In my (only slightly) satirical column for the Washington Examiner today, I take aim at the hypocrisy and futility of the street-harassment/eco-activism that many of us encounter so often as we try and get to and from work. The question, really, is this: Do green activists do any good at all, or are they merely part of the (alleged) problem? From the column:
A few weeks ago, I was walking the streets of Washington, D.C. when I happened to look up and catch the eye of a red-faced young man wearing the two things which cause me dread — the naive optimism of youth and a shirt that read “Go Green!”
He had a clipboard, too. Never a good sign. Nor was he alone — his green-shirted cohorts swarmed the sidewalk, accosting every passersby whose attention they could capture with: “Do you have a moment for the environment?”
Fortunately, I speak fluent liberalese, so I understood this request to really mean, “Can I try and convince you the Earth is warming even as we stand here and shiver, and that you could do something to stop it by handing over money to a complete stranger on the street?”
Frankly, I was appalled by the obliviousness of these seemingly well-meaning do-gooders. Do they know how many trees died to produce the pamphlets and flyers they were distributing will-nilly?
I’m sure they communicated with each other via email and text as they planned their eco-harassment campaign …. don’t they know that computers use electricity, and that electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, which puts dangerous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere?
And I’m quite sure that these environmentalists came from homes heated by, you guessed it, fossil fuels!
So you see, by their own measure these apparent green warriors are actually the worst sort of climate criminals — why, the very breath puffing from their mouths, visible and vaporous, was bursting with poisonous CO2, even as it carried honeyed words of environmental concern. Imagine!
Read the whole thing here:
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I think you are giving a slanted view of people that are trying to do good. I would have assumed that they are simply asking people to reduce their carbon footprint. I’m not sure why this would be a bad thing. I would like to hear more on why you would classify them as the ‘worst sort of climate criminals’. I agree that they should not be passing out pamphlets willy nilly, as you stated. I will have to take your word on the willy nilliness of their efforts. I would assume by your statement that you sat and observed them for a lengthy time.
I, for one, am all for reducing the amount of pollutants in the air. I understand that the more pollution we have means the more jobs we have. More isn’t always better.
When do we pay attention to an issue that may or may not be critical to our survival? Will our future generations sit and scratch their heads wondering why we were so ignorant and did nothing to make sure their earth wasn’t taken care of? Perhaps we should just keep on living life and let them worry about the mess. After all, that is what past generations have done. Why not us?
I agree with you. It is our right to destroy what is ours while we own it. Let the next generation worry about it when they get it. Let’s hope they didn’t all read the book, “The Giver”. That may be their solution. Well, I guess we will get what we deserve if we leave it up to others to do our jobs.
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