SOCIAL: A little environmental help please

[Mike Kosim]

I'd also look at the political bent of the website itself.

They market themselves as "Free Market Environmentalists" and "Common  
Sense Environmentalists".  While they say they are not politically  
aligned, I think it is fair to say they are Regulation Opposed.   
That's just a short list.  This site is pretty biased.  My $.02.


Mike


Here are some excerpts from their site page: http://www.heartland.org/suites/environment/index.html


 >>They Say:

What is Common-Sense Environmentalism?

Common-sense environmentalism recognizes that almost everyone today is  
an environmentalist. We all want a healthy, green environment for  
ourselves and our families.

 >>My comment:  This isn't really true.  While it would be *MORE* true  
if people acted entirely in their backyards, I don't think the CEOs of  
coal companies are living on the mountain tops they are removing!   
That is, while people may want the best environment for themselves,  
this doesn't mean they are willing to sacrifice their yearly  
performance bonus in order to preserve the environment for strangers.



 >>They Say:

The key insight that environmental advocates, and the media that gives  
them sympathetic coverage, overlook is the First Law of Toxicology:  
The dose makes the poison. Many “toxic” chemicals are not dangerous if  
the level of exposure is below a threshold where physical affects can  
be observed, while many “harmless” chemicals can be deadly if we are  
exposed to too much of them.

 >>My comment: The old addage "The solution to pollution is dilution"  
was something anti-regulation advocates liked to say about  
environmental disasters.  While it would be true in a static sense,  
that is, yes, if I diluted that drop of DDT in billions of gallons of  
water, it would be relatively harmless, this largely ignores the fact  
that there are many biological and physical systems that create high  
concentrations of toxins in our food supply. (witness tuna, a major  
source of mercury in the American diet)










On Jul 23, 2009, at 1:41 PM, Geoff Davis wrote:

> A more neutral version:
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7037671.stm
>
> The movie can be show in schools, but there needs to be a disclaimer.
>
> It sounds like the gist of the issue is this:
>
> Increased CO2 in the atmosphere is leading to all sorts of changes  
> in the climate, but it is extremely difficult to say that any  
> particular event is a direct result of increased CO2 emissions.     
> Gore was trying to tell a story, so he showed specific events (e.g.  
> Katrina) and suggested that global climate change may have been  
> responsible.  It's hair splitting.
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 1:20 PM, Jennifer Seuferer <jenniferseuferer at gmail.com 
> > wrote:
> So today I walked in on a conversation in my office lunch room  
> between two men known for their conservative & republican political  
> views. They were talking about the environment and global warming. I  
> won't go into everything they were saying because it makes me so mad  
> I want to throw something but one thing they said was that Al Gore's  
> "Inconvenient Truth" could not be shown in British schools because  
> of all the inaccuracies in the film. I googled this and found this  
> article and was wondering if anyone on Social could speak to some of  
> the points in this. What concerns me is the men I overheard  
> discussing this were using this to basically write off global  
> warming or the things people do to try to help as ridiculous and  
> uneducated. If you have time please read this and let me know what  
> you think. Its not a very long article.
>
> http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/22160/British_Court_Rules_Inconvenient_Truth_Represents_Partisan_Political_Views.html
>
>
>
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