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[Phys-l] McKibben Versus Hedges' Clash of Worldviews



I transmitted this post to Phys-L on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:24:46-0800 but as of 17 Dec 2009 20:28:00-0800 it had not shown up on the archives at <https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/archives>. Here's another try:

Some Phys-L subscribers may be interested in "McKibben Versus Hedges' Clash of Worldviews" [AlterNet (2009)]. The AlterNet editor states [bracketed by lines "EEEEEE. . . . ."; my insert at ". . . . .[[insert]]. . . . ."]:

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The following two articles below by Bill McKibben and Chris Hedges illustrate a key point of debate in thinking about how to solve our environmental crisis. Environmental activist and writer McKibben, in "YES! Magazine" <http://www.yesmagazine.org/> on October 15, writes that we can't let the atmosphere contain more than 350 million parts per million of carbon dioxide, or else face total environmental catastrophe, problem being that we've already passed this number. He's helped organize a day of action on October 24 to push and make it happen.

Chris Hedges' response in TruthDig <http://www.truthdig.com> channels the radical thinking of Derek Jensen . . . [[<http://tinyurl.com/yco3fyq>]]. . . . . and argues that there is no possible way to address the release of carbon dioxide without addressing the way industrial society without addressing corporate power: "The reason the ecosystem is dying is not because we still have a dryer in our basement. It is because corporations look at everything, from human beings to the natural environment, as exploitable commodities. It is because consumption is the engine of corporate profits." A very important debate, arguably on potentially the most important issue of our lives --
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Compare the Hedges/Jensen dim view of capitalism with that of Gus Speth (2009) in "The Bridge at the Edge of the World." The Yale University Press blurb reads:

"How serious are the threats to our environment? Here is one measure of the problem: if we continue to do exactly what we are doing, with NO growth in the human population or the world economy, the world in the latter part of this century will be unfit to live in. Of course human activities are not holding at current levels-they are accelerating, dramatically-and so, too, is the pace of climate disruption, biotic impoverishment, and toxification. In this book Gus Speth, author of "Red Sky at Morning" and a widely respected environmentalist, begins with the observation that the environmental community has grown in strength and sophistication, but the environment has continued to decline, to the point that we are now at the edge of catastrophe. SPETH CONTENDS THAT THIS SITUATION IS A SEVERE INDICTMENT OF THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL SYSTEM WE CALL MODERN CAPITALISM. [My CAPS.] Our vital task is now to change the operating instructions for today's destructive world economy before it is too late. The book is about how to do that."

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands.
<rrhake@earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/>
<http://HakesEdStuff.blogspot.com/>
<http://iub.academia.edu/RichardHake>


REFERENCES
AlterNet. 2009. "McKibben Versus Hedges' Clash of Worldviews: How Do We Solve the Environmental Crisis?" 24 October; online at <http://tinyurl.com/y8cnjyz>. "Bill McKibben believes we must reduce our carbon emissions immediately, or else face disaster. Chris Hedges says that until we defeat corporate power, we can't address anything."

Lorinc, J. 2009. "Q & A: Economics and the Environment." NYT Green Inc. blog; interview with Speth; online at
<http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/q-a-economics-and-the-environment/>.

Speth, G. 2009. "The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability," Yale University Press; publisher's information at <http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300151152>. Amazon.com information at <http://tinyurl.com/ydwgjcl>; note the searchable "Look Inside" feature. See also Lorinc (2009) and Speth's website at <http://www.thebridgeattheedgeoftheworld.com/>.