Gearing up for Earth Day—Live Q&A on April 22!

As Earth Day (April 22) approaches, the Ayn Rand Center wants to help you understand the destructive campaign environmentalists have pursued for decades against energy production.

Environmentalists say they only want to protect us from the dangers of CO2 emissions, but when you look at the history of what energy projects they oppose, it becomes clear that environmentalists are not so concerned about carbon emissions—they fight against every form of practical, cheap energy regardless of whether it emits CO2 (like fossil fuels) or not (like nuclear and hydro).

As ARC fellow Dr. Keith Lockitch explains in his essay “Energy Privation: The Environmentalist Campaign Against Energy” in the new collection Why Businessmen Need Philosophy:

Environmentalism is a broad social and political movement, with roots stretching back decades and with a diverse array of leaders, groups, institutions, and perspectives. But despite its diversity, it is, in essence, an intellectual movement animated by a particular ideology—by a set of philosophic premises that shape its actions and guide its ultimate direction. And the basic moral premise at the root of environmentalism is the premise that nature is something to be left alone—to be preserved untouched by human activity.

To the opponents of small hydro projects, for instance, the possibility of “cumulative impacts” on salmon runs or the habitat of the Furbish lousewort renders irrelevant the numerous homes that could be supplied with electricity. To Myers and his fellow desert activists, if a patch of scorched terrain is favored by the desert tortoise or the bighorn sheep, it should never be “bladed off” for the sake of any sort of industrial development—not even a solar power plant. This moral animus against human “intrusion” upon nature creates a basic conflict between the goals of the environmentalist movement and the needs of human life.

In the days leading up to Earth Day, Voices for Reason will be posting materials by ARC writers and speakers that expose how environmentalists consistently oppose the kind of energy industrial development requires.

Then on Earth Day, which is on Friday, April 22, we will be hosting a live Q&A session from our headquarters in Irvine, CA, where resident fellows Keith Lockitch and Alex Epstein will answer any questions you have about Earth Day, environmentalism, the recent nuclear scare in Japan, and related issues.

The event will be held at 9 a.m. PST and can be watched via the Ayn Rand Center Facebook page (you won’t need a Facebook account to attend the event).

If you have questions you would like answered, you can submit them via the Facebook page for this event (you will need a Facebook account for this). While the event is taking place, you can log onto Facebook and chat with us and others also watching. If you have a follow-up question, you can ask it at that time.

We encourage you to submit your questions!  And be sure to RSVP to the event if you are planning to attend.

Read more at The Ayn Rand Center