Green Dreams

Tanner Mirrlees is Professor of Communication and Digital Media Studies at Ontario Tech University, Canada. Imre Szeman is the inaugural Director of the Institute for Environment, Culture and Society and Professor of Human Geography at the University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Comfort of Solutions1. The EV Illusion2. Inventing Techno-Optimism 3. California Dreamin’4. Code Green5. The Dream Machine6. Power PlaysConclusion: Exit StrategiesCoda: The New Laws of NatureBibliographyIndex

In Green Dreams: Why Technology Can’t Save the World, Mirrlees and Szeman precisely skewer the enticing lure of green techno-optimism—the false promise, often employed by politicians, that "green" technology will save us from impending climate chaos. Techno-optimism does not threaten the status quo of capitalism and economic growth. It is a false and dangerous promise. Thankfully, Green Dreams rejects techno-pessimism and the risk of despair. Truth telling is foundational to building a new and more radical hope. As this book underscores “Ignoring earthly limits is not optimism, but delusion.” The hope for the future lies in our ability to follow Green Dreams’ nine new laws of nature. Optimism stems from the human spirit and Mother Earth herself. Everything is connected to everything else, as are we all.