Many of us who’ve been working in the environmental industry for a long time are greatly disillusioned with environmental groups and much of the mainstream media. Count me in this group.
After 38 years of practicing as a chemist in the environmental industry, I believe that environmental advocates have grown increasingly deceptive over the decades, even as our nation’s environment has grown ever cleaner.
Put aside global warming for the moment. If alarmist environmental groups expect the public to find their dire predictions about climate change credible, shouldn’t the credibility be based on their record regarding other environmental topics? In many cases, that record is embarrassingly shameful. By shouting loud enough, for long enough, they’ve successfully championed false narratives that persist to this day. Millions of ordinary, well-meaning people continue to try to help “save the planet” by following flawed guidance that has seeped its way into the storehouse of conventional wisdom.
1. We’re Running Out of Landfill Space/We Must Recycle
At no point in time was the United States ever running out of landfill space. There was a period about 30 years ago when the number of landfills was dropping. The numbers were dropping quite quickly, in fact. That was a result of old, relatively small infills that were located close to municipalities falling out of fashion and closing. They would be replaced by so-called mega fills. These are large, modern landfills located far from populated areas and engineered with modern environmental standards in mind. So although the number of landfills decreased, overall landfill acreage didn’t.2. Our Forests Are Disappearing
If the United States is ever in danger of running out of trees, it won’t be because we’re cutting too many down or not planting enough. It will be because the government’s management of our forests has grown so incredibly incompetent that they'll be consumed by an ever-increasing number of wildfires.
3. Burning Fossil Fuel in the U.S. Is ‘Dirty’ and Dangerous to Public Health
Reminder: Climate change is off the table in this discussion. We’re talking only about “conventional” criteria and hazardous pollutants right now.Over the centuries since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, we’ve grown increasingly more efficient at pulling more and more energy out of fossil fuels and at reducing the amount of pollutants generated while doing so. People living in the Third World who burn wood or dung while living within tightly packed quarters are exposed to far more hazardous and criteria pollutants than anyone in more-modern countries that utilize efficient, state-of-the-art, and closely regulated systems to produce the maximum power per capita at the lowest possible price.
4. Overpopulation
Contrary to what you may have heard, the planet isn’t overcrowded. If we gave every person on the planet a couple of square feet to stand in, Earth’s population would fit inside the city of Houston. That’s it. And now demographic changes tell us that underpopulation is going to be the problem very soon for a great number of countries. Yet, the myth persists that the planet is overcrowded.It’s true that we don’t always do a great job of getting resources to where they’re needed, but that’s about logistics, not supply.
There are plenty more examples such as this. It’s baffling to find that the humorless, hysterical messages of the environmental movement continue to be taken seriously by so many. Ignorance may be to blame, or perhaps it’s a simple matter of self preservation. Probably, it’s a mixture of both.
Whatever the reason, rarely in the course of human events have so many been so wrong so often.
