Sometimes the grass just isn’t greener

Being a home-baked ‘Greenie’ myself, I’m very aware of the damage that can be done to the cause when emotion holds sway. I wince when I see Greenpeace activists - in South Africa - Earthlife Africa - http://www.earthlife.org.za  - and so-called ‘spokespeople’ on TV defending some or other environmental cause. When are they going to understand that unwashed hair, ragged beards, tie-dyed T-shirts and unkempt appearances do little for media credibility? That look may have worked in the sixties, but not any longer.

I recently caught a few minutes of a panel discussion on SABC TV regarding the ethics of experimentation on animals for medical or other purposes. Again, the bunny-huggers (and I am one) were the weak link in the program. The ‘evil scientists’ - in this case Vets - made calm and rational cases for the need, at some stage of developing life-saving drugs, to test them for specific cellular or other reactions in animals. In their view, this is necessary and helpful even if the animal immune systems and responses don’t mirror those of humans. I’m not arguing their cause - merely commenting on their process.

The two people arguing on behalf of the animals were emotional, irrational, made sweeping statements and generalisations and were an embarrassment to their cause. The one was the secretary of the Nan Hua Buddhist Temple http://www.nanhua.co.za in Bronkhorstspruit. The temple would do well to have as a media spokesperson, someone with a lower-pitched voice, less physical agitation and a calmer demeanour altogether. Not only did he do damage to the bunny huggers, but to the concept of Buddhist tranquillity.

As an example of how emotion can cloud the real issues around global warming, dimming, climate change, environmental pollution and nuclear vs. supposed ‘eco-friendly’ energy sources, look at the accompanying visual. It’s a letter to the editor of the excellent CAR magazine, http://www.cartoday.com January 2007 issue. It debunks the notion that the Toyota Prius, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius which we thought was the poster child for environmentally friendly cars, is the way to go. Read it. Read the editorial response and become more sceptical about claims made by producers or manufacturers of ‘environmentally friendly’ or ‘bio-degradable’ or whatever else they want to call it, products or services.

 

People look at enormous windmill-type power generators and assume they’re better for the planet than nuclear. They’re not – because they have the same non-recyclability battery and other issues that the Toyota Prius has. And in some really windy places around the world they’re running at appallingly low levels of efficiency. In the interests of transparency by the way, I’m pro-nuclear. Particularly regarding our evolving South African Pebble Bed Modular Reactor technology. http://www.pbmr.co.za

The youthful and naïve British ‘Climate Change Minister’ (what a moniker!), Ian Pearson, has gone for his 15 minutes of fame. Go read http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6233019.stm He’s slammed the airline industry and specifically low-cost carrier Ryan Air http://www.ryanair.com for its contribution to global warming. He’s a total ass of course, because the airline industry globally is guilty of only a 2% contribution to the emissions problem. But because it’s highly visible it’s an easy target and a populist whipping boy. Ryan Air’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, calmly, wittily and scathingly repudiated the argument with the true statistics and facts. Even British PM Tony Blair was cornered by Sky News TV and attempted to weasel his way out of personal culpability because of his long-haul holiday flights. But the media weren’t interested in the 2% airline factor. They were more interested in making a story out of nothing.

What can we learn from this? It’s not helpful to try scoring brownie points with inaccurate and emotive ‘information’. That steadily erodes and undermines the credibility not only of the spokespeople but of the cause itself. Global warming, pollution and other environmental issues start with a constituency of one. You. Me. And unless we individually re-examine our habits and practises, the debate will continue but little will actually change for the better. Meantime, there’s a lot of money to be made from the issue, by a lot of unscrupulous people.

http://www.imbizo.com