Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Opinion

Michael Barone

Environmental Groups vs. Public Works Projects

December 08, 2008 05:21 PM ET | Michael Barone | Permanent Link | Print

Reader Comments

Enviromentalism

This oughtta be fun to watch. The One further bankrupting the country with make-work projects that result in no long term jobs that actually CREATE wealth being opposed by his erstwhile enviro Nazi pals who are the ultimate Luddites. I'm convinced that the radical enviromental left would, if they had their way, ban the burning af all fossil fuels, ban all forms of transportation, ban fertilizers, in other words, destroy modern civilization and literally throw humanity back into the Middle Ages. Since virtually all human activity is inherently evil, I wonder why they don't man up and kill themselves (thus decreasing their carbon footprint)? Just wonderin'.

environmental vs public works

with the "O"s new WPA proposal, i think this confrontation is only going to escalate !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6ZIHbFQAzU

goldieshouse.piczo.com

R.L, the "loud" part refers to an over-lengthy post making fun of environmentalism.

The "know-nothing" part is the inference that since we survived some sea spills that there is nothing else to worry about.

To Anonymous and Hlllbilly....

Anonymous thinks I’m arrogant... That maybe true, but you are rude and merely reactionary. And just what does that have to do with the facts?

What do you mean by “loud” ? I suspect you mean “forceful”. In that case, I agree.

By “no-nothing..” I assume you mean, “Know nothing”... I think you’re mistaken - though my wife would often agree with you.

You also accuse me of, “...saying nothing is an environmental problem anywhere...” I have never said any such thing - But just to make sure, I reread the above blog and guess what? Couldn’t find the statement you referred to.

You then to go on to confuse the words and meanings of “justification” and “perspective”.

Other than those issues your blog was spot on...

Now Hillbilly, your pithy response seems to conform to this little sarcastic axiom. “When in error or in doubt - Run in circles, scream and shout.”

For the record; I do believe there are, indeed, environmental issues -many. But, I also can see the pendulum has swung way too far - even to the point of religious hysteria for many eco-militants.

But, while I’m writing, here are a couple of more ocean oriented enviro-facts.

1. In 1542 Juan Cabrillo noted vast oil slicks off the southern California coast. 250 years later, George Vancouver, the British explorer, noted these same oil slicks extending more than 100 miles in the same area. Neither explorer made note of the local Indians scurrying about trying to clean it up or wipe the oil from the wings of seagulls. On the contrary, the natives considered the pitch a valuable resource and used it to seal their boats and canoes - Of course they would be jailed for wiping tar on their boats today - an insult to the environment, the “Clean Water Act” and all that.

It is also informative to note that approximately 1700 barrels seep from “Natural” undersea fissures, in U.S. territorial waters daily. This amount is approximately 150 times the amount lost through all off shore drilling in U.S. waters - Umm.... I wonder if Nancy Pelosi knows that? Well, no matter, she wouldn’t change her views in any event since Environmentalism is her religion since Catholicism didn’t work out for her...But I digress.

It should also be noted that the 1700 barrels of natural crude seepage would dramatically increase if off shore drilling were to halt - Perhaps even increase to the levels of pre-European settlement.

Well, I’d love to continue and write of the more than 100 nuclear bombs and devices that were detonated in the Pacific but I’m afraid that would send many enviros into an apoplectic seizure and cause increased frothing of the mouth and more muddled ranting - To no one’s benefit.

Doing something

Always trumps doing nothing, usually.

R.L. Schaefer, above, of course. A, loud and arrogant no-nothing saying nothing is an environmental problem anywhere BECAUSE dangerous stuff was spilled and sunk in WWII and we're still alive. What a justification for being careless in the future.

GOING GREEN HAS GONE TOO FAR...

I've been around boats all my life - Professionally and for pleasure, but for the past 10 years or so the Enviros have really been on the attack against all sorts of outdoor recreation and activities - boating is no exception.

There’s been a lot of discussion about copper bottom paints and harbor generated pollution in general. A lot of worried people are running around wanting testing, restrictions and bans. I haven’t really heard anyone say exactly what is the problem with too much copper in the muddy bottoms of marinas. I remember sucking copper pennies when I was a kid (say, that could explain a lot) , the vitamins I take have copper in them and I know a lot of folks who wear copper jewelry. However, I’m certain that if we do enough tests and studies we will find that marina bottom sludge, containing trace amounts of copper, is more of a threat to humanity than nuclear or bio-warfare.

Did you ever wonder why, when most people think of a marina, they have visions of some sort of “Aqualand” with Flipper frolicking amid the colorful coral reefs? A harbor or marina is simply a parking lot for boats and ships. When shoppers visit Wal-Mart do they expect to see Bambi browsing the asphalt parking lot? Do passengers flying out of an airport hope to have an encounter with Smokey Bear ambling along the tarmac? No, I think most folks realize that when you pour 6 inches of bubbling tar over acres of land you’ve pretty much destroyed the “ecosystem” that once existed there and that there is an “environmental price” to most human endeavor. But somehow their thinking gets all fuzzy when it comes to a marina and they expect to see a pristine aquatic environment, unaffected by the thousands of boats parked there.

Allow me to use an extreme example. In August 1944 the greatest marine “eco-disaster” in history took place in Truk Lagoon in the Pacific. Seventy-seven Japanese ships anchored in the lagoon were sunk by thousands of bombs and bullets from American warplanes. These ships contained fuel oil, crude oil, explosives, chemicals and thousands of tons of war supplies. Oil still seeps from the sunken hulks to this day. One might expect this to be a Super Fund site. Instead it has become a diverse underwater wonderland and the most popular dive resort in the world.

While we’re on the topic of WWII it is worth noting that more than 3,000 ships were sunk in WWII. Thousands of aircraft crashed into the sea and thousands of tons of explosives were dropped all over the worlds oceans. As a matter of fact, more oil and fuel spilled into the sea each month of the war than in all of the 60 years since the war’s end. The earth’s oceans managed to survive that intense onslaught. I doubt that recreational boating has much of an impact on the “BIG” picture.

It boils down to one thing - The Creed of Environmentalism is;

“All forms of human endeavor are evil.

The only permissible interaction between man and nature is; conservation, preservation, restoration and veneration.”

Environmentalism is simply intolerant Neo-Paganism with a new set of clothes and dogma. And sadly, it has become the State Religion - And everyone was so worried about Christianity... So are you relieved now?

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Michael Barone is a senior writer for U.S.News & World Report and principal coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics. He has written for many publications—including the Economist and the New York Times.

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