Here, in a sentence, is the moral case for fossil fuels, the single thought that can empower us to empower the world: Mankind’s use of fossil fuels is supremely virtuous – because human life is the standard of value, and because using fossil fuels transforms our environment to make it wonderful for human life. AlexContinue reading “On the abuse of logic”
Tag Archives: ecology
On management and control
The I of the basic word I-Thou is different from that of the basic word I-It. Martin Buber, I and Thou (1923) In this week’s essay, I want to discuss the concept of management: not just the management of a company or other organisation, but the notion of control in general. We really, really likeContinue reading “On management and control”
On economic growth
Yes! There will be growth in the spring! Chance, the gardener in the film Being There (1979) It is a truth universally acknowledged that economic growth is a good thing. Well, not quite universally, but it’s the view you’ll find in the mainstream media and on the lips of pretty much every politician and pundit.Continue reading “On economic growth”
On water
Water belongs to us all. Nature did not make the sun one person’s property, nor air, nor water, cool and clear. Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book IV (tr. Michael Simpson) [For World Water Day, 22nd March 2021] Without water, there would be no life. It’s true that certain creatures – the rotifers spring to mind – canContinue reading “On water”
On industrialism
The Industrial Revolution was another one of those extraordinary jumps forward in the story of civilization. – Stephen Gardiner The Industrial Revolution, considered as the onset of industrialism, powered initially by water and then by steam, is usually represented as having been a Good Thing. A lot of people didn’t see it that way atContinue reading “On industrialism”
