Most environmentalists probably cause greater damage by merely driving [car carbon emissions] to work on a daily basis than they would do if they merely sat at home and collected a free check, such as SSI. And, really if we think about it, driving a car to work is really just a drop in the bucket of the carbon footprint for environmental researchers. This is reason to be careful when hiring folks for such jobs, as we don’t want to hire hypocrites. We should think that at a bare minimum even one environment researcher should be able to cause a positive net improvement to the environment. Breaking even should start with environmentalists as role models, as already we know most of us are not breaking even.
Granted, tax payers are going to need to fund research, and one does not break even on a whim. We need to fund people so that their research may show us a way to break even. However, it is not as if there aren’t already enough ideas out there. We need to put these ideas to work, and refine them, not only so that they are profitable, but also primarily that one day we will cohabitate with nature without destroying it.
Don’t get me wrong, I like many environmentalists, but this is a call to bring government funded research under greater scrutiny. The role of environmentalists may be prominent in saving the word from future dystopias such as overpopulation, carbon pollution, depletion of fish from oceans, and renewable energy sources.
