Bush is such a dastardly bastard!

The first eco-friendly billboard is coming to Times Square

‘Puts the foxes in charge of their gigantic henhouses,’ says activist

The “Bullshit” episode on bottled water was one of my absolute favorites.

Somewhere along the line (heck, maybe it was this way from the beginning) some environmentalists strayed from reality and began using feel-good logic to fuel the movement.  The sort of things they’d say made sense in an un-tested and first-blush sort of way.  They seemed correct.  They appeared to be a good idea.  Unfortunately this movement has grown so large that it basically took over & even sprung into the mainstream.  Care for our environment has been side-stepped.  In place of real environmental effort, there are catch-phrases, scare-tactics, greed and confusion.

Real environmentalists need facts.  We need to be able to understand unintended consequences and to be able to determine what the best course forward truly is.  We shouldn’t ignore the facts just because we are too lazy to research.  We shouldn’t ignore the facts just because something is labeled “green”.  I’ve jumped on many band-wagons in my time.  I’ve made the mistake of listening to emotionally charged people who seem convincing, even though they have no evidence.  I’ve fallen prey to marketing.  The real sucky thing is that, I still might in the future as well.  We are all culpable.  That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try - really try to demand proof.

There has been a lot of hype and debate over things like, genetically modified food, organic food, bio-fuel, etc.  It is very difficult to question these things without a HUGE back-lash.  Why?  Shouldn’t we, as environmentalists, want to know the best answer?  To have the latest data?  Don’t we want the science to be on our side?

NPR had a nice piece on the other day about scientists developing ways to have rice produce more & survive flooding (click through link).  The rice is safe.  The rice saves lives- LOTS and LOTS of lives.  Why would someone be against this?  Do we really want to encourage an equation where being an environmentalist = being OK with famine?  Yes, that is a stretch, but I think we need to step back and really look at the data behind some of claims being made in the green movement.