On the Quantity and Quality of Women

A reader expressed concern about the few number of women he finds participating in overshoot discussions and asked what my experience has been.

I replied that the quantity of women was lower than men, but the quality was higher.

Here are some fine examples of female intellect and awareness…

Alice Friedemann is a self-described energy geek that runs the website http://energyskeptic.com. I recently posted a very interesting interview with her here. I am currently reading her latest book “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation” and I hope to write a book review when done.

Gail Tverberg researches the relationship between energy and the economy and regularly publishes superb essays on her site Our Finite World. I have to date posted 13 of her essays, more than any other author, which demonstrates my high regard for her work. Gail is a truth seeker rather than a belief defender. She has a gift for bringing fresh and clear perspectives to complex topics.

Gail Zawacki writes on her blog Wit’s End and has produced an impressive portfolio of essays on overshoot and the damage we are doing to the planet. Gail has been a solitary voice trying to bring attention to the decline of trees worldwide due to ground level ozone that results from our use of fossil energy. I discussed Gail’s work in more detail here and provided links to a few of my favorite essays.

Nicole Foss has a razor-sharp mind and one of the best big picture understandings on the planet. She has a large catalog of work on her site The Automatic Earth but publishes less frequently now. I posted a couple of my favorites by Nicole here.

Donella H. “Dana” Meadows was a co-author of the prescient but sadly ignored book “The Limits to Growth” which I wrote about here. I posted a link to an excellent talk on sustainable systems by Dana here.

Lierre Keith is a radical environmentalist and author of one of my favorite books, which I have read at least 3 times, “The Vegetarian Myth”. In this book Lierre discusses the health hazards of vegan and vegetarian diets based on her own experience, and debunks the myth that these diets are less harmful to the planet. Lierre makes a very strong argument that the only form of agriculture than might be sustainable is one with a foundation of grass-fed animals.