Book Review: Whole Earth Discipline

Stewart Brand is one of the iconic founders of the environmental movement, an original old hippy whose influence on the boomer generation should not be understated. With his latest book Whole Earth Discipline he takes that same movement to task for rejecting science and getting sidetracked by ideology at the very time when the practical application of science through engineering and technology may be the only way to save ourselves.

World Has Much at Stake in Nuclear Power Decision

Just days before French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged attendees at a Paris energy conference to buy more nuclear power plants, a very different nuclear power conference was held in Potsdam, Germany. The Brookings Institution and the Global Public Policy Institute convened 35 people from governments, academia, think tanks, and industry to consider nuclear power’s future. Craig Severance offers his own insights, and his conference presentation on why new nuclear power should undergo a rigorous business oriented “Due Diligence” process.

Thinking About the Unthinkable: A U.S.-Iranian Deal

The United States apparently has reached the point where it must either accept that Iran will develop nuclear weapons at some point if it wishes, or take military action to prevent this. There is a third strategy, however: Washington can seek to redefine the Iranian question. As we have no idea what leaders on either side are thinking, exploring this represents an exercise in geopolitical theory. Let’s begin with the two apparent stark choices.

People power trumps corporate power: R.I.P. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant

Last week I had the honor of speaking with Kathleen Krevetski of Rutland, Vermont who has worked hard to publicize the adverse effects of radiation from nuclear power plants on people’s health, especially on women and children who are the most vulnerable…Thanks to these dedicated activists, the Vermont Senate voted to close Yankee on February 24.