Sterling Trashes Kunstler

Posted by Big Gav

I'm not a great fan of James Kunstler but I didn't think this Viridian Note is one of Bruce's better efforts - he just comes off as very cranky. Yes - it does point out some of the inconsistencies and unlikely conclusions in "The Long Emergency", but it's not (in my opinion anyway) a work that was meant to be taken entirely seriously anyway - the point it that it raises awareness of an important issue to people who may not otherwise have noticed it.

Aren't there better targets for Viridians to take aim at (in the same way that peak oilers should be able to find better targets to complaing about than Amory Lovins) ? A reasonable amount of peak oil fear can actually encourage people to look at Viridian solutions (which I'm sure the average person would find much more palatable than Kunstler's vision of a return to the 19th century).

1 comments

JMS says 6:52 AM

Yeah, I saw this and there is one section in particular I'll be responding too - mainly the Viridian and Worldchanging types object to the fact that Kunstler is basically saying the future is going to suck.

I give odds to Kunstler, but I'm glad Worldchanging and Amory Lovins is around.

I think I read Sterling's "The Difference Engine" when I was twelve.