Interesting POV - Comments?
 

BreakPoint with Charles Colson
Commentary #030407 - 04/07/2003

Cleaning Up the Planet
Saving the Planet through Technology

On an Earth Day website, Americans are invited to "join millions of people and celebrate Car Free Day!" because "the growing use of unsustainable modes of transport has led to air pollution." In particular, pollutants from transport exhaust are associated with cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, asthma, and reduced lung function. Now, I'm all for taking walks; it's good exercise. But should we really be so afraid of our automobiles?

Websites like these are typical of the attitude of many environmental militants. To hear them talk, we are losing the war, so to speak, on protecting our habitat. But as theologian Michael Novak notes in National Review, we have actually experienced great success in cleaning up the planet over the last one hundred years—especially in the West.

For instance, Novak cites the replacement of the horse by the automobile. Before the car, city streets were covered in tons of manure—twelve thousand pounds a year, to be exact, from each of the 3.4 million horses on America's urban streets. All that waste product led to toxic results in congested urban areas. On hot, dry summer days when horse hooves and wagon wheels pounded the manure into dust, the dust blew into the air, fell everywhere, and was breathed and ingested by humans.

Novak also notes that the automobile freed up more than 90 million acres of land that had been used to grow feed for the horses.

And, Novak observes, natural gas and electricity replaced the need to burn wood and fossil fuels. Over the past century, some 500 million acres have reverted to woodland as a result. And wildlife species once on the endangered list are now thriving.

When the modern environmental movement really got going, achievements were even more impressive. Clean air legislation sharply brought down six types of air pollution.

Moreover, these achievements came about during a time of huge population increase. But if these triumphs come as a surprise, Novak says, it is because "environmental activists of the apocalyptic type never report it, and even get angry if anyone else does."

One reason for this, writes Gregg Easterbrook in the Brookings Review, is that "environmental lobbyists intent on raising money have a stake in spinning everything in alarming terms. And when environmental lobbyists depict all news as bad, most of the media reflexively echo this line."

There has been an attempt in recent years to blame pollution on the "invasion" of Western civilization into America's pristine wilderness—you even see that in some of the children's textbooks. But it is worth noting that Western technology has solved many of the environmental problems caused by early immigration. Today, pollution takes its heaviest toll in poor countries that lack access to Western technology: nations that use primitive methods of cooking, heating, and waste disposal. I have seen firsthand the heavy smog hanging over third-world cities.

So—environmental doomsayers and their automotive phobias notwithstanding—we have made tremendous progress in cleaning up the planet. And we ought to help our faraway neighbors by making the same technology available to them, so that together we can fulfill God's command to care for His creation.

Who is Michael Novak, and what are his credentials?

Another point is, although cars provide a relatively "Clean" source of transportation, they could be cleaner. The technology is there to create well-performing vehicles that dont harm the environment as much. The cost just needs to come down.

Mike

I want to take public transport't to work but it will take me 7 hrs round trip on one train, 2 buses. Now it takes me 2.5 hrs by the SVX. :)

Accounting for EVRN costs
 

Do some critical reading on your own.

freed up 90 million acres... how much of that was consumed by wal-mart parking lots and 6 lane highways?

Electricity replaced wood and fossil fuels? Yes. I guess if you look at the solar/wind sources of electricity. The non solar/wind electricity is either nuclear or fossil fuel powered.

Oh and sorry, natural gas is a fossil fuel.

These are some big problems for a little article.

Opinion: Now that we have a true global economy, we need to be aware of a global environment. Lets all work together to share what we have already learned about the latent cost of economic expansion.

the 'enviro-terrorists' would have us driving electric cars, which would create more pollution by the power plants used to power them (most of which use coal-burning to power the generators.)

F the spotted owl - if he can't take it, then its natural selection time. BTW, how come the only endangered animals that people want to protect are the cute ones? if the spitting cobra was endangered, i doubt you'd see organizations forming to protect them - they aren't cute and cuddly.

The way of the future.
 

I use wind and solar power to run two houses, this computer is powered be it.
I can't wait till there is a small electric car that I can power from the system, to run the small local trips.

I love to see the sun shine and the wind blow :D

Harvey.;)

Lesser spotted motorist.
 

We, the people, the urban ne'er do wells who drive to work because we need to survive, we are the endangered species here.

In the UK in recent years, the Green Menace that is the propaganda wing of most governments, geared the tax on vehicles to penalise CO2 emissions. With the current advances in technology, these emissions have now come so low in private vehicles that the English government has a major tax shortfall. They are addressing this by moving the goalposts, they are now looking at adding penalties to larger engines, and are penalising use in inner cities, like London.

Here in Ireland, our own Road Tax has always used the simpler method of taxing large engines off the roads. Our Finance Minister recently moved one of our tax break points from 2 litres to 1901 cc to offset the loss in revenue he is experiencing because many cars sold are of the 1.9 diesel version, with lower fuel consumption [so lower emissions]. The fact that the motorist is polluting less and using less imported fuel is irrevelant. They derive big revenue from vat and excise on fuel sold, and if they lose that money, they change the rules and take it off you at point of sale. Essentially, penalise you for driving greener.

So when the Greens go on about emissions and harm to the environment, I shut down all receptors. Motorists are not being rewarded for buying better technology, newer penalties are continually dreamed up. We are cash cows to all governments. Until they start rewarding motorists with lower taxation for driving greener vehicles, my motto is the same as Fire4ce, "Let it burn"

Joe:mad:

Electric commuter
 

Harvey: That is so cool! Someday, I hope to live "off the grid"
It seems so do-able, but not really in suburia for me now.

I'm sure you are more familiar with EV. I have some questions.

I can (and do) ride my bicycle to work. It is about 15 miles. Sometimes, I don't feel like pedaling.

There are significant grades on my trip to/from work.
The surface is concrete bike path VERY few road crossings. I cannot use a gas engine on the bike trail. I don't think anyone would notice or care about electric power. I can have a charging facility at each end.

What is my best choice? DIY electric 2 wheel scooter? DIY eletric bike conversion? Couple of optima yellow-tops and a starter motor hooked to my skateboard?!
Rocket powered roller blades?

Thanks, Stephen

Re: Electric commuter
 

You HAVE seen the movie "Jackass" right?

Re: Electric commuter
 

A good friend has done several of these conversions, all of them on recumbents (but why commute on anything else?). Here's a link to that portion of his website.

http://www.bikeroute.com/BikeAnnex/Electric.html

As of last last year, after a 14 year run, he had to give up the business, but I'm sure he would be more than happy to answer any questions.

PM me if you interested, and I'll pass along his email addy.

Stephan