05 January 2008

Homicidal Environmentalists

I am worried about environmentalists talking about overpopulation. What I am particularly worried about is the solution some give that in order to save the environment, people must be killed.

The problem with this mass murder idea is the purpose. Many environmentalists agree that it is essential to save nature to improve human life. Killing humans then would oppose that goal of improving human life.

Another problem is the tricky question of who dies. Those who advocate mass slaughter for the sake of the environment always have a convenient excuse as to why they themselves should not be killed.

The people at Dieoff.org believe those already starving in poor countries around the world should be left to die. The problem with this idea is that those in poor countries have mild effect on the environment. If they are too poor to eat then they will be too poor to drive, to fly, to consume electricity, and so on. Australians are the highest per capita consumers of fossil fuels, so environmental destruction can most effectively be mitigated by killing Australians. But even among Australians there is variation. Poor people within Australia consume less than the rich.

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