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quixoticreader13's review
3.0
Interesting and useful for debate, but just an odd, odd series of arguments here.
mburnamfink's review
4.0
The Breakthrough Institute has a mission that half genius and half madness: fixing the environmental movement. In this volume, Shellenberger and Nordhaus introduce a group of deep thinkers on the anthropocene; the geological era when human activity composes a primary part of planetary cycles. The core theme is that we cannot retreat from technology, and that to survive in the 21st century, we must embrace our monsters, and become good stewards of the Earth.
I buy this, but I wonder how effective "Love Your Monsters" is at reaching those who haven't drunk the Breakthrough kool-aid. Shellenberger and Nordhaus are ex-Berkeley hippies, and their critiques of the Left's post-material culture, which is intrinsic elitist and self-contradictory, are spot on, but how influential are Greens, and how many are going to be converted by hippie punching? It's fun, but I want to see Breakthrough reach out to the pro-fossil fuel conservatives who are standing in the way of transforming the energy system, and the vast unengaged middle that has no idea what's going on, politically or technologically.
((Disclosure: I served as a Breakthrough Generation Fellow in the summer of 2011))
I buy this, but I wonder how effective "Love Your Monsters" is at reaching those who haven't drunk the Breakthrough kool-aid. Shellenberger and Nordhaus are ex-Berkeley hippies, and their critiques of the Left's post-material culture, which is intrinsic elitist and self-contradictory, are spot on, but how influential are Greens, and how many are going to be converted by hippie punching? It's fun, but I want to see Breakthrough reach out to the pro-fossil fuel conservatives who are standing in the way of transforming the energy system, and the vast unengaged middle that has no idea what's going on, politically or technologically.
((Disclosure: I served as a Breakthrough Generation Fellow in the summer of 2011))
theknitpick's review
3.0
This book is solidly in the middle for me. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. It had moments of surprise for me, it increased my knowledge in this area, and it provided me with a new perspective on a subject I thought I knew pretty well. I never thought of environmentalists/liberals as being anti-technology! But this book provided me with lots of evidence on this point. I’m sure that this is not the case for ever environmentalist/liberal. This book has, however, made a strong case for technology’s ability to aid humanity in environmentalism, and that the potentially unexpected side-effects and risks are worth it for the end result. I can say that I agree for the most part, though I do remain slightly skeptical.
I am counting this book as my "book published before Jan. 1st, 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads" entry for Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge 2019.
I am counting this book as my "book published before Jan. 1st, 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads" entry for Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge 2019.
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