There is not one person on the planet who doesn't understand the importance of environment. We all live in one big environment, and we are all experts at it.
Environmentalists are we all
Every last one of us knows that in order to survive, we need shelter, which is a sub-environment of the great outdoors: the environment. Within our sub-environment, we try to maintain a survivable temperature for comfort and freedom. How do we obtain these sub-enviroments? We go out to the main environment and find what we need like a squirrel foraging for survival. There is no other way. As environmentalists, we also know and understand balance. We know that we need to conserve what we can, protect what we must, and find balance between these two ideals. For humans to survive, there will always be resources used and waste left over unless we revert back to the days of early man. Our lifespans would be shortened, and we'd have no tools, no fire, and little food. We'd survive and then die, only to be eaten by the environment. Even at that point, we'll have produced waste gasses and bones. You simply cannot get away from it.
There is definitive evidence out there based upon sediments in mud that primitive man tried to improve his environment. Through sedimentary analysis, scientists can see where early man figured out how to roast a saber-toothed rabbit for dinner. After he figured fire out, the caves were warmer; and Brugah's Bar-B-Q was up and running. With each improvement to his own sub-environment in the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness as inalienable rights given to him by the Creator, Brugah added a little more smoke to the air and a growing collection of broken bones and pottery at the edge of camp (as a side note, Brugah had to mine the clay for the pottery). When the bone pile became too large and the firewood supply ran low, Brugah the caveman, moved his camp to better pickins. This went on for four million evolutionary years.
No matter how you slice it, we are all environmentalists and consumers simultaneously. We can only survive through a balance in our use of resources. We can't afford to make a huge mess and walk away because depleting resources impinges on the rights of others while diminishing our own chances for survival. As technology improves, our proficiency at tending our environment increases. The environment improves because it contributes to our well being. We have better, more productive farming, better logging practices, and immensely better mining engineering compared to only 30 years ago. Companies and their employees care about our environment because they all live in it as well. Minnesota has very restrictive environmental regulations already in place to ensure our intelligent, ecologically sound use of resources. Ask around - Minnesota has comparatively strict state restrictions regarding the environment.
Now, are there exceptions to the points I've made above? Of course. I'm willing to bet we have a vast majority of people out there who know it's not right to dump used motor oil in a waterway. For the minority who feel is it acceptable to act detrimentally to our envrionment, we have laws and punishment. For those living in ignorance, we have myriad educational tools. When laws and education fail, we have mitigation. Clean up the mess and move forward. These are norms already well-established within our society and particularly so in Minnesota.
Look to northern Minnesota for proof of our environment getting better. I've been here, at my resort in the woods, for my entire life. If you spent any time in lush, green, clean northern Minnesota in the summer of 2015 looking up at the night sky, you noticed that we have become better at keeping our environment cleaner. I have never witnessed clearer skies for months on end. There were too many stars from which to separate the constellations. Everyone around the campfire commented on the dazzing stars and the visible colors of the Milky Way as it split the darkness and filled it with twilight. How is that possible while being located at the edge of the Iron Range where mining occurs? Shouldn't we have been looking through dust and debris struggling to find Polaris? The sky has always been clear, but believe it is clearer still. Do you know why that is? It's because we are all environmentalists in this country.
Regardless of the badge we choose to wear, we all use cars, smartphones, homes, tools, food, clothing, medical technology, and air. Many demand cars that get better mileage not because we want to "save the environment" but instead, to save our hard-earned money. An efficient car is cheaper to own and each successive issue is more environmentally sound. When was the last time you saw a "pollution output" number listed on a new car invoice? They always list the mileage instead. I've always looked and considered the mileage, and environmental impact doesn't seem to be a concern. In my quest for higher mileage in a vehicle that performs the needed task, I made a positive envrionmental decision. A lot of environmentalists like me go one step further and analyze the associated costs to produce an "eco-cool" vehicle and have deteremined that in the long run, the owner of the "eco-cool" car is really polluting far more. Real envrionmentalists don't get caught up in buzz-words and feel-good slogans. We trust the math and science for a real understanding and worry less about outward appearances to other environmentlists who are caught up in the game being played.
So which causes a much greater impact on the environment? A gargantuan house on a shimmering wilderness lake with a paved driveway and all sorts of nice things inside or a modest house with ordinary stuff? How about owning two or three gargantuan houses in different parts of the country? How about adding cars that stay parked at these wonderful abodes for the convenience of having a car while vacationing? How about all the fuel burned to go to and from these wonderful places scattered about the country or planet? What sort of environmentalist maintains this lifestyle? Why is this peculiarity overlooked? Many claim this flamboyant lifestyle while loudly proclaiming their moral high ground in environmental stewardship. They try to affect the existence of all t with deception and litigation while jetting around the globe to their nice places. That is clearly hypocritical. It's the problem they so vehemently fight against. Talk is cheap. Unneccessary government protections based on emotion or punitive details means ordinary environmentalists can't put food on their tables for their families. Meanwhile, the movers and shakers are at 35,000 feet above the ground enroute to some other place they think needs saving - while threatening the survival of regular people everywhere.
I can't help but notice just how many outspoken, so-called environmentalists have nice things that came from mining while they continue to speak against the evils of mining as interpreted by their "expertise" on the subject. Every single amenity they enjoy, from the Italian marble counter tops to the tiniest of nails holding up the family photo, was mined somewhere. To date, the only way to get anything that is made with the tiniest amount of metal, which includes all the tools to build that big fancy house, is to mine the construction materials. If you like the portrait of the family pet on the wall, those pigments in the oil paint came from mining. How about your glass windows? Mining. How about those little colored rocks on those architectural shingles on the roof? Mining. How about the kitty litter that the cat so enjoys flinging around the basement? Mining. How about the sump pump in the basement? Mining. How about the saws that cut down the trees which were used in the stud walls of that nice big home? Mining. Modern life is made possible by mining. All of these things are used with complete abandon in broad daylight by so-called environmentalists who loudly oppose all mining. Do any of their supporters notice this? How do they explain this paradox?
Well, all the rest of us environmentalists use these things, too. Ours may not be as fancy since we all weren't involved in a lifetime of bringing lawsuits and injunctions against companies under the auspices of "environmentalism", but we survive and are every bit as concerned about our environment. Based on how we live, I say we actually make a far lesser impact on our environment.
Poseurs of Environmental Causes are Activists
Compared to us, these people are poseurs, players, fakers, liars, and scammers. They are associated with non-truths and emotion-driven supporters who don't seem to take these factors into consideration. We will no longer allow these so-called environmentalists to think they somehow own the moral high ground on the environment. We regular environmentalists actually DO care about our land, water, and air qualities because we live here. These so-called environmentalists are activists. Their main focus is power (and the money & control that certainly follows).
How do I know what these activists say is false? They all own cars, homes, and eat food which, in turn, burns energy, cuts down trees, and produces sewage. Do you ever see them give up going to the doctor or dentist? Do they forgo vacations to lessen their carbon footprint? They are not environmentalists like the rest of us. They are ACTIVISTS who use every aspect of mining available to them with abandon, right out in the open, every single minute....and then they speak against it.
Your environment and well-being is the least of their concern. These are not true environmentalists.
Take away their attempt to hold the moral high ground. The time has come for this to end. We are all environmentalists. They are simply activists.
Environmentalists are we all
Every last one of us knows that in order to survive, we need shelter, which is a sub-environment of the great outdoors: the environment. Within our sub-environment, we try to maintain a survivable temperature for comfort and freedom. How do we obtain these sub-enviroments? We go out to the main environment and find what we need like a squirrel foraging for survival. There is no other way. As environmentalists, we also know and understand balance. We know that we need to conserve what we can, protect what we must, and find balance between these two ideals. For humans to survive, there will always be resources used and waste left over unless we revert back to the days of early man. Our lifespans would be shortened, and we'd have no tools, no fire, and little food. We'd survive and then die, only to be eaten by the environment. Even at that point, we'll have produced waste gasses and bones. You simply cannot get away from it.
There is definitive evidence out there based upon sediments in mud that primitive man tried to improve his environment. Through sedimentary analysis, scientists can see where early man figured out how to roast a saber-toothed rabbit for dinner. After he figured fire out, the caves were warmer; and Brugah's Bar-B-Q was up and running. With each improvement to his own sub-environment in the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness as inalienable rights given to him by the Creator, Brugah added a little more smoke to the air and a growing collection of broken bones and pottery at the edge of camp (as a side note, Brugah had to mine the clay for the pottery). When the bone pile became too large and the firewood supply ran low, Brugah the caveman, moved his camp to better pickins. This went on for four million evolutionary years.
No matter how you slice it, we are all environmentalists and consumers simultaneously. We can only survive through a balance in our use of resources. We can't afford to make a huge mess and walk away because depleting resources impinges on the rights of others while diminishing our own chances for survival. As technology improves, our proficiency at tending our environment increases. The environment improves because it contributes to our well being. We have better, more productive farming, better logging practices, and immensely better mining engineering compared to only 30 years ago. Companies and their employees care about our environment because they all live in it as well. Minnesota has very restrictive environmental regulations already in place to ensure our intelligent, ecologically sound use of resources. Ask around - Minnesota has comparatively strict state restrictions regarding the environment.
Now, are there exceptions to the points I've made above? Of course. I'm willing to bet we have a vast majority of people out there who know it's not right to dump used motor oil in a waterway. For the minority who feel is it acceptable to act detrimentally to our envrionment, we have laws and punishment. For those living in ignorance, we have myriad educational tools. When laws and education fail, we have mitigation. Clean up the mess and move forward. These are norms already well-established within our society and particularly so in Minnesota.
Look to northern Minnesota for proof of our environment getting better. I've been here, at my resort in the woods, for my entire life. If you spent any time in lush, green, clean northern Minnesota in the summer of 2015 looking up at the night sky, you noticed that we have become better at keeping our environment cleaner. I have never witnessed clearer skies for months on end. There were too many stars from which to separate the constellations. Everyone around the campfire commented on the dazzing stars and the visible colors of the Milky Way as it split the darkness and filled it with twilight. How is that possible while being located at the edge of the Iron Range where mining occurs? Shouldn't we have been looking through dust and debris struggling to find Polaris? The sky has always been clear, but believe it is clearer still. Do you know why that is? It's because we are all environmentalists in this country.
Regardless of the badge we choose to wear, we all use cars, smartphones, homes, tools, food, clothing, medical technology, and air. Many demand cars that get better mileage not because we want to "save the environment" but instead, to save our hard-earned money. An efficient car is cheaper to own and each successive issue is more environmentally sound. When was the last time you saw a "pollution output" number listed on a new car invoice? They always list the mileage instead. I've always looked and considered the mileage, and environmental impact doesn't seem to be a concern. In my quest for higher mileage in a vehicle that performs the needed task, I made a positive envrionmental decision. A lot of environmentalists like me go one step further and analyze the associated costs to produce an "eco-cool" vehicle and have deteremined that in the long run, the owner of the "eco-cool" car is really polluting far more. Real envrionmentalists don't get caught up in buzz-words and feel-good slogans. We trust the math and science for a real understanding and worry less about outward appearances to other environmentlists who are caught up in the game being played.
So which causes a much greater impact on the environment? A gargantuan house on a shimmering wilderness lake with a paved driveway and all sorts of nice things inside or a modest house with ordinary stuff? How about owning two or three gargantuan houses in different parts of the country? How about adding cars that stay parked at these wonderful abodes for the convenience of having a car while vacationing? How about all the fuel burned to go to and from these wonderful places scattered about the country or planet? What sort of environmentalist maintains this lifestyle? Why is this peculiarity overlooked? Many claim this flamboyant lifestyle while loudly proclaiming their moral high ground in environmental stewardship. They try to affect the existence of all t with deception and litigation while jetting around the globe to their nice places. That is clearly hypocritical. It's the problem they so vehemently fight against. Talk is cheap. Unneccessary government protections based on emotion or punitive details means ordinary environmentalists can't put food on their tables for their families. Meanwhile, the movers and shakers are at 35,000 feet above the ground enroute to some other place they think needs saving - while threatening the survival of regular people everywhere.
I can't help but notice just how many outspoken, so-called environmentalists have nice things that came from mining while they continue to speak against the evils of mining as interpreted by their "expertise" on the subject. Every single amenity they enjoy, from the Italian marble counter tops to the tiniest of nails holding up the family photo, was mined somewhere. To date, the only way to get anything that is made with the tiniest amount of metal, which includes all the tools to build that big fancy house, is to mine the construction materials. If you like the portrait of the family pet on the wall, those pigments in the oil paint came from mining. How about your glass windows? Mining. How about those little colored rocks on those architectural shingles on the roof? Mining. How about the kitty litter that the cat so enjoys flinging around the basement? Mining. How about the sump pump in the basement? Mining. How about the saws that cut down the trees which were used in the stud walls of that nice big home? Mining. Modern life is made possible by mining. All of these things are used with complete abandon in broad daylight by so-called environmentalists who loudly oppose all mining. Do any of their supporters notice this? How do they explain this paradox?
Well, all the rest of us environmentalists use these things, too. Ours may not be as fancy since we all weren't involved in a lifetime of bringing lawsuits and injunctions against companies under the auspices of "environmentalism", but we survive and are every bit as concerned about our environment. Based on how we live, I say we actually make a far lesser impact on our environment.
Poseurs of Environmental Causes are Activists
Compared to us, these people are poseurs, players, fakers, liars, and scammers. They are associated with non-truths and emotion-driven supporters who don't seem to take these factors into consideration. We will no longer allow these so-called environmentalists to think they somehow own the moral high ground on the environment. We regular environmentalists actually DO care about our land, water, and air qualities because we live here. These so-called environmentalists are activists. Their main focus is power (and the money & control that certainly follows).
How do I know what these activists say is false? They all own cars, homes, and eat food which, in turn, burns energy, cuts down trees, and produces sewage. Do you ever see them give up going to the doctor or dentist? Do they forgo vacations to lessen their carbon footprint? They are not environmentalists like the rest of us. They are ACTIVISTS who use every aspect of mining available to them with abandon, right out in the open, every single minute....and then they speak against it.
Your environment and well-being is the least of their concern. These are not true environmentalists.
Take away their attempt to hold the moral high ground. The time has come for this to end. We are all environmentalists. They are simply activists.
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