Forward Thinking

In envisioning the future, I think it's fair to say that people divide roughly into two camps: Those who trust technology to save our bacon and those who suspect it will seal our doom. History certainly gives fodder to both camps. The paradox of progress is that things get worse even as they get better.

A too-short piece in a special edition of New York Times Business section ("The Business of Green"), examines some of this stuff: the promises, perils, uncertainties, and unintended consequences that attend technological development, with special attention given to nuclear energy, genetically modified organisms and nanotechnology. As I say, it's far too short to do the subject justice, but worth a read nonetheless, if only to get us thinking and asking hard questions. Ditto for the rest of the section, which covers a wide range of topic from environmental subsidies to greenwashing.