I’ve been directing a few of my barbs against the environmentalist movement, and for very good reason (please, do read what the Green opposition to Golden Rice has done and see if you can avoid pure fury). I should make a general point about what I do support, namely conservationism.
Most people who are well inclined towards environementalism are actually conservationists. They appreciate nature and natural beauty. They want to preserve forests, lakes for the same reason that I would not want to see the Victory of Samothrace broken down for paving stones. They are equally revolted by things like the Bhopal disaster. There’s nothing wrong there; it’s an admirable motive. I myself subscribe to Save the Snow Leopard and have supported carbon capture work . However, it needs to be sharply distinguished from environmentalism. Environmentalism is the belief that ‘untouched nature’ – defined in this as everything non-human, or absent human influence – is a value on its own, apart from and superior to human interestes (I’ll emphasize this: by human interests I don’t just mean the possibilities of mining, loggging, farming, but also the aforementioned enjoyment and value from natural surroundings).
Here’s the problem. When you believe that you will end up subordinating human concerns – and that ultimately means human lives – to ‘untouched nature’. Hence, the opposition to GM research, DDT, the development of electric power, and all the rest of it. People die, and not in small numbers, because of this.
