[pjc50]

The "up" arc: penicillin, the space programme

The "down" arc: thalidomide, Chernobyl, Challenger, oil crisis, "Silent Spring", global warming, and the rise of environmentalism.

(someone have that graph about all the good things stagnating in 1971?)

[guiriduro]

What's "down" about environmentalism? Even thalidomide has its virtues, e.g. in Lupus treatment. You just should never give it to pregnant mothers.

[pjc50]

There's what people sometimes call the dark green / bright green distinction: can we solve the problems caused by technology with other, different, technology?

Environmentalism and precautionary principle thinking in general steer away from techno-optimism by asking "what could go wrong with this?"