Tag Archives: Rational optimism

TED Talk: Matt Ridley – “When ideas have sex”

I recently finished Matt Ridley’s book, The Rational Optimist. As I wrote here, ‘Molly Ivins said, “It’s hard to argue against cynics–they always sound smarter than optimists because they have so much evidence on their side,” but she never met Matt Ridley, the Rational Optimist. He has evidence that says we need to keep goingContinue reading “TED Talk: Matt Ridley – “When ideas have sex””

1.4 earths: sustainability and overshoot, or 6 earths and the moon for dessert

I like to think of myself as a good person of the Boy Scout variety–trustworthy, brave, kind, helpful, etc.–except without the homophobia. You probably like to think the same (of yourself, not me). Well, according to the Global Footprint Network’s “Footprint Calculator” it would take six earths if all 6.7 billion of us lived aContinue reading “1.4 earths: sustainability and overshoot, or 6 earths and the moon for dessert”