Stop Growth Now!!
Arie Kamphorst
$10.99 (available through Amazon)
In a reversal of convention, Dutch agriculture scientist Arie Kamphorst’s 2008 blog posts are gathered here in paperback form, with a few added postscripts from 2009. Blog posts should be short and pointed, and Kamphorst’s succinct style is suited to the form. In a post titled “Traffic jams,” Kamphorst writes, “In the Netherlands, the most densely populated country in Europe, many measures have been considered to solve this problem [traffic jams]. Stopping the growth of the population and of the economy is not one of them.”
In this slim, easily digested volume, Kamphorst demonstrates that the wealthy countries of the world cannot continue business as usual without dire impacts on life on this planet. The book is especially interesting for US readers, who often do not have access to information such as the amount of acreage in Africa being purchased by Asian countries to provide ag land for their citizens. This book will scare you, and it’s meant to: how much do you know about the desertification of Southern Europe and global warming’s domino effects? Humans have a great capacity for denial, and Kamphorst tries to counter delusional thinking, such as that nuclear power plants will keep the party roaring. This is a good gift book for reality-seekers everywhere. Pass it around.
