05/29/2026
Interested in Techno-optimism, Ecomodernism, and Narratives of Growth and Progress? Enroll in the summer course today! Dave Rochlin will be instructing during summer session D. To learn more about ERG’s summer sustainability minor courses, please visit https://erg.berkeley.edu/academics/sustainability.
Visual description: This is a promotional video of UC Berkeley's ER 172, a summer session course in "Techno-optimism, Ecomodernism, and Narratives of Growth and Progress," taught by Dave Rochlin. The video opens with the instructor speaking directly to camera, then transitions through three nature B-roll segments — a coastal beach at dusk, a close-up macro shot of a butterfly on a yellow flower, and a misty meadow/wetland at dawn . The Dave Rochlin outlines how to pursue human wellbeing and technological progress without exceeding planetary limits, and how students learn to both embrace and critically examine techno-optimist assumptions.