Stefan's weekly rant

I originally wrote this rant on April 25, 2001. But with "Earth Day" being this week (April 22, 2003), I thought it would be a great time to revive one of my classic rants. Everything I said 2 years ago still holds perfectly true. I left it pretty much as it was (except updating the Dr. Truth & JunkScience links), but I did add this one little point...

Environmentalists supporting Saddam
I thought it was ironic that the so-called environmentalists didn't see fit to speak out against Saddm Hussein. In fact, I guarantee you that they were marching in the anti-war & pro-Saddam protests before and during the war. Saddam routinely sets oil wells on fire when he's in trouble... talk about an enemy of the environment. President Bush wants to drill an oil well, and the environmentalists go crazy... Saddam burns oil wells, and they say nothing! Talk about double standards! That's just more hard evidence that environmentalists aren't what they claim to be. The environmentalists of today are nothing more than extreme left-wingers using a false cause to further their other agendas.

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April 25, 2001
I didn't mean to write another non-game rant, but last Sunday was "Earth Day", and the amount of BS I heard last week was absolutely staggering! As you might know, although I'm not a big 'right-winger' by any means, I am ten as opposed to the left-wing as I am the Shotoclones. They misuse well-meaning goals to other ends, and environmentalism is probably the most classic example. I could write a book on the topic, but I don't have the time to do that, so I'm just gonna briefly touch upon a lotta different points here...

Why does President Bush want to allow more poison in our water?!
One thing that I dislike about environmentalism is that like so many other left-wing causes, they're used by the people in power to further other agendas. Right now, a big issue is arsenic in the drinking water. Environmentalists are ripping into President Bush for raising the amount of arsenic allowed in drinking water. Arsenic is of course a poison! Stop. Think about it all you want, and it's hard to imagine a reason for this, right? Why would President Bush want more poison in our water?!

Now, lemme tell you the whole truth. First of all, arsenic has always been in our water (naturally), but never in amounts that can actually poison you, so it's nothing to worry about. When President Clinton left office, he lowered the amount of arsenic allowed at the last minute. He created level that was not realistic, forcing the incoming President Bush to change it back. What it was, was simply a political trap to make Bush look bad... "Bush wants to poison you!" The truth is that President Clinton didn't do it to for health reasons, and President Bush of course doesn't want to kill you. As you can see, a supposedly environmental health issue is not really what it seems. This is one example, but there are countless others. Too many things environmentalists do are misleading or outright lies, and they think it's okay because it's for a good cause. It's not okay.

Patrick "Dr. Truth" Moore
When I worked in Japan, my job actually got me in contact with one of the founders of Greenpeace, and he has a very interesting take on the environmental movement now. When he helped found Greenpeace, it was something that needed to be done, and over the years, the things they fought for have been achieved (recycling, awareness, standards, etc.). But with their goals accomplished, the movement didn't end, and he says that they've had to take extremely radical stances and blend in with other left-wing causes such as 'animal rights' to keep going. In other words, they've gone too far, and they're not what they originally were. Nowadays, he is considered one of Greenpeace's #1 enemies, but he's the same guy he's always been! It's very interesting, and he's right-on.
I highly recommend you check out the "Dr Truth" interview with Patrick Moore.

The big global warming sham
Another hot topic (no pun intended) is 'global warming'. We are told that what we (humans) are doing is creating a greenhouse effect that's making the earth heat up to dangerous levels. I'm sure you know all about the situation, right? Now, consider that merely 10,000 years ago (a very short time in history), the earth was in the grips of an ice age. Places like Canada and the Northern USA were deeply covered covered in ice for centuries! The whole world was much, much colder, and the oceans were drastically lower because so much of the water was frozen in massive ice caps. And, many species became extinct. Even massive volcanic eruptions alter the global temperature for a few years. What's the point? The point is that the earth naturally goes through VERY drastic changes without human intervention, and it all goes back to normal eventually. Our 'global warming' situation now is nothing in comparison, and it's in fact probably just a natural fluctuation. There's no proof to say otherwise, and records of global temperatures barely go back a century. Another example is the meteorite that smashed into earth (creating the Gulf of Mexico) and killed off the dinosaurs. It had the power of millions of atomic bombs. That was an instant natural disaster of the most epic proportions (which humanity could never rival in their wildest dreams) and the earth survived. Simply said, although humanity sure can make the world plenty nasty (as anybody who's been to a dirty and smog-filled city knows), I don't believe that we have the power to destroy the world as environmentalists want to make you believe. They're just trying to scare you into doing what they want you to do.

But you say "The studies of so many scientists around the world confirm the global warming theory." Again, lemme give you the whole story on that. Most scientists are paid by people to perform studies. If Greenpeace wants a study to see if global warming is happening as a result of the activities of humans, do you think the guys they hire are gonna do a study that actually says "No"? If they did, it wouldn't get reported, and they would lose a lot of business. And a 2nd point on that subject is that studies showing global disaster are pretty interesting things for the media to report. Studies saying "everything's normal" is not something that's newsworthy. So of course the media likes to report "There's a hole in the sky, and everybody's dying!" instead of "Everything's normal". They want viewers, so they're gonna go with the story that makes people listen. And there are 2 big reasons why 'everybody' says global warming is really happening. But is it really...?

Leaders and followers
Here's another important point I want to make. I wrote that I believe environmentalists (and left-wingers in general) mean well, but then I've pointed out how they blatantly lie. I'm basically talking about two different types of people... the average everyday person like you and me who help out somewhat but don't make a life out of it, and the people in charge like the politicians, Greenpeace, etc. In other words, the people in charge are using the normal people by exploiting their ignorance and emotions. Sure we ALL want to 'save the forests', 'drink clean water', blah blah blah. Who would honestly stand against that?! But like I've pointed out with the arsenic example, things can be twisted, and that's what environmentalists (and left-wingers in general) do on almost every issue. Beware! If you're gonna follow somebody, be damn sure you know what they're really up to! Don't give them power to do bad things.

Exploiting emotions
What's one of the easiest and best ways to get somebody to do whatever you say... scare the hell out of 'em! When people become scared, they get desperate, and when they're desperate, they're willing to do just about anything to 'survive'. The leaders say things to terrify the common people, and then they start telling them what to do. That's the #1 tactic common to all left-wing causes. Pay attention from now on... see if you can find a left-winger who's not predicting doom and gloom.

One of the biggest shams about environmentalism is that they're the ones who care about the environment, and anybody who doesn't side with them, hates the environment. That tactic is typical for almost all left-wing causes. They make it a black and white issue (and it never really is) that's designed to exploit your emotions. Again, lets go back to the arsenic example... environmentalists say Clinton wants to save you, Bush wants to kill you. Or with global warming... do what environmentalists say, or the ozone layer will be destroyed and the world will suffer! Don't fall for it. Think with your mind (logic), not your heart (emotion).

Conclusion
Okay, I'll stop there. I think I've made enough points. Plant trees, recycle as much as possible, and do all that (we all should), but don't buy into all the scare tactics that environmentalists use exploit you. Many bad people people pretend to be good people. And there are some good but misguided people who end up doing bad things. The moral of all this is that you need to pay attention and be educated! Don't let other people educate you and thus do your thinking for you... including me ^_^. Think about what I've said, look into it yourself, use common sense, talk to people, etc, and if you do all that, you should come to the right conclusions about environmentalism and most everything else in life.

If you want to get some more examples of environmental nonsense like I've been talking about, a great place for you to look is www.JunkScience.com. It's a highly respected site, very informative, and lots of fun too.

PS
Again, I highly recommend that you read the "Dr Truth" interview because Patrick Moore says pretty much the same thing, but much better than I ever could.