Crusade against environmentalists

I had no idea that some part of the very religious right had become so organized and stark in the attacks of people concerned about environmental health.

Much of this debate seems to centre on the interpretation of one of the most contentious verses in the Bible – the so-called Dominion Mandate, or Genesis 1:28: And God blessed them [Adam and Eve], and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the Earth. An organisation in the US called the Cornwall Alliance has intentionally and prominently positioned itself at the very heart of this debate. It describes itself as "a coalition of clergy, theologians, religious leaders, scientists, academics, and policy experts committed to bringing a balanced Biblical view of stewardship to the critical issues of environment and development". Its board of advisors features many religious leaders and thinkers, but includes scientists such as the climate sceptic Dr Roy Spencer. Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, its spokesman, is a prominent media figure in the US, appearing on shows such as Fox News' Glenn Beck, where he dispenses his harsh criticism of environmentalism. To better understand this mindset, I recently approached Beisner with an interview request. He agreed, but said that he wanted me to first read the Cornwall Alliance's latest book called Resisting the Green Dragon: Dominion not Death. Written by James Wanliss, who describes himself as a "Christian physicist", the book is built on the premise that "without doubt one of the greatest threats to society and the church today is the multifaceted environmentalist movement". It's hard to summarise any book in a few sentences, but here are a few snippets to give a flavour of the book's tone: The Litany of the Green Dragon provides some certainty for people without God, who drift steadily from their rational moorings, and for whom there is an increasing sense of separation anxiety... We humans are special creatures, in a class of our own, quite separate from, and superior to, trees and animals... The Green Dragon must die…[There] is no excuse to become befuddled by the noxious Green odors and doctrines emanating from the foul beast...
If we or they must die I know who I'd pick.

The problem is that now every group with an agenda has their own “think tank” to spew out propaganda based on their interpretation of the “facts”. Groups such as the one described here have gone a step further and labeled us with a strawman argument to brush aside the scientific contentions of nearly every climatologist on the planet and it’s a religiously based argument. Those in the religious thought bubble will lap this up as they’ve been told to do by their “leaders” and the lie will spread throughout the xtian community. Unfortunately there is no counter to blind faith; you can’t sucessfully debate willing followers but we can keep the pressure on the politicians who are affected by this drivel by pointing out that the real facts are scientifically based and not dependent on shephardic folk myth, or as they say in the book, “a house (in this case an argument) built on sand”. Green dragon indeed. How about bucolic witless shephardic for their group?
Cap’t Jack

So even though they live in the modern world they still believe in the equivalent of sucubi, incubi and witches from the kind of rhetoric coming out of these groups. The more I learn about the extreme wing of the Evangelical movement the more embarrassed I am I was ever part of the broader movement even for just a few years. It’s no different than a cult when it’s member follow such nonsense.
I think we can also get an idea of how so much death and misery has been caused in the past when supposedly good people use faith as a weapon.

The truly pitiful thing is, you just KNOW if you could see inside the heads of these people, you’d see that they know they are wrong but instead of being adults and adjusting their beliefs, they choose to close their eyes and minds and dig in harder. Their own self-worth is so tied up with their religion that they can’t change. And honestly, IMHO if there was a god, she’d be ashamed of them.

The truly pitiful thing is, you just KNOW if you could see inside the heads of these people, you'd see that they know they are wrong but instead of being adults and adjusting their beliefs, they choose to close their eyes and minds and dig in harder. Their own self-worth is so tied up with their religion that they can't change. And honestly, IMHO if there was a god, she'd be ashamed of them.
That was true in my case and something else I'm not very proud of.

While people like F.L. recognized the problem with their beliefs and many of them, like F.L., do finally come out using logic rather than desired belief, most of the religious haven’t been taught how to examine statements for rationality and reasonableness, and they don’t even recognize deep in their brains that their ideas don’t make sense.
Occam

It’s hard to look back at that time, part of me wanted the end of the world to come so Christ would return.
Now I think that people who believe that are insane…literally.

It's hard to look back at that time, part of me wanted the end of the world to come so Christ would return. Now I think that people who believe that are insane...literally.
It does seem a bit like insanity. But I consider it to be more like an arrested development, i.e., more of a developmental delay (that for many is delayed perpetually) than a psychiatric disorder.
The truly pitiful thing is, you just KNOW if you could see inside the heads of these people, you'd see that they know they are wrong but instead of being adults and adjusting their beliefs, they choose to close their eyes and minds and dig in harder. Their own self-worth is so tied up with their religion that they can't change. And honestly, IMHO if there was a god, she'd be ashamed of them.
She would not be ashamed of them, she would know that she created humans with no free will. Besides that she would have to know that humans would believe in destructive things and she would know who would and would not be able to change those beliefs because she created them with or without the ability to adjust their beliefs. Lois
The truly pitiful thing is, you just KNOW if you could see inside the heads of these people, you'd see that they know they are wrong but instead of being adults and adjusting their beliefs, they choose to close their eyes and minds and dig in harder. Their own self-worth is so tied up with their religion that they can't change. And honestly, IMHO if there was a god, she'd be ashamed of them.
She would not be ashamed of them, she would know that she created humans with no free will. Lois Quite right Lois and very important.
It does seem a bit like insanity. But I consider it to be more like an arrested development, i.e., more of a developmental delay (that for many is delayed perpetually) than a psychiatric disorder.
Well Said.
I had no idea that some part of the very religious right had become so organized and stark in the attacks of people concerned about environmental health. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/may/05/evangelical-christian-environmentalism-green-dragon
Oh hell, that's long, I got no time for that now, sounds ugly but I got work to do. I'll check it out this evening. Funny though it's timely with what I came over here to share:
Thursday, May 22, 2014 Contemplating the contrarian mind in action http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2014/05/contemplating-contrarian-mind-in-action.html
~ ~ ~ PS Here's one heck of a video - I think this one nails it better than any other concise summation of the problem with theocracy and presuming one understands God's Mind.
Hitchens on why theocracy is evil. Published on Mar 22, 2013 Hitchens delivers one of his best off the cuff hammer blows to cocky audiance member https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ2LehsA1dk
Hey fuzzy perhaps start a thread at SKEP {since bad me can't any more} and show them these musings? :)

Actually, now that I think of it, this one is more to the point.

KJ, why shouldn't Earth have an Advocate? Monday, May 19, 2014 http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2014/05/kj-whynot-earth-first.html Last summer I reposted an excellent collection of AGW education videos that was compiled by one "Greenfyre." Last week I received the following comment regarding Greenfyre - I figure it deserves it's own post
On 5/15/14 KJ aka TxSmiler wrote: "Please be honest enough to post this background information on Greenfyre. Greenfyre is the Internet blog and screen name for a radical environmental activist, Mike Kaulbars from Ottawa, Canada. He is a founder of the Earth First! chapter in Ottawa, Canada, an eco-terrorist organization with a long history of violence and sabotage."
Really now? How long and just how "violent"? Is Mike actually implicated in anything serious, besides perhaps arrested at protests? Seems to me your "Eco-terrorist" has the ring of hysteria about it.
Updated with quote from Mike Kaulbars' - (see comments): "iii) (KJ) makes no mention of anything I actually did, probably because everything I have ever done has been strict Gandhian nonviolence with no violence to people or property in any form."
Oh and speaking of honesty, when will you be honest enough to acknowledge and examine the "causes" and "issues" Earth Firsters were/are fighting for - in an increasingly apathetic world? Can you explain why someone shouldn't be an advocate for this Earth, the thing all of us dearly depend on... or don't you appreciate we rely on the good health of our Earth's biosphere and the stability of its Climate engine? KJ, the way you spit out "eco-terrorist" I can feel your contempt for "ecologists" and "tree-huggers" and such. Why the hatred for people who have a deep connection with our planet and it's health? It's as though you still haven't figured out that we humans and our society require a healthy Earth.
KJ - "My experience is that many people are impressed and supportive of the radical militant actions that we do. ...I make no secret of my militant activism, arrests etc; [...] ...we do break the law. [...] In a few weeks I, and 50 others are off to jail. ...I do what I do because of a "pure, true love for the Earth." - Mike Kaulbars, Thank you KJ on Greenfyre's "Mr. Sinclair's Video collection" - manmade global warming education made easy
You know, American's have a long uneasy respect and acceptance of thoughtful civil disobedience when the cause is important enough. KJ, are you like some folk who believe only your say should be heard? You know that's called Totalitarianism and leads to disaster. Don't you? I myself still figure this is America, battered though she may be. We're supposed to be a system where we understand that all voices have important insights to share... that is, if constructive outcomes are the goal. Isn't the health and wellbeing of our life sustaining planet worth allowing some people to consecrate their lives to it's wellbeing? We put up with Priests - why not with "Earth Firsters"? And why shouldn't Earth's "defenders" be listened to as a matter of practice and policy? Why does "the corporate way" force them into such isolated corners they feel compelled to take extreme measures to get the simplest message across? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ --- snip --- ====================================== Incidentally, I myself have never had any dealings with Earth First, thus I don't know anything, except that some stories have been grossly exaggerated in the corporate-wing's retelling. Here's what they have to say for themselves: http://earthfirstjournal.org/about/
Hey fuzzy perhaps start a thread at SKEP {since bad me can't any more} and show them these musings? :)
Ok, maybe I'll change my username there to CC'sPitbull.:-) I don't have the overall knowledge you have on this issue, but I'll translate it as best I can.
PS Here's one heck of a video - I think this one nails it better than any other concise summation of the problem with theocracy and presuming one understands God's Mind. Hitchens on why theocracy is evil. Published on Mar 22, 2013 Hitchens delivers one of his best off the cuff hammer blows to cocky audiance member https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ2LehsA1dk
He's not wrong, I used to think that way to a large degree and now I see it as sociopathic. It also explains why the current Canadian government is so anti-science and so onesidedly pro Israel. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/harper-more-pro-israel-than-israel-itself/article16344189/
While the world celebrated the diplomatic breakthrough between Western countries and Iran in November, the Harper government was left out to dry. Canada was not included as a party to the P5+1 negotiating partners, and with the benefit of hindsight it is clear to see why. After severing official ties with Iran last year, denouncing the election of the moderate Hassan Rouhani as ‘ meaningless’ , and publically throwing cold water on the prospect of a peaceful settlement to the nuclear standoff, the Canadian government has sent a clear message to the world that it has little interest in dialogue with the Iranians. Instead of taking up the country’s traditional role as an honest broker in international affairs, Mr. Harper’s Conservatives appear instead to be leading the charge to designate Iran as a candidate for regime change. However, it would seem however that Canada is almost completely alone in taking this unrelentingly hostile stance. Even the United States – which has held Iran out as its own bête-noire since the 1979 Revolution – has begun to explore the possibility of rapprochement, something which the Harper government appears to reject out of hand. No new development, however unprecedented or monumental, seems capable of producing even the slightest shift in the Canadian stance on this issue. This is as clear an indicator as any of a policy that is borne more of ideological conviction than of honest pragmatism. Indeed, the only other country which seems to share this unremittingly belligerent policy is Israel under the right-wing leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu. Thus, where Pearson had a vision of Canada as a potential mediator to international crises, the present Canadian government appears to think a better policy is to simply cut-and-paste the most antagonistic views they can find elsewhere. Given Canada’s middling, ineffectual and likely counterproductive role in defusing this crisis, it’s clear to see just how little utility such a vision has had.
Harper is a born again christian associated with the group in the OP who are referring to environmentalists as the 'Green Dragon" that needs to be killed. Meanwhile our PM is pushing geopolitical and economic policies like the tar sands that hold a real possibility of bringing catastrophe. I'm pretty sure this qualifies as the kind of evil that Hitchens was referring to.
However it is worth noting that Mr. Harper has been a more steadfast friend to the Israeli right-wing than to the country itself. By supporting Israel’s self-defeating colonization of the Palestinian territories, Canada is leading that country deeper into a morass of international isolation and destroying the possibility of a two-state solution that would allow it a Jewish demographic majority. While Mr. Harper may be a “rock star" in Israel today as described by Linda Frum, his apologetics for such policies may soon be looked upon as merely enabling national self-destruction rather than as a reflection of firm and honest friendship.
Hey fuzzy perhaps start a thread at SKEP {since bad me can't any more} and show them these musings? :)
Ok, maybe I'll change my username there to CC'sPitbull.:-) Hey that's funny, I'd be lying if echoes of Darwin's Bulldog] don't dance in my head sometimes - but 'pete-ie scientist's bulldog' loses something in the translation, don't you think. :lol: OK, now let's look at this ugliness you dredged up.

Our government here is ugly, but I’m hoping a good dose of sunlight will make that nasty conservative foot fungus shrivel right up.

PS Here's one heck of a video - I think this one nails it better than any other concise summation of the problem with theocracy and presuming one understands God's Mind. Hitchens on why theocracy is evil. Published on Mar 22, 2013 Hitchens delivers one of his best off the cuff hammer blows to cocky audiance member https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ2LehsA1dk
He's not wrong, I used to think that way to a large degree and now I see it as sociopathic. It also explains why the current Canadian government is so anti-science and so onesidedly pro Israel. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/harper-more-pro-israel-than-israel-itself/article16344189/ Yea, well, sociopathic… evil……. all fuk'd up world is what you {…err, we} get. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh and what a long strange trip you've sent me off on. Yet another unanticipated project leaps to the foreground.
I had no idea that some part of the very religious right had become so organized and stark in the attacks of people concerned about environmental health. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/may/05/evangelical-christian-environmentalism-green-dragon
Cornwall Alliance -"An Evangelical Declaration on Global Warming" now that's a hoot, and another serendipitous find - to pair up with Hitchen's above video. Thanks. Get a load of this
cornwallalliance.org WHAT WE BELIEVE We believe Earth and its ecosystems— created by God’s intelligent design and infinite power and sustained by His faithful providence — are robust, resilient, self-regulating, and self-correcting, admirably suited for human flourishing, and displaying His glory. Earth’s climate system is no exception. Recent global warming is one of many natural cycles of warming and cooling in geologic history.

The truly unsettling thing is that’s what Canada is basing it’s environmental policies on under the Harper government.

Since 2006, the Canadian Conservative Party government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper has adopted few and gutted many environmental laws and policies dealing with rising greenhouse emissions, pollution problems and climate change.[1] The Conservatives have also made significant budget cuts at Environment Canada, leading to criticism that it is undermining the ability of departmental staff to enforce remaining environmental laws.[2] The Conservatives have also restricted the ability of government scientists to speak to the public, the media, and even other scientists, leading to criticism that they are trying to limit the debate on environmental issues by "silencing scientists"
This is all based on the ideology and almost certainly on the religious beliefs of a man who's also worked very hard in the last decade to undermine the democratic process here, being caught repeated violating the law and acting against the basic principles our Parliamentary democracy depends on to be open and fair.

Bit more on the evil behind our PM and the extreme religious group he’s part of…and I do agree with Hitchens, individuals and organizations who deny reality in an attempt to bring about the destruction of us all are evil.

There is a detail about Prime Minister Stephen Harper that is very mum in Canada. It is a detail that may and will explain every decision he has made to date and every decision he will make in the future. Stephen Harper has refused to answer questions about his beliefs and which groups inform him. However, if he were to answer such questions, he would reveal his membership to the Alliance Church which is dominant in Alberta and represents less than 10% of Canadian beliefs. This same church has declared war on the environment, believes the Earth is 6,000 years old – like former Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day does – and believes that the scientists and environmentalists are preaching a fraud to destroy the economy. The kind of people backing Harper come from the Cornwall Alliance, which is a right-wing coalition of scholars, economists and evangelicals who instill doubt on mainstream science and climate change, view environmentalists as a “native evil," and supports libertarian economics.