I am an environmentalist and founder member of the Greens but I bow my head in shame at the thought that our original good intentions should have been so misunderstood and misapplied. We never intended a fundamentalist Green movement that rejected all energy sources other than renewable, nor did we expect the Greens to cast aside our priceless ecological heritage because of their failure to understand that the needs of the earth are not separable from human needs. We need to take care that the spinning windmills do not become like the statues on Easter Island, monuments of a failed civilisation. [emphasis mine]You can read the full letter by following this link and selecting the Lovelock letter at the foot of the post.
James, originator of the Gaia theory, joins a growing list of erstwhile devotees who are having doubts about their Green roots. Earlier this month I drew attention to the apology from Mark Lynas about his opposition to GM crops. A founder member of Greenpeace Patrick Moore has long since renounced that organisation and many of the causes it espouses.
Now 93 years old, James Lovelock has come to support nuclear energy and, more recently, fracking.