Stewart Brand: An environmentalist who has learnt a lesson from an economist

Stewart Brand is an erstwhile follower of Paul Ehrlich, an icon of environmentalism and an early pioneer of social computing. Now, according to the New York Times, he considers himself a scientific envrionmentalist in contrast to romatic environmentalists. and he is now favor of genetic engineering, of nuclear energy, population growth and urban sprawl.
What I like best in the NYT article is Brand's reaction to the bet that Paul Ehrlich lost against Julian Simon:

"... Professor Ehrlich’s theories of the coming “age of scarcity” were subsequently challenged by the economist Julian Simon, who bet Mr. Ehrlich that the prices of natural resources would fall during the 1980s despite the growth in population. The prices fell, just as predicted by Professor Simon’s cornucopian theories.

Professor Ehrlich dismissed Professor Simon’s victory as a fluke, but Mr. Brand saw something his mentor didn’t. He considered the bet a useful lesson about the adaptability of humans — and the dangers of apocalyptic thinking."

Would that our politicians who are presently worrying about climate change had the same attitude.

RAEM