William Rees

Our obsolescent brains: The climate, economics and overshoot

I consider Canadian ecologist Dr. William Rees to be perhaps the most significant thinker of our times. He is most well known for developing the now ubiquitous concept of ecological footprint. Now in his eighties, he hasn’t been as active in the last few years as he once was, so I was delighted to see this video of his recent talk to the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome.

Dr. Rees has influenced my worldview more than anyone, certainly in this century. If you are even slightly interested in understanding the big picture of how and why Homo sapiens arrived at the undeniably complex predicament we face today, I strongly encourage you to take the time to watch this video. It doesn’t present much that he has not articulated before, but is a recent encapsulation of his remarkable, insightful and for many, disturbing observations. His thoughts are deep and far-reaching, so multiple views may be warranted for full appreciation.