Saturday, July 07, 2007

Despite my whining about drought

Many gardeners see setbacks such as drought and gypsy moth invasions as part of an environmental disaster caused by the human race. Despite my repeated whining about this summer's drought, I tend not to buy apocalyptic prophesies of environmental doom.

I'm with the sceptics like Brendan O'Neill, Guardian columnist and editor of spiked, who writes:
Forget fundamentalist Christianity or Islam: environmentalism is by far the most influential death cult in existence today. It is inculcating in the masses the idea that the end of the world is nigh; that we shall we punished for our sins; that penance is our earthly duty; and that anyone who says or thinks otherwise is a "heretic" or a "denier" who should be held up to public ridicule.

The extent to which environmentalism echoes old religious values is striking. A key aspect of the monotheistic religions was their belief in an "end of days" scenario in which the world would go kaput and a new messiah would come to judge us harshly.

Many decades ago, this belief system had a deadening impact on people's lives. It encouraged fatalism, a conviction that mankind was not in control of his destiny. Our role was simply to be always on our best behaviour and await our fate at the end of time.

Today, it is environmentalists who make shrill warnings about the end of the world.
You can read the full article here. See also Bjørn Lomborg's article on making the world a better place in the here and now. Lomborg is author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and the forthcoming Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:45 PM

    Yes...a very interesting comparison indeed! A CBC radio show is now dedicated to preaching to the masses and the more I hear the 'talk' I question the 'walk'And they thought Christinity laid a guilt trip on everyone!There are so many 'do's and don'ts' in the new enviro cult that it is depressing!
    I personally worship the Creator not creation.
    Hope you are getting some of the rain we are having in Northern Ontario!I won't have to water for awhile!
    Vicki

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  2. Hi Vicki: Oh, you are so lucky! We're still waiting. There's a severe thunderstorm watch today, so there's a chance, but it's probably slim.

    Cheers, Yvonne

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  3. Heh. This is fun stuff for me since I've got an exam in religious studies. Brendan O'Neill do have a point. I may add that environmentalists have a tendency to brag about how environmentally friendly they are.
    "I have absolutely no problems with biking seven miles to recycle my old cans. It's no big deal."
    I've allways thought this selfpunishing approach to be a problem, since it blocks efforts to make ecologicaly friendly living easy.

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  4. Anonymous9:09 PM

    ...and doesn't the extreme biking trip sound lke a penance or 'journey to Mecca' experience?And do you somehow feel a tad guilty when you can't meet their rigorous(religios) standards and rituals?
    A new religion indeed!

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-Yvonne, aka Country Gardener