As profiled on 20/20 last night (by one of my favorite TV journalists, John Stossel), Michael Crichton’s new book State of Fear expresses a healthy dose of skepticism about the global warming alarm being raised by environmentalists, as exemplified in…

Finally, calm yourself. No one has the intention of “destroying” the planet, itself an absurd notion. If humans do cause extinction it will be nothing like the Cambrian extinction that killed 50% of all the animals on earth. Extinctions far bigger than you can comprehend have happened in a perpetually transforming environment as a result of evolution for billions of years (like when plants first released poisonous oxygen as a waste product). Even if (say) global warming or ozone depletion happened on a global scale, life would still thrive (although admittedly not humans -environmentalists would be overjoyed). In any case, the planet ITSELF is not in danger and never was. Technology has improved the standard of life in industrial countries to a point that is unimaginable by the kings and emporers of old; you are warm in the winter, cool in the summer, have hot water all year round and public washrooms. If anything, technology has been improving environment to an unprecedented level, if by environment you mean surroundings, and not just the narrow definition of it environmentalists use.

2. DougB, I’m not sure who you’re alluding to, but Crichton is himself clearly concerned with the environment, so I don’t think he’s trying to ‘label everyone concerned with environmental issues as an “Environmental Wacko”‘

Anyhoo. It was a great speech, I thought–much better than his crappy books. You could pretty much make the same speech about economics, as well: there is an enormous religious/irrational element to a lot of people’s ideas on economic policy.

Both efforts leave a detestable taste in my mouth.

This is largely why any conversation with an environmentalist or socialist contains almost no real facts and instead closely resembles a conversation you might have with a Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon missionary.

The Cuyahoga River actually caught on fire not so long ago. The air in the Los Angeles basin was terrible. The amount of DDT being used was, in fact, causing avian mortality. Car makers claimed that the installation of catalytic converters would bankrupt the industry. and on, and on, and on.

The EPA organic statute, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, FIFRA, RCRA, CERCLA, ESA . . . Industry claimed that each of these statutes would destroy the american economy. Yet somehow the rivers are cleaner, drinking water is cleaner, the air is cleaner, habitat is being protected, cradle-to-grave processing for toxic materials is expanding, all without the utter destruction of the american economy.

The extreme faction of the environmental movement is guilty as charged. BUT, that faction would have much less power if the anti-enviros hadn’t completely destroyed their own credibility by being wrong time after time about the costs of compliance.

rational use of pesticides, herbicides and antibiotics are in the interest of the world society as a whole. but the ag. community purports to be OUTRAGED when governments try to regulate farming practices. Is it any wonder, therefore, that the enviro. community finds that simply banning certain products is easier?

When the ag community is willing to talk about allowing regulation over the tons of raw sewage, pesticides, herbicides, and nutrients that they dump into the nation’s water systems, then the enviro community will silence its own extremists. until then, both sides bear the blame.

You know, this really is no laughing matter. I mean, hell, I almost swallowed a pine cone the other day!

Freaking tree hugging hippies! It’s all their fault!

And the sick part is my father actually works in teh Rachel Carson State Office Building in Harrisburg, PA.