The Sin of Environmentalism

Less you think I am, some anti-environment architect, please note that I have practiced natural resource and energy stewardship & responsibility my whole 35 year career. I actively specify recycled products and promote the even more beneficial practice of "reuse". I have taught Junior College level classes on environmental sensitivity; and I have produced day lighting and passive solar commercial & residential projects for over 30 years. With great respect of our earth, I consider myself to be an "organic intuitive architect", who thinks we should build "of" the earth and not "on" the earth. My environmental beliefs are not due to some arrogant idea that I am "saving the planet"; the planet will take care of itself just fine. It has survived a lot worse, such as the eruption of a volcano, than what mere mortal man can dish out. No, for me, it is simply about responsible stewardship for what I (and everyone else) have been entrusted with by its Creator. But sadly, I must admit that every time I hear the word "green", I just want to throw up!

As I said, I believe every person and certainly we architects should practice good conservative environmental stewardship, but what a bunch of worthless hype is this so-called "green movement". It is basically nothing more than advertising gimmicks to suck people in, and I see the world buying it hook, line & sinker! Has the world turned into a bunch of Lemmings, all running toward the cliff? For me coming out of the 1970s passive solar movement, this "green" nonsense is nothing more than corporate hype. It is simply sickening that I don't see any questioning of this stupid fad. It is the height of arrogance to think your actions will save the planet; but you do have a God-given responsibility to be a good a god steward of God's creation. Aside from basic resource stewardship and some good passive examples dealing with energy & water, there is nothing real about all this "green" save the planet nonsense, but I wish to put forward that there is something much more sinful going on here.

The architectural profession has historically been one to be sensitive to the people, to the users of our built environment. We have hundreds of articles on how people "feel" in a space, or how people "exist" within our cities. Now, many organizations are arrogantly working to direct governments to force people to buy certain light bulbs, control the water level in toilets, control when we are allowed to mow our lawns, and burn up our food supply by pushing the use of ethanol in vehicles.

So what's your point, you say?

The whole global warming premise has been built on a computer model; it is not backed up by measured facts. It is a testament to the adage: "garbage in - garbage out". There is no scientific consensus on the issue, though those promoting the cause want you to think so. The IPCC famous "hockey stick" chart, that Al Gore also likes to present, promotes the false premise that with the pollution of carbon fuels in the Industrial Age, global warming, previously running pretty much flat, is now on a ballistic climb pushing toward the catastrophic end of the planet. The only problem for these pundits is, through ice borings etc. current science now shows an even higher global warming period previously in what is being called the "Medieval Warm Period", after which there was a mini ice age. The facts are that we have been in a cooling period; there has been no global warming since 1998.

All four major global temperature tracking outlets (Hadley, NASA's GISS, UAH, RSS) released data around July 2007 that show over that past year, global temperatures have greatly dropped. What global warming? Wishing to still promote their cause, the environmentalists have now dropped the term "global warming" in favor for "climate change". I hate to break to you, but there has always been "climate change"...that is what the climate does. Governments are pouring billions of dollars at reversing non-existent global warming, by controlling the silly idea of "carbon footprints", along with other climate threat nonsense. Nov. 2007, John Coleman founder of the Weather Channel, called global warming the biggest scam in history. Polar bear populations have increased 5 fold, ice caps have historically always increased and decreased, and global temperature fluctuations have been shown to be tied to solar activity, not to mankind's messy activities. Certain political groups want you to think that you're evil and that your very existence will doom the planet; this carbon garbage and "cap & trade" is not about saving the planet, it is about having "control" over you, and the world is falling for it.

So what's your point, you say? Here is my point.

A leading African social worker, Fiona Kobusingye, is quoted as saying that Africans are battling AIDS, malaria, lung infections, intestinal diseases, war, malnutrition and other problems that kill millions each year, "and yet day after day, Africans are told the biggest threat we face is global warming." Fiona goes on to say, "Al Gore uses more electricity in a week than 28 million Ugandans together use in a year. And those anti-electricity policies are keeping us impoverished." I would also add that our mis-directing of billions of dollars toward these non-existent environmental worries, instead of addressing humanitarian issues, is killing those millions every year.

What right do we have to tell other developing countries, based on a complete hoax, that they cannot develop? It is sinful; people are dying every day! We have the Rwandan Genocide, the War in Darfur, civil war in Chad, and the Second Congo War, just to name a few of the needs TODAY on just one continent! Yet, we see the absolutely wasteful use of billions of dollars for a non-existent problem that politics say may happen hundreds of years from now! This is sinful. How can we possibly go to bed thinking we are doing something "green" when innocent children in Africa are losing limbs in tribal wars and seeing "red", blood red? It makes me just want to throw up!

Our national debt has been growing for a long time; the last two years it has skyrocketed. It took 233 years to pile up the first $12 trillion in debt - if we continue on our current course it will only take us less than 10 years to borrow the second $12 trillion! This would cause American taxpayers to spend almost $500 million in interest payments every day; is this the best use of our money, paying for debt while children die every day?

So, what's the point you say?

I don't suppose this article will be received very well; so entrenched are people into this climate change garbage. I know people long to have a sense of importance, even if it is based on fabricated nonsense. It is indeed exciting to think that by your individual actions that you might actually save the planet. Every one seeks to be important and for their life to count for something.

My argument is more about asking the question, what is more important? What is our real responsibility to the world? The United States of America has been a leader for goodness and helpfulness in the world for 200 years. Burden by unbelievable debt, what happens if we fail to one day even have strength to stand up again? With the daily needs of millions of our "fellow space travelers" on planet earth, can the world afford to waste these incredible amounts of money on non-existent problems? Of course, this nonsensical climate change tidal wave has spread worldwide and you may ask, "What can I, as an individual, do?" I guess I would simply say we eat an elephant one bite at a time. Start by getting off the "climate change train" and speak a different language of social responsibility.

All I know is that one day, I believe, each of us will be asked to account for how we treated "the least of these". What am I going to say about my own actions?