Information Related to "Going Green: The Story Behind the Story"
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Twenty years ago, a U.S. Senate committee heard testimony on climate change from NASA climatologist James Hansen. He told the committee that "the greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is changing our climate now."
Hansen's landmark testimony triggered an avalanche of research, political debate and environmental activism that continues to this day. However, there are concerns about where all of this is taking us. Some believe there is a dark side to environmentalism that is beginning to overshadow the good work of those who simply wish to take care of our natural resources.
The two extremes As in every aspect of life, there are extremes in the way people view the environment. Some greedy businesspeople couldn't care less about the damage they do to the earth. At the other extreme, ecoterrorists seem not to care about people and destruction of property.
Groups such as the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) have claimed responsibility for multiple acts of ecoterrorism during the past decade, including the recent destruction of three luxury homes near Seattle, Washington, with damages totaling $7 million. Ironically, these homes and the surrounding housing developments were designed to be environmentally friendly.
Said Gary Perlstein, professor emeritus at Portland State University, "This is more than an environmental issue to them, this is an issue of faith" (quoted by Jennifer Langston, "Shadowy ELF Saboteurs May Be on the Rise Again," The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 4, 2008). But this type of faith is not pleasing to God, putting the creation above the Creator and His laws (Romans 1:25).
As disturbing as this is, some believe that misguided government policies may actually do more damage to both the world economy and the environment than the crusades of ecoterrorists. For example, subsidies for corn ethanol are driving up the price of food around the world and pushing millions of poor people into hunger. Such reactionary policies can have unintended consequences.
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Table of Contents that includes "Going Green: The Story Behind the Story"
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