Are you optimistic about technology? Let’s talk about why. Could the majority of our proposed technological solutions be doing little more than kicking the can down the road towards ecological collapse? Politicians and economists speak of the ability for technological innovation to boost and grow economies, yet where does their techno optimism come from? Do technologies hold intrinsic values or are they neutral tools that are misused by a species with the wrong intentions?

In Extraenvironmentalist #37 we discuss technological optimism with Dr. Michael Huesemann. Michael explains his fifteen year study into environmental science and philosophies of technology as outlined in his recent book Techno-Fix, co-written with his wife Joyce Huesemann. Is there an inherent reason that the United States is the most technologically optimistic culture in the world? We ask if he has advice for students who are thinking about careers in advanced science and about the value systems embedded in technological systems.

Be sure to visit the Techno-Fix website and to pick up a copy of Techno-Fix if you want to learn more about the limitations of technology in addressing our global problems.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:54:57 — 105.3MB) | Embed

Podcast (96kbps): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:54:46 — 78.9MB) | Embed

// Music (in order of appearance)
Dusty Springfield – Spooky via IndieShuffle
St. Lucia – We Got It Wrong via Consequence of Sound
CHLLNGR – Change  via Soundcloud
Santigold – Disparate Youth via Skeetbeatz
Summer Camp – Losing My Mind via All Things Go Music

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)
[First Break]
Jason Silva – Techno-Optimism
Bush on Google
Ray Kurzweil Explains the Coming Singularity
Michio Kaku – Are We Ready for the Coming Age of Abundance
[Second Break]
MPR: America’s Crumbling Infrastructure
Activists Publicly Pray For Lower Gas Prices
[End]
Alan Watts – A Conversation With Myself

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