Mark Steyn: Unless we change our ways ...

National Post (Canada) ^ | 05/27/2002 | Mark Steyn

[Pokey78]

Ping for the MSPL.

[Charlotte Corday]

If the UN turns out to be wrong -- man, what are the odds of that? -- I get France.

Who'd want it? I can think of no conceivable reason. Except that it would be a great, safe place to stockpile deodorant.

[fporretto]

Mark Steyn at his scathing, incisive best. Bravo!

Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit the Palace Of Reason: http://palaceofreason.com

[Chad Fairbanks]

Earth First! We'll exploit the rest later! ;0)

[My2Cents]

In 1977, Jimmy Carter, President of the United States incredible as it may seem, confidently predicted that "we could use up all of the proven reserves of oil in the entire world by the end of the next decade."

You mean President Chicken Little?

Well, his administration certainly ran out of gas by the end of the '70s.

[rellimpank]

--and last I heard, Paul Erhlich is still being paid to spread doom on college campuses, etc., in spite of being wrong in every prediction he made--

[habs4ever]

Julian Simon must be smiling from the grave :-)Even today, many still think the oil shortages of the '70's were due to scarcity and not inflation working its way through commodity markets and pounding dollar based natural resources.

[Kermit]

"It's a cult, and, like most cults, heavy on ostentatious displays of self-denial, perfectly encapsulated by the time-consuming rituals of "recycling," an activity of no discernible benefit other than as a communal profession of faith."

Mark Steyn nails the suckers as usual. I would change this idea. The Enviro-wacko cult is NOT about "self-denial" it's about "other-denial". The wackos never deny themselves anything, algore got his redwood deck, it's about denying other people, what they want. If all those other people get what they want, we're all doomed. Plus, as usual, they get to boss people around and feel good morally about themselves, the usual recipe for the production of Commissars and Gauleiters.

[RippleFire]

BUMP

[goldstategop]

It's politically incorrect to celebrate Christopher Columbus, but the discovery of the New World changed everything: what the enviro nazis leave out of their accounts, is that since the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West in the 4th century, Europe was in terminal decline. Few people reached the age of 40. A large number of children never outgrew their childhoods. Above it all, the threat of pandemics and starvation hung over the population like a Damoscles' sword. In 1350, a quarter of Europe's population was wiped out by the Black Death. A pretty dismal picture of our ancestors, no doubt. So how did Columbus change things? He introduced Europeans to the richness and bounties of the New World. To lands where their was more opportunity, a cleaner environment, and food to be had in abundance. One in which disease was remote and one no longer was confronted by the ever present prospect of starving to death. And in which the promise of a longer and longer human lifespan could finally be realized at last. In other words, the first true inviting paradise on earth. We should all thank God that Columbus had the fortitude to do what he did or we would all still be living in wretched, disease ridden, and filthy hovels. Just like millions do in the Third World today. So per Mark Steyn, let's have the enviro nazis tell us again why we must change our ways...

[pikachu]

France would be a nice place without the French.

[Billthedrill]

None of those things exist in the Middle East, which is the real reason they'll be taking communal showers once a month in 2032.

Well, that would constitute an improvement...

[MissAmericanPie]

Great article.

[Amelia]

I'd like to be an "environmentalist," really I would. I spend quite a bit of my time in the environment and I'm rather fond of it. But these days "environmentalism" is mostly unrelated to the environment: It's a cult

Environmentalists are fun to argue with, though, especially if you have a little scientific knowledge to back you up. I talked to one once who was protesting a sewage treatment plant, and tried to find out what he'd suggest as an alternative....

[BlueLancer]

"Think globally, act lunarly"

THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LIKE A LUNATIC

[Dog Gone]

This touches on your field of expertise.

[Ole Okie]

France would be a nice place without the French

But that would mean that surrendering would have to be delegated to someone else.

Takes a lot of practice.

[stands2reason]

You're absolutely right. How come all the best places on Earth are taken over by the worst people?

[FairWitness]

It's politically incorrect to celebrate Christopher Columbus, but the discovery of the New World changed everything:

See 1491. This thread contains a reference to a very long article in the Atlantic (by Charles C. Mann) which is worth the read. It is a mixture of fact, hypothesis and speculation. Among other things it puts forth the proposition that the Amazon and the great plains of the U.S. are largely human (native american) artifacts! This article in the atlantic also was the basis for a recent good column by Jonah Goldberg (not sure if it was ever posted, though I would be surprised if it wasn't) entitled "No such thing as Natural"