Rupert Read

Ecological philosopher and green activist

  • Writings
  • Audio and video
  • Books
  • Academic CV
  • Events
  • Why I accept donations
  • In the media
  • Contact
  • Writings
  • Audio and video
  • Books
  • Academic CV
  • Events
  • Why I accept donations
  • In the media
  • Contact
  • Image of a sunset from space
    Writings

    Is “longtermism” the cure or the sickness?

    5 October 2022 /

    This article was first published by ABC Religion and Ethics here. Central to my work in recent years has been an anguished concern that our species and our political and economic systems are dangerously short-termist. I contend that we need to become long-termist. We need to practice precaution, looking before we leap. We need to plan for the seventh — and, indeed, the seven-hundred-and-seventy-seventh — generation. And so we need to overcome the tendencies of politicians to look no further than the next election (or even the next news cycle), of companies to look no further than the next quarterly report, and increasingly of Stock Market investors to look no…

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    A still from the film Avatar 2.

    Avatar 2 should make us completely rethink our relationship with the planet

    21 December 2022

    ‘Stubborn Optimism’ Will Pave the Way to Climate Disaster

    5 December 2022

    The King’s Speech

    21 December 2022
  • Writings

    How to save the Precautionary Principle: Some thoughts for Lords and Ladies

    30 April 2018 /

    Introduction What is the Precautionary Principle [PP]? The PP aims to ensure a high level of environmental protection through preventative decision-taking in the case of risk and particularly of uncertainty. It is applied in circumstances where there are reasonable grounds for concern that an activity could cause harm, but where there is uncertainty about the probability of the risk and the degree of harm and some gaps in the information currently available. The PP is a vital tool for defending humanity against itself, a way of having the humility of recognizing that we are living in a world that we will never fully understand, let alone control. The PP has…

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    Biodiversity: Targets, Optimism, and Lies

    21 December 2022

    ‘Stubborn Optimism’ Will Pave the Way to Climate Disaster

    5 December 2022
    Image of a sunset from space

    Is “longtermism” the cure or the sickness?

    5 October 2022
  • Writings

    The Precautionary Principle: the basis of a post-GMO ethic

    18 April 2018 /

    A swathe of Ecologist articles have recently considered various different aspects of the case against GM crops. The purpose of the current article is slightly different. It is to take a step back, and think through systematically the reasons why GM crops are (and will for the foreseeable future probably remain) wrong. From the point of view that is increasingly, I believe, becoming understood as the ethical basis for such reasoning: that of the Precautionary Principle. GMOs have unknown tail risks, that is, unknown potential risks of ruin that they harbour as possibilities. No rigorous risk analysis has been done, with regard to these. Nor has any analysis been done…

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    Mourn and organise: On the power of truth in a world awash with lies

    21 December 2022
    Greenpeace protesters at the Conservative Party conference.

    Who Voted For This, Liz?

    5 October 2022
    A still from the film Avatar 2.

    Avatar 2 should make us completely rethink our relationship with the planet

    21 December 2022
  • Writings

    APPG briefing on the Precautionary Principle and climate change

    6 March 2018 /

    In March 2018 I delivered two briefings to the APPG on Agreocology for Sustainable Food and Farming. The below document is the briefing on the importance of maintaining the Precautionary Principle for Climate Change, after the UK leaves the European Union. The other briefing was on animal welfare.

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    Just Stop Oil protesters glued themselves to the wall of the National Gallery in London and threw tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers on 14 October 2022. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

    Will disruptive action help save the planet?

    30 October 2022
    A still from the film Avatar 2.

    Avatar 2 should make us completely rethink our relationship with the planet

    21 December 2022

    “Adversity is the first path to truth”: How climate grief could be the making of us

    10 October 2022
  • Writings

    APPG briefing on the Precautionary Principle and animal welfare

    6 March 2018 /

    In March 2018 I delivered two briefings to the APPG on Agreocology for Sustainable Food and Farming. The below document is the briefing on the importance of maintaining the Precautionary Principle for animal welfare, after the UK leaves the European Union. The other briefing was on climate change.

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    Biodiversity: Targets, Optimism, and Lies

    21 December 2022

    Mourn and organise: On the power of truth in a world awash with lies

    21 December 2022
    Image of a sunset from space

    Is “longtermism” the cure or the sickness?

    5 October 2022
  • Writings

    Understanding, safeguarding and strengthening the Precautionary Principle, in the context of the Brexit negotiations

    25 October 2017 /

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    Just Stop Oil protesters glued themselves to the wall of the National Gallery in London and threw tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers on 14 October 2022. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

    Will disruptive action help save the planet?

    30 October 2022

    Mourn and organise: On the power of truth in a world awash with lies

    21 December 2022

    “Adversity is the first path to truth”: How climate grief could be the making of us

    10 October 2022
  • Writings

    How should regulators deal with uncertainty? Insights from the Precautionary Principle

    27 January 2017 /

    One September morning, the Lord Mayor of London was called to inspect a fire that had recently started in the City. Believing that it posed little threat, he refused to permit the demolition of nearby houses, probably due to the expense of compensating the owners. The fire spread and ultimately destroyed most of the city. The Great Fire of London had begun. Only when the fire became too extensive to be readily halted did the full extent of the danger become evident. Financial regulators today face a similar challenge preventing financial crises- action causes significant costs to some but the consequences of inaction are much more uncertain. To combat this,…

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    “Adversity is the first path to truth”: How climate grief could be the making of us

    10 October 2022

    Mourn and organise: On the power of truth in a world awash with lies

    21 December 2022
    Just Stop Oil protesters glued themselves to the wall of the National Gallery in London and threw tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers on 14 October 2022. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

    Will disruptive action help save the planet?

    30 October 2022
  • Writings

    Are some risks just too big too take?

    18 January 2017 /

    What is the Precautionary Principle? The Precautionary Principle states that where any action has the potential to cause widespread harm, the burden of proof concerning the absence of harm falls on those advocating the action. While often exercised in the areas of science and technology – particularly those, like genetic engineering and climate science, which have an innate potential for catastrophe – it can also be applied to financial regulation, public health and the highest levels of government policy. Together with Dr Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, and others, Dr Read has developed the Precautionary Principle into something…

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    “Adversity is the first path to truth”: How climate grief could be the making of us

    10 October 2022
    Just Stop Oil protesters glued themselves to the wall of the National Gallery in London and threw tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers on 14 October 2022. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

    Will disruptive action help save the planet?

    30 October 2022

    Biodiversity: Targets, Optimism, and Lies

    21 December 2022
  • Audio and video

    The one video to watch on climate, if you have just three minutes

    17 January 2017 /

    This video is a collaborative project between me and Greg Craven, creator of The Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See.

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  • Audio and video

    The Precautionary Principle

    6 December 2016 /

    A video explaining the Precautionary Principle, produced by Samuel Webb (producer) and Maren Albrigtsen (production assistant and voice artist).

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