Green Poverty

When you invest in the study of real science instead of politically manipulated scientists, an appalling possibility emerges, that the killing poverty that affects a third of the world's population, not to mention the death of millions by malaria, are a new political holocaust, one emerging directly from political (as opposed to scientific) environmentalism.

Dr. Roy Spencer has been writing about this for some time.

The Ambassador to the U.S. from Uganda, Edith Ssempala, spoke forcefully and passionately about the negative influence that western policies have had on her people. Due to the unintended negative consequences of policies that the wealthier countries of the world have adopted, Africans continue to die by the millions each year...But the policies the Ambassador was criticizing had nothing to do to with global warming...What is killing Africans in greatest numbers is poverty, and international trade policies that prevent Africans from protecting themselves from diseases that are easily preventable. The Ambassador mentioned pressure from environmentalists in wealthy nations that has prevented the construction of hydroelectric dams in Africa, denying electricity to millions of people. Two billion of the Earth's inhabitants still do not have access to electricity...The Ugandan Ambassador was particularly critical of westerners that have a romantic view of how Africans should live, as if the simpler life is a preferable one. How many people in the industrialized world with this view would be willing to trade places?

If you're swayed by news reports (see below on the quality of much contemporary "news"), you owe it yourself to read the rest of Dr. Spencer's article. Things are not so simple. Wealth creates health is not a cliche, but a truism. And restrained by the success of primarily Western, political environmentalists, local entrepreneurs, doctors, and agricultural scientists who might bring that lesson home in Africa are left holding empty cups and coffin handles.

Luther