Environmentalism - Revision history

125.212.240.65 at 03:57, 8 June 2007

2007-06-08T03:57:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:57, 8 June 2007
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	600AD to 900AD--Dark Ages Cold Period		600AD to 900AD--Dark Ages Cold Period

	900AD to 1300AD--Medieval Warming Period (+1-3 deg C)		900AD to 1300AD--Medieval Warming Period ( 1-3 deg C)

	a. England exported wine		a. England exported wine
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	(This is from http://www.rationalmind.net/essays/our-techno-utopian-future-fallacies-and-predictions/ )		(This is from http://www.rationalmind.net/essays/our-techno-utopian-future-fallacies-and-predictions/ )

	The distinguishing factor of human beings over other living things has been our ability to change our environment to improve our situation. Most of the increase in life expectancy from 18–33 years during all of prehistory to 70+ today has not been due to better treatment of illness, but due to the manipulation of nature to create healthier environments: agriculture, cities, sewers, running water, heating and cooling. Human industry comes with unavoidable byproducts like pollution, but the costs have been minute relative to the benefits. Only when the focus of industry has been subverted to destructive purposes — such as war or meaningless production quotas, as in the Soviet Union — has the destructive side of industry outweighed the benefits.		The distinguishing factor of human beings over other living things has been our ability to change our environment to improve our situation. Most of the increase in life expectancy from 18–33 years during all of prehistory to 70 today has not been due to better treatment of illness, but due to the manipulation of nature to create healthier environments: agriculture, cities, sewers, running water, heating and cooling. Human industry comes with unavoidable byproducts like pollution, but the costs have been minute relative to the benefits. Only when the focus of industry has been subverted to destructive purposes — such as war or meaningless production quotas, as in the Soviet Union — has the destructive side of industry outweighed the benefits.

	Today, our ability to manipulate the environment is more powerful than ever, as is our awareness of the byproducts of industry. There is no evidence that these skills are declining — as evidenced by the continuing growth of life expectancy in both developing and developed nations. Is there any reason to believe that we should suddenly prove incompetent to deal with nature?		Today, our ability to manipulate the environment is more powerful than ever, as is our awareness of the byproducts of industry. There is no evidence that these skills are declining — as evidenced by the continuing growth of life expectancy in both developing and developed nations. Is there any reason to believe that we should suddenly prove incompetent to deal with nature?

GreedyCapitalist: /* The Environmentalist Movement */

2007-06-06T21:25:43Z

The Environmentalist Movement

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:25, 6 June 2007
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	<blockquote>The only hope for the world is to make sure there is not another United States: We can’t let other countries have the same number of cars, the amount of industrialization, we have in the U.S. We have to stop these Third World countries right where they are. And it is important to the rest of the world to make sure that they don’t suffer economically by virtue of our stopping them.</blockquote>—Michael Oppenheimer, Environmental Defense Fund		<blockquote>The only hope for the world is to make sure there is not another United States: We can’t let other countries have the same number of cars, the amount of industrialization, we have in the U.S. We have to stop these Third World countries right where they are. And it is important to the rest of the world to make sure that they don’t suffer economically by virtue of our stopping them.</blockquote>—Michael Oppenheimer, Environmental Defense Fund

	The basic principle of the environmentalist movement is that nature is inherent moral value - by which they mean nature untouched my human influence. There is a widespread public ~~misperception~~ that environmentalists want to improve nature for the human benefit, but the leading environmentalists vocally denounce that idea. Furthermore, as will be shown later, even if that was their explicit goal, the policies advocated by environmentalists destroy the conditions necessary for healthy human life.		The basic principle of the environmentalist movement is that nature is inherent moral value - by which they mean nature untouched by human influence. There is a widespread public perception that environmentalists want to improve nature for the human benefit, but the leading environmentalists vocally denounce that idea. Furthermore, as will be shown later, even if that was their explicit goal, the policies advocated by environmentalists destroy the conditions necessary for healthy human life.

	According to David Graber, a research biologist for the National Park Service:		According to David Graber, a research biologist for the National Park Service:
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	Human beings are unique in being a living being without an automatic guide to actions and values. We alone must choose which values we want to achieve, and the means we take to achieve them. Like animals, our survival is conditional — we must take a particular course of action in order to remain alive, but the means to achieve the values necessary for our survival are not automatically given to us by instinct. We have some basic urges – to eat, or to reproduce, but no means to achieve them without conscious action. In place of instinct, nature has equipped man with the facility of reason – the use of his senses and his rational faculty to gain knowledge of reality and then act on it. If an animal’s instinct fails to provide the values it needs in a given environment, it will die – but a man has the capacity to adapt to almost any environment he finds, as the proliferation of humanity on every corner of the earth demonstrates. The basic question every man faces as a living being is therefore “to live or not to live,” and since reason is his only means of survival, his basic choice is “to think or not to think.” Every value we enjoy in our civilized, comfortable, existence is the product of the application of man’s mind to reality. The food we eat, the cars we drive, the entertainment we enjoy are all products of some man’s mind. The difference between our comfortable lives and the short, dangerous, and miserable existence that our ancestors eked out in trees, caves, huts, and caverns not so long ago was created – and is continually made possible by application of the reason to the problem of man’s survival.		Human beings are unique in being a living being without an automatic guide to actions and values. We alone must choose which values we want to achieve, and the means we take to achieve them. Like animals, our survival is conditional — we must take a particular course of action in order to remain alive, but the means to achieve the values necessary for our survival are not automatically given to us by instinct. We have some basic urges – to eat, or to reproduce, but no means to achieve them without conscious action. In place of instinct, nature has equipped man with the facility of reason – the use of his senses and his rational faculty to gain knowledge of reality and then act on it. If an animal’s instinct fails to provide the values it needs in a given environment, it will die – but a man has the capacity to adapt to almost any environment he finds, as the proliferation of humanity on every corner of the earth demonstrates. The basic question every man faces as a living being is therefore “to live or not to live,” and since reason is his only means of survival, his basic choice is “to think or not to think.” Every value we enjoy in our civilized, comfortable, existence is the product of the application of man’s mind to reality. The food we eat, the cars we drive, the entertainment we enjoy are all products of some man’s mind. The difference between our comfortable lives and the short, dangerous, and miserable existence that our ancestors eked out in trees, caves, huts, and caverns not so long ago was created – and is continually made possible by application of the reason to the problem of man’s survival.

	Human beings have evolved over millions of years to survive by applying their minds to nature. There is nothing "unnatural" about this. It is human nature to think and use technology to enrich our lives. We are as much a part of the "natural world" as any other creature. Only instead of claws, fangs, or the heightened senses of animals, we have our minds and our hands. Shackling them would only lead to our extinction. Even a limited return to a primitive state would have a proportionate effect. For example, the genetic and biochemical tools which made the Green Revolution possible feed billions of people today. Farming machinery feeds billions more. Undoing the industrial revolution would eliminate the vast majority of productivity improvements in agricultural production and distribution. Nuclear war is tame by comparison to the death by starvation of 90-98% of humanity. Applying so-called “organic” practices (with higher costs and lower productivity) on a global scale would have similarly catastrophic effects. To the extent that we cripple technology, we cripple our ability to exist as human beings.		Human beings have evolved over millions of years to survive by applying their minds to nature. There is nothing "unnatural" about this. It is human nature to think and use technology to enrich our lives. We are as much a part of the "natural world" as any other creature. Only instead of claws, fangs, or the heightened senses of animals, we have our minds and our hands. Shackling them would only lead to our extinction. Even a limited return to a primitive state would have a proportionate effect. For example, the genetic and biochemical tools which made the Green Revolution possible feed billions of people today. Farming machinery feeds billions more. Undoing the industrial revolution would eliminate the vast majority of productivity improvements in agricultural production and distribution. Nuclear war is tame by comparison to the death by starvation of 90-98% of humanity. Applying so-called “organic” practices (with higher costs and lower productivity) on a global scale would have similarly catastrophic effects. To the extent that we cripple technology, we cripple our ability to exist as human beings.

	==The Premise of Intrinsic Value==		==The Premise of Intrinsic Value==

GreedyCapitalist: /* Related Links */

2007-05-24T22:04:51Z

75.13.16.157: /* Related Links */

2007-05-11T11:52:58Z

GreedyCapitalist: /* Global Warming and other Doomsday Threats */

2007-05-01T20:37:42Z

Global Warming and other Doomsday Threats

Show changes

GreedyCapitalist: /* Related Links */

2007-05-01T20:24:49Z

64.33.205.38: Wiki on Global Warming

2007-04-18T01:19:21Z

Wiki on Global Warming

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:19, 18 April 2007
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	== Related Links ==		== Related Links ==
			*[http://earth.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Wiki on Global Warming]
	*[http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_topic_environmentalism_and_animal_rights The Ayn Rand Institute: Environmentalism and Animal Rights]		*[http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_topic_environmentalism_and_animal_rights The Ayn Rand Institute: Environmentalism and Animal Rights]
	*[http://www.environmentalism.com/ Environmentalism.com]		*[http://www.environmentalism.com/ Environmentalism.com]

GreedyCapitalist: Reverted edits by 200.238.102.170 (Talk); changed back to last version by GreedyCapitalist

2007-04-17T18:59:02Z

Reverted edits by 200.238.102.170 (Talk); changed back to last version by GreedyCapitalist

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:59, 17 April 2007
Line 157:		Line 157:
	600AD to 900AD--Dark Ages Cold Period		600AD to 900AD--Dark Ages Cold Period

	900AD to 1300AD--Medieval Warming Period ( 1-3 deg C)		900AD to 1300AD--Medieval Warming Period (+1-3 deg C)

	a. England exported wine		a. England exported wine
Line 385:		Line 385:
	(This is from http://www.rationalmind.net/essays/our-techno-utopian-future-fallacies-and-predictions/ )		(This is from http://www.rationalmind.net/essays/our-techno-utopian-future-fallacies-and-predictions/ )

	The distinguishing factor of human beings over other living things has been our ability to change our environment to improve our situation. Most of the increase in life expectancy from 18–33 years during all of prehistory to 70 today has not been due to better treatment of illness, but due to the manipulation of nature to create healthier environments: agriculture, cities, sewers, running water, heating and cooling. Human industry comes with unavoidable byproducts like pollution, but the costs have been minute relative to the benefits. Only when the focus of industry has been subverted to destructive purposes — such as war or meaningless production quotas, as in the Soviet Union — has the destructive side of industry outweighed the benefits.		The distinguishing factor of human beings over other living things has been our ability to change our environment to improve our situation. Most of the increase in life expectancy from 18–33 years during all of prehistory to 70+ today has not been due to better treatment of illness, but due to the manipulation of nature to create healthier environments: agriculture, cities, sewers, running water, heating and cooling. Human industry comes with unavoidable byproducts like pollution, but the costs have been minute relative to the benefits. Only when the focus of industry has been subverted to destructive purposes — such as war or meaningless production quotas, as in the Soviet Union — has the destructive side of industry outweighed the benefits.

	Today, our ability to manipulate the environment is more powerful than ever, as is our awareness of the byproducts of industry. There is no evidence that these skills are declining — as evidenced by the continuing growth of life expectancy in both developing and developed nations. Is there any reason to believe that we should suddenly prove incompetent to deal with nature?		Today, our ability to manipulate the environment is more powerful than ever, as is our awareness of the byproducts of industry. There is no evidence that these skills are declining — as evidenced by the continuing growth of life expectancy in both developing and developed nations. Is there any reason to believe that we should suddenly prove incompetent to deal with nature?

200.238.102.170 at 23:06, 10 April 2007

2007-04-10T23:06:22Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:06, 10 April 2007
Line 157:		Line 157:
	600AD to 900AD--Dark Ages Cold Period		600AD to 900AD--Dark Ages Cold Period

	900AD to 1300AD--Medieval Warming Period (+1-3 deg C)		900AD to 1300AD--Medieval Warming Period ( 1-3 deg C)

	a. England exported wine		a. England exported wine
Line 385:		Line 385:
	(This is from http://www.rationalmind.net/essays/our-techno-utopian-future-fallacies-and-predictions/ )		(This is from http://www.rationalmind.net/essays/our-techno-utopian-future-fallacies-and-predictions/ )

	The distinguishing factor of human beings over other living things has been our ability to change our environment to improve our situation. Most of the increase in life expectancy from 18–33 years during all of prehistory to 70+ today has not been due to better treatment of illness, but due to the manipulation of nature to create healthier environments: agriculture, cities, sewers, running water, heating and cooling. Human industry comes with unavoidable byproducts like pollution, but the costs have been minute relative to the benefits. Only when the focus of industry has been subverted to destructive purposes — such as war or meaningless production quotas, as in the Soviet Union — has the destructive side of industry outweighed the benefits.		The distinguishing factor of human beings over other living things has been our ability to change our environment to improve our situation. Most of the increase in life expectancy from 18–33 years during all of prehistory to 70 today has not been due to better treatment of illness, but due to the manipulation of nature to create healthier environments: agriculture, cities, sewers, running water, heating and cooling. Human industry comes with unavoidable byproducts like pollution, but the costs have been minute relative to the benefits. Only when the focus of industry has been subverted to destructive purposes — such as war or meaningless production quotas, as in the Soviet Union — has the destructive side of industry outweighed the benefits.

	Today, our ability to manipulate the environment is more powerful than ever, as is our awareness of the byproducts of industry. There is no evidence that these skills are declining — as evidenced by the continuing growth of life expectancy in both developing and developed nations. Is there any reason to believe that we should suddenly prove incompetent to deal with nature?		Today, our ability to manipulate the environment is more powerful than ever, as is our awareness of the byproducts of industry. There is no evidence that these skills are declining — as evidenced by the continuing growth of life expectancy in both developing and developed nations. Is there any reason to believe that we should suddenly prove incompetent to deal with nature?

GreedyCapitalist: spell check

2007-03-16T19:56:51Z

spell check

Show changes

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:04, 24 May 2007
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	== Related Links ==		== Related Links ==
			*[http://oneminute.rationalmind.net/global-warming/ The One Minute Case Against Global Warming Alarmism]
	*[http://www.rationalmind.net/2007/03/23/5-strategies-for-arguing-against-global-warming/ Five strategies for debating global warming and environmentalism]		*[http://www.rationalmind.net/2007/03/23/5-strategies-for-arguing-against-global-warming/ Five strategies for debating global warming and environmentalism]
	*[http://earth.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Wiki on Global Warming]		*[http://earth.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Wiki on Global Warming]

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:52, 11 May 2007
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	*[http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/G/great_global_warming_swindle/programme.html Channel 4: The Great Global Warming Swindle]		*[http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/G/great_global_warming_swindle/programme.html Channel 4: The Great Global Warming Swindle]
	*[http://www.techcentralstation.com/ Tech Central Station: Environment Section]		*[http://www.techcentralstation.com/ Tech Central Station: Environment Section]
			*[http://realfactsofglobalwarming.blogspot.com/ Real Facts of Global Warming]

	[[Category:Politics]]		[[Category:Politics]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:24, 1 May 2007
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	== Related Links ==		== Related Links ==
			*[http://www.rationalmind.net/2007/03/23/5-strategies-for-arguing-against-global-warming/ Five strategies for debating global warming and environmentalism]
	*[http://earth.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Wiki on Global Warming]		*[http://earth.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Wiki on Global Warming]
	*[http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_topic_environmentalism_and_animal_rights The Ayn Rand Institute: Environmentalism and Animal Rights]		*[http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_topic_environmentalism_and_animal_rights The Ayn Rand Institute: Environmentalism and Animal Rights]
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	*[http://www.cei.org/ Competitive Enterprise Institute: Advancing Liberty, Public Policy Research]		*[http://www.cei.org/ Competitive Enterprise Institute: Advancing Liberty, Public Policy Research]
	*[http://www.cei.org/pages/ait_response.cfm CEI: Inconvenient Truths for Al Gore]		*[http://www.cei.org/pages/ait_response.cfm CEI: Inconvenient Truths for Al Gore]
	*[http://www.earth4man.com/ Save The Earth From The Environmentalists]		*[http://www.earth4man.com/ Save The Earth From The Environmentalists - from CapMag]
	*[http://www.junkscience.com/ JunkScience.com]		*[http://www.junkscience.com/ JunkScience.com]
	*[http://www.capmag.com/category.asp?catID=21 Capitalism Magazine: Environment, Climate and Ecology]		*[http://www.capmag.com/category.asp?catID=21 Capitalism Magazine: Environment, Climate and Ecology]
	*[http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p36.htm Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide]		*[http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p36.htm OISM - Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide]
	*[http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/greenhouse_data.html Global Warming: A closer look at the numbers]		*[http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/greenhouse_data.html Global Warming: A closer look at the numbers]
	*[http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/G/great_global_warming_swindle/programme.html Channel 4: The Great Global Warming Swindle]		*[http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/G/great_global_warming_swindle/programme.html Channel 4: The Great Global Warming Swindle]
	*[http://www.techcentralstation.com/ Tech Central Station: Environment Section]		*[http://www.techcentralstation.com/ Tech Central Station: Environment Section]


	[[Category:Politics]]		[[Category:Politics]]