Anti-environmentalism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anti-environmentalism is a backlash against the global environmentalist movement, combining conservationist ideals with an emphasis on scientific rigor, free market principles and above all the ethical principle that nature is intended for mankind's use.[1]
Opponents of anti-environmentalism portray it and greedy and negligent. Some portray it as pro-pollution, in two senses: (1) favoring degradation of air and water quality and (2) tolerant of the emission of so-called "greenhouse gases" like carbon dioxide (see Global warming theory).
[edit] Overview
Paula Snyder and Peter Millson characterize environmentalist ideology as unscientific, irrational and anti-humanist. [2]
"What we today call 'environmentalism' is ... based on a fear of change," says Frank Furedi. "It's based upon a fear of the outcome of human action. And therefore it's not surprising that when you look at the more xenophobic right-wing movements in Europe in the 19th century, including German fascism, it quite often had a very strong environmentalist dynamic to it." [3]
"Trees and forests provide a good example of how it's possible to have a growing economy and a growing population and a thriving environment," says Steve Hayward of the Pacific Research Centre. "The lesson from trees really applies across the environment. We have cleaner air today; we have cleaner water; we grow more food at less impact on the land; we have more wildlife diversity— and we've done all this while having a growing economy and a growing population." [4]
[edit] References
- ^ The countermovement against sustainability has two primary and underlying aims. First, it has an interest in demonstrating the counter productivity of environmental laws and government regulation. Secondly, it aims to undermine any green ideology that challenges neo-classical economic praxis, and that does not support, for example, private property rights, monetary rule and what might be termed 'rational resource development'. [1]
