The question of the environment flows from feminism
because it implies worship of the earth as mother.
19 Nov. 1990
Editor
The Mississippian
Editor,
In response to your inspiring November 19th edition: I'm afraid
Ms. Elkins contributes to the perpetuation of the fuzzy thinking that
produces the kind of simplistic attack on nature that she deplores.
The idea that humans are a superior life form is naive and
destructive. There is no meaningful evidence of such superiority,
unless one concludes that devising tactics that produce temporary
victories in our ongoing battle against death demonstrate such
superiority.
In fact no other species that I'm aware of systematically
destroys the environment of all living creatures including itself in
the name of its own comfort. No other creature spends the greatest
part of its energy building monuments to its own conceit. No other
creature habitually sets up uneven contests with other species just
to experience the thrill of winning and the self satisfaction of the
unwarranted supposition of superiority.
The contest is rigged and the scales are weighted.
Joe Schiller
The Goals of the Environmental Movement
Editor
The Daily Mississippian
Editor,
Recently, an article appeared in Eco-Logic, which attempted to
denigrate the environmental movement. Some statements made in
the article were:
* The environmental movement is the largest strongest richest
political force on earth.
* The goals of the environmental movement are to reduce
energy consumption by 60%, preserve biodiversity, and transfer
wealth from developed nations to the third world through a system
of taxes on carbon dioxide, enforced by the UN.
* The author states that never before have the voters been so
completely misled and deceived by such a sophisticated barrage of
disinformation and duplicity.
* The author goes on to assign the distant goal of returning man
to a primitive state to the environmental movement.
* Finally he quotes Gary Snyder's statement in Four Changes:
"Mankind has become a locust-like blight on the planet that will
leave a bare cupboard for its own children -- all the while in a kind
of addict's dream of affluence, comfort, eternal progress -- using the
great achievements of science to produce software and swill".
So, we can see that the battle is finally joined. Someone has
finally seen that the environmental movement can lead nowhere
else than away from technology. It is very hard to believe that
humanity can be convinced to follow this dream, but the arguments
are very hard to refute. Of course individual notions like the
greenhouse effect are speculative, but the trashing of the
environment has been documented repeatedly, and if this is a
result of trying to feed 5.5 billion people, think what will occur with
twice as many. So, the ultimate destruction is all but inevitable, the
only question is time.
Still, it is hard to believe. By my calculations, if every human
had one square foot to stand on, they would all fit in Lafayette
county. Or if they each had an acre, they would all fit in the U.S.
Joe Schiller
The Abuse of Compassion in the Service of
Environmentalism
The Mississippian
Editor,
Ricky Baldwin again entertains us with his usual diatribe against
everything that had anything to do with his personal existence on
earth. I note however, I glimmer of truth in his column this time.
He seems to have realized that his views cannot be understood
except as a program to destroy civilization. One could wish his
supporters would adopt the same commitment to truth. Of course it
is only a glimmer. Until he declares his intention to adopt the
lifestyle of a primitive or at least join the Shining Path, I'll be
forgiven if I doubt his commitment.
Of course it is true that civilization finds the resources it needs
to pursue its intellectual and consumptive goals by exploitation of
the raw material at hand. It is apparently thought that such
productions as Macbeth and the Theory of Relativity are worth it. If
Ricky doubts the trade, let him have the honesty to say so. Also, Mr.
Gore, Greenpeace, Earth First, NOW, and all others that pursue the
destruction of Western Culture, especially those who do it in the
bastion of that culture, the higher education community.
Hypocrisy is the main currency of those who try to convince of
the need for change, but hypocrisy can be used for good or ill and in
this case it is being used to destroy its own culture, which is surely
not proper. Since I am not a conspiracist, my personal view is that
the extreme liberals of our community are misled and uninformed.
I am sure they are just as committed to their cars and videotapes as
the rest of us.
As for you, gentle reader, you are at Ole Miss, therefore you are
committed to the use of intellectual tools to exploit the environment
for your personal gain toward the end of living in relative luxury
(compared to your coinhabitants of this world.) Please burden us no
further with your talk of compassion.
Joe Schiller
Editor
The Mississippian
Editor,
In response to Mr. Mettler's column: come on, give me a break,
you only want to save the rain forest in order to find more goodies
to help humans survive even longer in a vastly overpopulated
world. You are as big an exploiter as the companies currently using
the rain forest to soak up excess population and to feed it.
The only rational reason for saving the rain forest is because it
is your mother, and mine. But, in the end the effort will cost us cars
and TV's, plastic and TV dinners, and even indoor plumbing. The
choice is yours, convenience and luxury, or survival. Most, I have no
doubt, will choose convenience and luxury, including Mr. Mettler
and myself. So, we have no choice but to wait. But spare me the
holier than thou rhetoric.
Joe Schiller