out in detail in what should also be required reading for any human:

https://www.worldcat.org/title/denial-of-death/oclc/658905

Greg Gerritt said...

I watched most of it. it says many things about the environmental movement that are just untrue. in Maine we opposed biomass strongly back in the 1990's. it was a big reaason we tried to ban clearcutting.

it also uses a lot of out of date information.