In April, 2015, a number of prominent environmental thinkers published the Ecomodernist Manifesto, which states, in part “we affirm one long-standing environmental ideal, that humanity must shrink its impacts on the environment to make more room for nature, while we reject another, that human societies must harmonize with nature to avoid economic and ecological collapse.”  According to the ecomodernists, human technology is sufficiently advanced that we can divorce ourselves from the ecosystems that have historically sustained us.  Once that’s done, we can keep the natural realm and the human realm separate, leaving more room for nature.

On Monday, May 16th, Eight O’Clock Buzz host Brian Standing hosted a panel discussion on ecomodernism.  Panel members included:

• Cesar Penafiel, Director of Analytics for Environmental Progress
• Jack Williams, Professor, University of Wisconsin Madison’s Department of Geography
• Jerry Jessee, Professor of History at University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
• John Nelson adjunct professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, at the University of Wisconsin Madison