DAILY DIARY – DEBUNK THE JUNK, APRIL 23, 2004

“In ten years all important animal life in the sea will be extinct.  Large areas of coastline will have to be evacuated because of the stench of dead fish.” – Paul Ehrlich, Earth Day, 1970<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

Day 23:  Earth Day, just another reason to solicit money from the public.  The quote above is courtesy of one of our most prolific doomsayers ever.  As you can see the fear mongering has been going on for a very long time, and it seems as if there are some people who will not be happy until the general populace is quivering in fear—huddling in our homes, incapable of making any decisions for ourselves, dependent on those in power to tell us what we can and cannot consume.  It seems that Earth Day really has nothing to do with the Earth, but rather with the glorification of groups dedicated to “saving” us from ourselves.

I once had an e-mail discussion with a geologist or “earth scientist”, you know someone who actually studies the earth and how it functions.  This person felt that the point of Earth Day should be to educate the public about the true nature of our planet and its current state.  I agree.  On Earth Day we should be studying core samples and dirt.  We should become more familiar with layers of rock and things like how beaches are formed and how gravity works.  I don’t see how promoting the sale of t-shirts and plastic items to fill the coffers of so-called “green” groups has any relevance to actually learning something about the planet we live on.

If you are one of those who slept through Earth Science class, allow me to point out that it’s not too late to open a book or spend some time surfing the web and learn more about the planet Earth, be interactive and visit your local museum to check out the geological exhibits.  Understanding how the planet works can result in wiser decisions about issues such as where to live or how to produce more food to feed people.  Here’s an interesting factoid—did you know that the earth’s poles are starting to show signs of a magnetic reversal?  This is not the first time such a thing has happened, such reversals happen every million years or so.  Some data would indicate that the molten iron at the core of the Earth which maintains the planet’s polarity, appears to be reversing and needless to say it could have interesting consequences.  I certainly don’t want to play the role of alarmist or get everyone all scared about a normal geological event, which could take a few thousand years to occur.  I just think a magnetic pole reversal is more interesting than how to spike trees so people don't chop them down.

NOTE:  The notion that the acquisition of food from a “fast-food” restaurant is somehow more destructive to the earth than other sources of food is just ridiculous.  You may as well blame every individual who cooks at home, all the 5 star restaurants and everything in between.  We need food to live well, we need food for energy, we need food to survive.  I have no idea where all this negativity about food is coming from but it's really starting to become quite a nuisance and the sooner we stop demonizing the very thing which helps us survive, no matter what form it takes, the sooner we can turn our attention to more important matters.