Smug Assholes and the Death of Environmentalism

Smug Assholes and the Death of Environmentalism

I was a bit of a Henry David Thoreau when I was a kid. An only child, of sorts, all I ever did was read and commune with nature. Lots of beach-combing, playing in woods and swamps. And caring about the environment.

Yes, I shot a few dragonflies with a BB gun one day. Maybe drowned a few kittens when was an infant. But for the most part, I was a sensitive kid who cared about the planet. Not because anyone told me to, but because it was logical. Children are pretty much overflowing with empathy.

I even won some sort of ribbon for it in the second grade science fair. I glued a bunch of things I had gotten from the beach to a blue poster board, and entitled it 'Save Our Seas'. When asked, I even told them it was because I had cut my foot on glass at the beach. I'm unsure the story was true, to this day.

I've never lost that connection to nature, nor the desire to preserve it. But what I have gained is knowledge. Knowledge changes everything.

Today, environmentalism has been reduced to 'climate change', a fairly empty phrase. That's what all climates do, change. Good luck going against nature and stopping the planet from changing. The real trouble is, it's based on a false premise, that humans are the cause of it all, and humans can fix it all. All without a shred of proof. That's not science.

As a result of this intellectual laziness, more immediate, addressable threats are now pretty much ignored. Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and the Fukushima Power Plant disaster are both good examples. The threat is immediate, serious, and preventable. But the media, and hence the people who take their direction from the media, have decided to focus on other, more vague concerns.

Environmentalism has been neutralized, and replaced with hand-wringing and wishful thinking. Instead of being involved, we've handed off all environmental activities to the Federal government – the single largest polluter on the planet.

Furthermore, we seem to hope to change the planet's climate via legislation.

Legislation that is drafted, promoted, and approved by the same corporations that are doing the polluting. In essence, we are asking the biggest polluters on the planet to make ourselves stop changing the climate. Via force. A false premise with far-reaching implications.

Climate change has been used as a weapon against us to neutralize all other environmentalism. Ask yourself who benefits?

Of course, I want a clean planet. But you don't achieve that via laws, which are in fact guns pointed at each of us. If that worked...we wouldn't be in the state we are now, would we? Individuals have every reason to preserve their own property and local environment. Governments and corporations have no such motivation.

A good example of this situation would be the EPA themselves poisoning a large river. The outcry from the public was...non-existent. The repercussions for the people involved were, as well.

Doh!

If we can't trust the Federal government with stewardship of a single river, how can you trust them with an entire planet? A planet, I should point out, that we are ravaging with war...and destroying the environment further.

Please end the disconnect of thought. At the very least, don't let the 'climate change' scare divert you from much more real, pressing concerns. And, damn it, quit taking your cues from the people doing the polluting in the first place.

It's always some smug, smarmy asshole who gets his half-truths from Salon that thinks he knows it all. I'm sure said smug assholes have read all 1350 of these peer-reviewed papers, right...?

http://www.populartechnology.net/2009/10/peer-reviewed-papers-supporting.html

No, they haven't. Neither have you. You get your info from a corporate-controlled government, filtered through corporate media. If you actually care about the planet, rather than just repeating catchphrases, do a little independent research. And stop listening to that one smug asshole.