On the eve of the 2016 Democrat National Convention, Dwaine Perry, New Jersey Star-Ledger Guest Columnist, and chief of the Ramapough Lunaape Nation wrote of how his group “will help to lead the ‘March for a Clean Energy Revolution,’ which calls for a ban on fracking and an end to dirty and dangerous fossil fuel extraction.”
During the article, Perry cited “the toxic legacy of industrial dumping” like the “Ford Motor Company’s “illegal dumping” of “thousands of tons of paint sludge and other toxic materials.” But he mainly railed about a “global ecological crisis” which requires “systemic action, accountability and justice. We don’t see climate change as a warning,” he writes, “but more a ticking clock, and the time for action is late.”
The action he calls for is anti-energy. He calls his diatribe against live-giving fossil fuels “environmental justice.”
I left these comments:
Reliable, economical energy is the lifeblood of industrial progress and a good standard of living. Solar and wind are intermittent and dilute and cannot be scaled and produced on demand. They are not reliable or economical. So just what is the Ramapough Lunaape Nation doing to solve the intractable drawbacks of “clean energy” to make it a viable replacement for fossil fuels capable of competing on a free energy market? Or is this group simply looking to use the government’s guns to shut down vital fossil fuel development and use, and hope that someone else will somehow find the solutions?
The alleged “ecological crisis” is nothing compared to the human tragedy that will unfold if the anti-fossil fuel movement succeeds. Billions will suffer and die for lack of the energy human life depends on. And Perry has the nerve to conclude the article with “We want everyone to survive and to thrive into future generations.” Thankfully, ecology crusaders weren’t around to stop progress at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Those few of us that would be around today—the future generations of 250 years ago—would still be living short, dangerous, poverty-stricken Dark Age lives.
Energy driven, capitalist enabling industrial development has and continues to produce a safer, cleaner environment for people. Fossil fuels have been by far the leading energy source in taking a hostile, danger-filled natural state of nature and making it hospitable to human flourishing. Until something better is actually developed and demonstrated and proven in the market, it’s cruel and suicidal to hamper fossil fuel development. Never mind the “thousands of tons of paint sludge and other toxic materials were illegally dumped in our communities.” That’s a bait-and-switch tactic. Actual pollution can and should be addressed through technology and law. The issue is energy. Shutting down our progressive energy production in the name of stopping pollution would be the ultimate in “throwing out the baby with the bathwater”—like banning all medicines because they sometimes have negative side effects.
If “corporate greed” is how we label fossil fuel companies, then every one of their customers are equally greedy and guilty of “environmental injustice.” Consumers are the users. How is this group of anti-fossil crusaders going to get to Philadelphia? Can’t drive down in cars. Can’t travel over safe, paved roads. Can’t even ride bicycles. Can’t stop along the way and enjoy a restaurant meal or pick up a bottle of clean water from a convenience store. All of those things require fossil fuels to operate and/or produce. Maybe these marchers will take a grueling days-long hike through dangerous forests to get to Philadelphia the way they would have had to do centuries ago. People choose fossil fuels because it makes their lives better. If fossil fuel producers are guilty, so are these users.
The Ramapough Lunaape Nation and their ilk claims to champion the environment. I champion human life and well-being. They worship raw, unaltered nature. I worship nature transformed to human benefit. They advocate only “clean” energy. I advocate energy of whatever kind can gain consumer acceptance in a free market. They value raw “pristine” nature. I value industrial, technological, economic progress. They’re for energy poverty. I’m for energy abundance. They hate fossil fuels. I love fossil fuels. They are naturalists. I am a humanist.
It’s fitting that the Clean Energy Revolutionaries are marching against reliable energy during the Democrat National Convention. They’ll get a sympathetic ear. The Dems have been captured by radical environmentalist witch doctors who would sacrifice human energy needs to the climate gods. That’s why I’ll never vote Democrat, no matter how pathetic an alternative the GOP chooses for its nominee.
Related Reading:
Four Fallacies That Fracktivists Use To Scare You—Alex Epstein
Fossil Fuels and Climate Change: Remember Life Before Them
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