January 1997 Vol. XIV, No. 1

ENVIRONMENTALIST PROPAGANDA SUCCEEDS

A campaign designed to achieve long-term success against all odds, to persuade a people to renounce their own principles and even act contrary to their own best interests and survival instinct, must start by winning over the youth.

A teacher at one of the better high schools in Tucson, Arizona, administered the long version of the quiz given by ``Fossil Bill'' Kramer at the 1996 DDP meeting. Although DDP attendees got most of the answers right (see the Sept. 1996 issue), a majority of the high-school students disagreed with them on every point.

Environmental ``education'' has been mandated by state law in Arizona (on its unscientific, politically loaded content-see Nov. 1994 issue-controversy continues, but the agenda is set and is unlikely to change).

On global warming: 70% of the 78 students believe that rising CO₂ will raise earthly temperatures, melt polar ice caps, and inundate island nations and coastal cities. However, 30% of the same students also agreed with the contradictory statement that ``more CO<sub>2</sub> means little; CO<sub>2</sub> already present absorbs most radiation in the spectrum affected by the gas.'' Still more surprisingly, 8 of 78 students agree both with the catastrophic global warming scenario and the statement that ``global warming might be a good thing.'' (Is logic in the curriculum at all?)

The ozone hoax and the ``precautionary'' policy also enjoy widespread acceptance: 79% say that ``whether or not science agrees, the CFC ban is wise in case depletion exists.'' Only 16% recognize that ``there is no long-term ozone depletion,'' and only 4.6% that ``ozone doesn't absorb melanoma-causing rays and has little effect on such cancers.'' More than 78% have fallen for the ``millions of cases of malignant melanoma'' assertion.

The EPA's fear-mongering about radon has largely succeeded: 55% agree that ``whatever the cost, the EPA should mandate radon-proofing'' [as if that were actually possible]. Only 24% disagree, and 20% did not answer the question.

The anti-timber industry forces have triumphed: 73% believe that ``dead trees should be left in forests to provide essential nutrients for future growth''; 80% believe that ``old growth is important to biodiversity, oxygen production, and CO₂ absorption,'' and 87% that ``continued cutting of rain forests will bring oxygen depletion and build-up of CO₂,'' all of which are incorrect. Moreover, failure to clear dead growth assures large-scale forest destruction by fire.

Nuclear energy has few supporters: 60% say it's true that ``nuclear power plants are expensive, impractical, and produce radioactive wastes impossible to dispose of.'' The irradiation of foods fares better: 58% think that ``irradiated foods should be readily available but not mandated,'' while a substantial minority (42%) think the process should be banned. Again, inconsistency is rampant: 51% of the students who agree that the process should be banned also think that the product should be available.

Nearly 63% of students are convinced that world population is ``far too high'' and that it ``threatens mass starvation, depleted resources, and disastrous pollution.'' A frightening 23% are ready to say that ``no family is entitled to more than two children'' and that ``childbearing must be licensed.'' Nearly half are apparently ready to ensure mass starvation as they say that ``fertilizers and pesticides are poisonous, carcinogenic, and should be banned.''

The U.S. Constitution's protection of property rights─the necessary foundation for all other human rights─is supported by the minority of students: only 46% disagree with the statement that ``private property rights must be subordinated to environmental goals'' [emphasis added]. Nearly 70% think that plant and animal species that are disappearing must be preserved ``at all costs'' for ``they have as much right to exist as humans'' [and apparently humans have no more right to exist

than a snail darter]. Again, there is inconsistency: 36% agreed with both the ``at all costs'' and ``only within reason'' criteria for species preservation.

Absolute, objective standards of truth are apparently unrecognized or not valued by the majority: 58% agreed with the statement that ``science findings should reflect cultural values as well as hard information. Scientists must relate to society or forfeit credibility.''

While the majority of students are not ready to renounce the U.S. Constitution altogether, 22% agree with the radical statement that ``capitalism cannot provide environmental protection or sustainable use of resources. Only a world socialist state can do so.''

Parents: do you know what they're teaching your children at school? [And shouldn't they attend the next DDP meeting?]

For those who would like to combine a unique educational experience with a family vacation, the Bahia Hotel in San Diego has reserved a small block of rooms before the DDP meeting at the conference rate: a real bargain for the height of the season in San Diego: $99 single or double, plus $15 per extra person. Rates apply from June 11 through June 15. Only a small number of rooms are available before June 13, so if you want to come early and enjoy the beach and the numerous attractions of San Diego, you must call without delay: 1-800-288-0770 (1-800-233-8172 from Canada). Cut-off date for all reservations is May 2.

The hotel is on beautiful Mission Bay and is two blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Just outside your room are opportunities for watersport lessons, boat rentals, or a moonlight cruise on a sternwheeler. Schedule these activities early because you will not want to miss a program packed with outstanding speakers.

This November and December, I travelled to Chile and Argentina, visiting Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego to investigate pseudoenvironmentalist claims that a great increase in UV light has caused skin cancer (especially among sunbathers), blindness in great numbers of sheep, and death to whole forests of trees.

Almost everybody I saw was wearing woolen clothing under a parka. A Reuters news story reported an Argentine government advisory against sunbathing between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., but the average temperature during the sun-tanning period of the day is 46 degrees with a wind chill factor of 26 degrees Fahrenheit. Nobody was sunbathing. When I questioned people about Al Gore's frightening reports in Earth in the Balance about widespread blinding of sheep, they knew of no cases. We saw hundreds of active, healthy sheep along the roads, and all of them ran much faster than they could have with impaired vision.

North of Puerto Natales, in Chile, we saw many dead trees along the road, but they were the remains of very old trees and were especially noticeable in flat areas where water was at or near the surface (the trees are notoriously sensitive to excess water around their roots). Many hillside trees were heavily infested with parasitic plants, especially Usnia lichens and Myzodendron foliage, both of which are known to cause tree deaths. Further south, much closer to the famous ``hole in the ozone layer,'' it was rare to see recently killed trees. From the mountains and ridges near Ushuaia, I photographed great expanses of healthy forests. I also walked through the forests for many hours without finding any trees that had recently died. My conclusion is that the pseudoenvironmentalists and the deliberate propagandists also ``misspoke'' about alleged effects of UV light on southern forests.

J. Gordon Edwards, Ph.D., Biology Department, San Jose State University