Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The world is full of good ideas and solutions to the crisis. But good ideas cannot trump the laws of physics, and solutions will only be such if they are deployed in a manifestly different way than our current high-energy, high-material, high-consumption regime demands.
Philippe Bihouix is an engineer and the author of The Age of Low Tech, which examines why technological innovation is just not going to be enough to get our way out of our resource bottlenecks, the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis, and rising inequality. On the episode, he lays out his thesis, explaining from an engineering perspective the constraints of renewable energy, the fallacy of a circular economy, the reality of how our metals are used and recycled, and the importance of the longevity of demand side technology. Instead, Philippe calls for "techno-discernment", a collective approach for choosing what we're using our finite resources for—and what we're choosing to leave in the ground for future generations.
🔴 The Age of Low Tech - US version: bookshop.org/a/122791/9781529213270
🔴 The Age of Low Tech - UK version: uk.bookshop.org/a/17225/9781529213270
🌎 Support Planet: Critical: patreon.com/planetcritical
🌎 Subscribe: planetcritical.com
🌎 BSky: https://bsky.app/profile/racheldonald.bsky.social
The world is full of good ideas and solutions to the crisis. But good ideas cannot trump the laws of physics, and solutions will only be such if they are deployed in a manifestly different way than our current high-energy, high-material, high-consumption regime demands.
Philippe Bihouix is an engineer and the author of The Age of Low Tech, which examines why technological innovation is just not going to be enough to get our way out of our resource bottlenecks, the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis, and rising inequality. On the episode, he lays out his thesis, explaining from an engineering perspective the constraints of renewable energy, the fallacy of a circular economy, the reality of how our metals are used and recycled, and the importance of the longevity of demand side technology. Instead, Philippe calls for "techno-discernment", a collective approach for choosing what we're using our finite resources for—and what we're choosing to leave in the ground for future generations.
🔴 The Age of Low Tech - US version: bookshop.org/a/122791/9781529213270
🔴 The Age of Low Tech - UK version: uk.bookshop.org/a/17225/9781529213270
🌎 Support Planet: Critical: patreon.com/planetcritical
🌎 Subscribe: planetcritical.com
🌎 BSky: https://bsky.app/profile/racheldonald.bsky.social
