An extremist environmental group has claimed responsibility for a $1.5 million lumber yard fire in Utah, officials said Wednesday. (read more)
Mmmkay. We’ve known for some time that the eco-extremists aren’t exactly the brightest torches in the crowd, but it’s really interesting to me when they do something that seem so against their purpose. I can see the anger of a group that looks at lumber and says ‘well, those are trees that had a right to life’ (sorta). If I opposed lumber, I’d write to people and implore them to use steel (GO STEEL!) However, these clever folk decided it would be better to burn the wood. Never mind the volumes of carcinogenic, green-house-gas-containing, atmosphere-killing smoke that was released or the fact that now the lumber company will just cut more wood to replace what was destroyed. Aside from being dangerously close to fitting the definition of a terrorist group, the members of such organizations (namely ELF and ALF) really ought to consider whether what they do actually promotes their cause. Burning structures brings further construction, the practice of which has a much greater ecological footprint than just leaving a building alone. Maybe instead of burning stuff they could canvas a building with LEED Certification posters or ‘Flip the Switch — Waste’s a Bitch’ stickers or something. It’s so funny to me that the people that promote stuff (ELF, radical christians, radical islamists, car salesmen) tend to have the effect of driving off their intended audience. Aristotle told us that moderation was the path to virtue (so I paraphrased, get over it…) and I really wouldn’t mind seeing an ELF conference where speakers presented facts and rational calls for conservation or the like took place. If I had a little extra cash I might even don my unbleached clothes, spiff up my dreads, and bike on over. I’m socially responsible, I buy Fair Trade Blend sometimes…
But yeah… ELF, get over yourselves, no one likes you because you do stupid stuff. Try something constructive (or at least non-destructive) and watch as the ranks of your adherents swell. I’m all for the earth being liberated or whatever the logical extention of that is (so long as it doesn’t run off and leave me randomly floating in space) but I gotta live too. And so do other people. Some folks might need to drop by the Board of Being Allowed to Live, but it’s a surprisingly small number that wouldn’t walk out of that building.
In other, more positive, non-righteous-bitching news, it looks like the EU has agreed to a constitution, which is cool, providing they don’t go to war over choosing a president.
And back on this side of the Atlantic,
“There is no hole or cave deep enough to hide from American justice,” Bush said.
Yeah, there is. It’s right under the White House. I hear Cheney is getting a DSL line installed there soon.
General
