Robert Zubrin: Radical Environmentalists and Other Merchants of Despair

"We have never been in danger of running out of resources," says Dr. Robert Zubrin, "but we have encountered considerable dangers from people who say we are running out of resources and who say that human activities need to be constrained."

In his latest book, Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism, Zubrin documents the history of dystopian environmentalism, from economic impairment inflicted by current global warming policies to the Malthusian concern over population growth. "Just think how much poorer we would be today if the world would have had half as many people in the 19th century as it actually did. You can get rid of Thomas Edison or Louis Pasteur, take your pick."

Zubrin sat down with Reason Magazine Editor Matt Welch to discuss his book, the difference between practical and ideological environmentalism, and how U.S. foreign aid policy encourages population control.

Runs about 9.30 minutes

Produced by Meredith Bragg. Camera by Meredith Bragg and Josh Swain.

[jayecurry]

Dr. Z is a brilliant man. His Mars Direct plan was inspired and well thought out. What he says about environmental radicalism is equally insightful.

[NiceGuyCody]

Uh, don't forget about the Communists, the group with whom "War is Peace" is originally associated via 1984. They've been playing that game for far longer than the Nazis and with even deadlier results.

[StereoSpace]

There is a never ending struggle against the tyrants and the would-be dictators.

[georgehapplegate]

Well CO2's foot must have slipped off the accelerator around 1998.

150 years? FF use has only been significant since the early 20th Century. Stick to talking about 1980 through 1998, otherwise you weaken your case.

Before they started "adjusting" the temperature data, it was quite obvious that temperatures had peaked in 1934 and were declining dramatically into the 1970s. Then they started to rise and continue their recovery from the LIA.

[georgehapplegate]

Watch his Mars Society lecture. He thinks that the only way we will get to Mars is if governments get out of the way.

[strawprophet]

i'm unaware of a big amount, i suppose even creationists have a few hundred scientists.

[natashanonnattive]

Do unto others as you'd have done to you. Goes both ways.

[GrayMultimedia]

Humm, Is he on drugs or is the government zapping him?
I will still try to listen to him on C2C and at least give him a chance.
Perhaps he has at least one thing I can at least agree with or something new for me to learn BUT can I trust information from this guy??? Such a catch 22 LOL:-)

[Zetarrino]

Point taken: We must not allow us to buy into the cheap tricks of fear mongering when it comes to these issues. Let the facts speak for themselves.

[rightwing]

This guy is a genius. And he is angry.

I don't know how to feel about that.

[georgehapplegate]

“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” -- Twain

[johnzadock]

I would like to purchase this book. Whatever can be done to impede the dissemination of propaganda by chicken little malthusians is a benefit to mankind.

[trollprepper]

Robert Zubrin is a rare light shining in the darkness

[RalphyMontana]

So even though our main energy sources are non renewable thats not the issue? The issue are the people who say we are running out of resources? If we aren't running out of resources then they would be absolutely no threat so how does this make sense? So to answer ur question I have a brain. It doesn't take an engineer to see that we consume at a higher rate than we produce and that some resources can't be reproduced.

[georgehapplegate]

The choice of whether to continue to breed, enjoy life and seek greater prosperity, belongs to the other 6, 999, 999, 999 people. Not to an elitists do-gooder who thinks he knows better and wants to limit how they live.

You can scream until you're hoarse about how we are going to ruin the earth and die in our own poisons, but, thankfully, most of us know you're wrong. Life is better today than it has ever been, and unless people like you get power, it will be even better tomorrow. Just watch.

[donaldtcollier]

Read through a bunch of these currently 384 comments, on and on about whether or not AGW is real. Missing the point, even if it is real, the effect of draconian measure worldwide to try and stop it with current technology has the very real effect of severely limiting the progress of the 3rd world out of poverty and misery (and vast numbers of unnecessary human death). Yes, I suppose it would be sad if that silly little island country went underwater and they all had to move.

[patrickcummins]

Yeah, now ur gettin it...im only kidding, but seriously, I always thought te whole "future innovation" argument to be kind of weak...i mean, it is sensible, but i still feel there are holes in it, not to say i am a malthusian...im just trying to look at that objectively i guess(my politics aside)

[RalphyMontana]

Overpopulation and resource distribution are 2 different problems. In America we have abundant resources and a small population, in Africa there is large population and not enough resources. So both problems are real. What holds true somewhere on earth does not hold true everywhere

[DeeSee]

yea i caught that. I see where he was going, but to believe GMO is good for humanity is so wrong. We shouldn't have to choose b/w pesticides being in our soil or pesticides in the food we ingest. He talked about how gov'ts became too large and powerful, what about these GMO companies who only see green/profits.

[tenttickle]

LOL his voice is so high pitched I thought I was hearing a female interviewing when I first started watching this video lol.