From Apocalypse to Way of Life: Environmental Crisis in the American Century (review)

Frederick Buell examines how public discourse on environmental concerns has changed over the last four decades. He argues that in the 1960s and 1970s expressions of concern carried an apocalyptic tone that has since been transformed into acceptance, even as our society hurls ever faster toward ecological disaster. This change is not merely the result of people growing numb to crisis. Rather, our current discourse has been shaped by ideologues who cling to the notion that the natural world is limitless and infinitely stable, on the one hand, and optimistic globalizers blind to the ecological consequences of their policies on the other.

Buell, a cultural theorist, opens his three-part book by examining the politics of denial, focusing on the strategies that a loosely connected but extensive network of Reagan-style conservatives—talk-show hosts, pseudoscientists, and political operatives—have used to discredit environmentalism. Buell argues that they have distorted the past and undermined serious scientific inquiry while portraying themselves as the true stewards of America and as victims of Chicken Little extremists. He then goes on to examine the rhetoric of those who carry the mantle of environmental reform. Here, Al Gore and proponents of "ecological modernization" occupy center stage, calling for societies to develop in a sustainable fashion. Buell suggests, however, that the gap between their hopes and the ruthlessness of globalization grows larger each day, undermining the integrity of their vision.

In part two, Buell's main goal is to show that environmental concerns actually do amount to a crisis. First, he launches into a comprehensive rehearsal of the many problems we face, from sprawl and the loss of place to climate change and the destruction of forests and fisheries. Then, he takes a more intimate look at toxic chemicals entering the natural environment and the potential spread of infectious diseases in an ecologically unstable world. Next, he surveys how new technologies have complicated the problem, severing any connection between individuals and the ecological systems that sustain them. Part three examines the ways in which various writers have represented this state of crisis. According to Buell, they have gone through several stages, starting with "ecoapocalypse" and ending with a view of the future that supports a culture of "hyperexuberance," a culture that not only ignores ecological limits but which blindly dwells in the apocalyptic future we once feared.

All in all, this book is not about technological change and its interaction with society. True, science and technology are present—genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and cybernetics all make an appearance—but they are not a critical component of Buell's analysis. Indeed, Buell is not particularly interested in how the portrayal of technology has changed over time. Rather, he discusses technology from a distance, describing its role in allowing masses of people to live in an unsustainable, hyperexuberant fashion, and cites others who examine technology more closely.

Buell is widely read, able to cite political pundits, environmental writers, and fiction writers with equal ease. This is both a strength and weakness, allowing him to jump between serious monographs and popular entertainment (and everything in between) in the same chapter, sometimes in the same paragraph, giving equal weight to each as evidence in his larger argument. Although this approach is effective (and appropriate) in some instances, it also has problems. It works well when examining representations of crisis (part three), less well when examining the politics of crisis (part one), and not well at all when examining the nature of crisis (part two). In the end, I suspect that most historians, of technology and otherwise, will find this extended essay frustrating due to the odd way in which evidence is employed (and not employed). At the same time, they will have to concede that Buell's argument is informed, interesting, and worth hearing.