I’m not into GAIA worship, so a lot of what goes on under the banner of environmentalism is just plain wacko-ism (and to prove my bona fides, my previous house was an active solar house (heat, hot water) and my current one is a passive solar – both my choice). Here’s a bit of nonsense showing that "WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE" crap is just that: crap.
First, a bit of George Carlin (NSFW):
(H/T: Washington Examiner)
And a few dire predictions that turned out to be not even worth the horse manure used to spout them:
Earth Day Predictions, 1970"We have about five more years at the outside to do something." – Kenneth Watt, ecologist
"Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind." – George Wald, Harvard Biologist
"We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation." – Barry Commoner, Washington University biologist
"Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and possible extinction." – New York Times editorial, the day after the first Earth Day
"Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years." – Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist
"By…[1975] some experts feel that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur until the decade of the 1980s. – Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist
"It is already too late to avoid mass starvation." – Denis Hayes, chief organizer for Earth Day
"Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions….By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine." – Peter Gunter, professor, North Texas State University
"Scientists have solid experimental and theoretical evidence to support…the following predictions: In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive air pollution…by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half…." – Life Magazine, January 1970
"At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it’s only a matter of time before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land will be usable." – Kenneth Watt, Ecologist
"Air pollution…is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of lives in the next few years alone. – Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist
"We are prospecting for the very last of our resources and using up the nonrenewable things many times faster than we are finding new ones. – Martin Litton, Sierra Club director
"By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate…that there won’t be any more crude oil. You’ll drive up to the pump and say, `Fill ‘er up, buddy,’ and he’ll say, `I am very sorry, there isn’t any.’" – Kenneth Watt, Ecologist
"Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, secretary of the Smithsonian Institute, believes that in 25 years, somewhere between 75 and 80 percent of all the species of living animals will be extinct." – Sen. Gaylord Nelson"The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age." – Kenneth Watt, Ecologist
Notice how often Obama advisor, Paul Ehrlic, is wrong? (H/T: Boortz)
And finally, a good post by my friend, Grant Bosse, from over at NH Watchdog:
Today, we mark the 40th Earth Day by celebrating the greatest environmental program in the history of the world: free market capitalism. Prosperity and property rights lead us to value and protect natural resources. Socialism devalues common goods, and leads to pollution and exhaustion of resources. Compare our environment with that of China or the former Soviet Union.
One of my favorite economists, Bruce Yandle, has done extensive work on the link between rising incomes and a cleaner environment. He’s shown that as we prosper, we demand cleaner air and water, along with the other benefits that the modern environmental movement promises, but can’t deliver.
Property rights encourage us…
…to plant new trees when we cut them down, seek alternative energy sources when oil prices rise, and even protect animals from extinction. After all, chicken isn’t an endangered species, but self-proclaimed environmentalists still oppose market-based aquaculture even though it will help protect crashing fish populations in our oceans.
Over at the Heritage Foundation blog, The Foundry, is an excellent response to President Obama’s Earth Day Message:
Unfortunately, the President’s plan is critical flawed in two regards. First, he assumes that money grows on trees. In other words, he does not consider the economic harm caused by taking money from one, more efficient part of the economy and giving it to some other, less efficient sector. This mistake demonstrates the second flaw, which is that government knows how to spend money better than the private sector.
Together, these assumptions will inhibit our economic growth and our ability to protect the environment. These policies will lead us to less prosperity, more unemployment and higher energy costs—and fewer resources to commit to the environment. Further, it will stifle the technological advancements that have allowed Americans to grow economically without destroying the environment, and in many cases, those advancements improve our environmental well-being. The President’s attempt to pick energy winners and losers in tandem with a growing regulatory burden will significantly impact this ability. The reality is enterprise and innovation are the basis for why we don’t have to choose between the economy and the environment. These processes allow us to save money and be more efficient.
President Obama’s video message was certainly not all bad. He is right to congratulate Americans for environmental strides our nation has made, but he needs to remember how we got here. It stems from policies that create wealth and prosperity that allow us to care for the environment and the establishment of private property rights that give individuals the proper incentives look after what they own.
So, please celebrate Earth Day responsibly, by making the best choices for yourself and your family. And rather than scold your neighbors for using a plastic water bottle or nag your friends to recycle their pizza boxes. Remember that freedom will not only make us happier and more prosperous; freedom can save the world.
