Defining Ecomodernism

Ecomodernism can essentially be summarized by two key assertions:

Goals of ecomodernists: They advocate for reducing humanity's environmental footprint and expanding space for nature.

What they oppose: The belief that the solution lies in a simplistic “harmonization with nature.”

Ecomodernists posed challenging questions: Are traditional solutions truly the best? Is nature inherently superior to human-made alternatives? Should we rely solely on nature for our material needs? Is local always better for wildlife?

Though now it seems logical, ecomodernism faced significant resistance upon its introduction. Many environmentalists of the time doubted its efficacy and questioned the intentions of its supporters.

The Critical Year: 2034

By 2034, three decades of efforts to mitigate climate change and habitat destruction had largely failed. Existing policies were ineffective, and leaders sought new strategies.

A snapshot of the situation in 2034 included:

• Significant investment in solar and wind energy, supported by inexpensive methane gas in the US and EU, yet CO2 emissions remained alarmingly high.
• Coal remained prevalent in India, China, Africa, and surprisingly, Germany.
• Forests and farmland were cleared for bioenergy crops.
• The EU's prohibition on gene-edited crops, leading to over half of its food being organic, inadvertently impacted poorer nations reliant on these technologies.
• The catastrophic melting of Greenland glaciers and mass extinctions in the Amazon during the early 2030s compelled global leaders to search for solutions.

These policies not only failed to effectively cut carbon emissions but also exacerbated pressure on the dwindling wilderness, particularly in economically disadvantaged regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Fast forward to today, and our ecosystems are recovering, largely due to the principles of ecomodernism. As we commemorate its centennial, we must reflect: how did ecomodernism help us navigate the challenges of the 2030s?

Advocating for Universal Access to Prosperity

One of the insights gained from ecomodernism is the understanding that all individuals deserve access to quality education, health care, and economic opportunity—an idea that wasn’t universally accepted a century ago. Many affluent individuals in the West dismissed the potential for modernity in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, arguing that not everyone aspired to a modern lifestyle.

Widespread fears regarding population growth in Africa and Asia carried dark, racist undertones, presuming that improving consumption levels for the world's poorest would harm the environment.

Ecomodernism revealed the truth: no one prefers inadequate sanitation, relentless labor, or lack of clean energy. Given the choice, people favor modern conveniences.

By detaching energy consumption from ecological processes, we lifted countless individuals out of poverty without harming the planet. Economic opportunities, particularly for women in developing nations, significantly reduced birth rates.

Emphasizing Clean, Energy-Dense Fuels

Human history has largely involved transitioning to fuels with higher energy densities: from wood to coal, whale oil, mineral oil, gas, uranium, and hydrogen. Each transition required viable substitutes.

Historically, England was heavily forested until the 16th century when most trees were cleared for fuel. The rise of coal provided an alternative, though it was initially met with resistance due to its unpleasant characteristics.

The eventual switch to coal was unavoidable, driven by the depletion of trees and advancements in chimney technology that alleviated smoke issues. This transition laid the groundwork for the first Industrial Revolution, which significantly reduced poverty.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the hunt for whale oil led to the near extinction of these creatures. The advent of oil extraction from the ground provided an alternative, saving whales from further exploitation.

The push for wind, solar, and biomass energy in the 2010s and 2020s contradicted the principle of energy density. These energy sources required extensive harvesting and could not fully substitute oil and gas.

The silver lining was that nuclear energy existed as a viable alternative. However, similar to coal in its early days, nuclear faced stigma. The climate crisis, air pollution, carbon taxes, habitat destruction, and energy poverty eventually directed societies toward nuclear power, a shift accelerated by ecomodernist ideas.

Switching to nuclear power eliminated CO2 emissions and diminished reliance on harmful fossil fuel extraction.

Ecomodernism encouraged a reevaluation of nuclear power as a clean, energy-dense, low-land-use solution with minimal waste and carbon emissions.

A Franco-Chinese initiative at the 2034 UN climate talks advocated for coordinated nuclear deployment, resulting in a revival of the “Atoms for Peace” program and the development of open-source, factory-built nuclear reactors.

Minimizing Material and Land Footprints

Ecomodernism emphasized leveraging technology to lessen land use. In the 2020s, around half of all habitable land was devoted to agriculture, a statistic hard to fathom today given the resurgence of global forest cover.

The first triumph for ecomodernists was providing affluent countries with alternatives to meat and dairy, the most resource-intensive food sources. The introduction of synthetic meats based on plant proteins made reducing meat consumption significantly easier.

The second breakthrough was the global acceptance of innovative technologies like gene-edited crops and indoor vertical farming, which allowed for the rewilding of extensive areas.

Recognizing the Value of Small and Local

Ecomodernists acknowledged that urban sprawl is an inefficient, land-consuming approach to community design, fostering car dependency and isolating neighborhoods from essential services.

In urban planning, small and local is advantageous. Unlike traditional environmentalists who favored rural living, ecomodernists believed cities could be both densely populated and environmentally friendly. Achieving this requires well-planned public transport, pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, and ample green spaces.

The Importance of Global Perspectives

While traditional environmentalists often resisted globalization, ecomodernists recognized the benefits of global markets in producing necessary goods with minimal environmental impact. They demonstrated that agricultural intensification could yield more food on less land while using fewer resources and generating less pollution.

Furthermore, small-scale farming was identified as a poverty trap, with urban migration offering a more promising path to prosperity.

The Future of Ecomodernism

Are the principles of ecomodernism still relevant today? Certainly. The repercussions of 20th and 21st-century damage persist. Forests will take generations to recover, and while coral reefs show some signs of healing, fish populations remain precariously low.

Nonetheless, with the tools and mindset fostered by ecomodernism, we are well-equipped to tackle these challenges head-on.

Special thanks to Ben Heard for sharing the story of how oil contributed to whale conservation.

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