Ted Nordhaus is a product of the environmentalism movement, but he’s not afraid to criticize his brothers and sisters in arms for strategies that he and his collaborator Michael Shellenberger view as archaic and ineffective. They now refer to themselves as ‘Post-Environmentalists.’
In their new book, “Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility,” Nordhaus and Shellenberger argue that you can’t scare people into acting on the environment. They believe that doom-and-gloom forecasting of the ‘tragedies that will befall us unless we change our ways’ is not the proper way to illicit a strong and active response from a largely apathetic public. Instead, they believe that the green movement should the trumpet the positive results of remaking eco-friendly economies and and energy systems.
Ted Nordhaus, Tuesday on The Bob Edwards Show.
Nordhaus is to co-founder of the progressive organizations The Breakthrough Institute and The Apollo Alliance.
His new book, co-written with Michael Shellenberger is titled: “Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility.”
I really got a lot out of Ted Norhaus interview today. It made me think of things in a whole new way. I always felt people needed to be made aware of and even threatened with what would happen if we don’t start altering our behavior in regard to the environment. After hearing his ideas I think he is absolutely right! We need to go about this in a more positive way to get the interest of those who bury their heads in the sand when they hear these threats of oncoming disaster in the environment.