Two views of our planet's future

摘要

Environmentalists Stewart Brand and Bill McKibben mostly agree that the vital signs of our planet are worrying, but differ markedly in what they think should be done about it. Both accept that Earth has warmed by 0.8 ℃ since 1880, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising, oceans are becoming more acidic, species are being driven into extinction and a larger global population and growing economies are destabilizing Earth systems and the biotic world. Brand favours technological fixes to stabilize the climate and maintain economic growth; McKibben proposes a more decentralized andrnresilient course. Taken together, their accounts raise questions about our collective failure to respond adequately to the global emergencyrnand why it has been so difficult for those who presume to lead to do so.