Climate Activists Shouldn't Be Anti-Human

Solving the problem requires faith in the future
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 15, 2009 1:20 AM CST
Climate Activists Shouldn't Be Anti-Human
A character dressed as death on horseback rides outside parliament in Copenhagen yesterday.   (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Many activists battling global warming are doing their cause and their species a disservice by displaying a nihilistic and anti-human attitude, writes Anne Applebaum. Declaring that the end of the world is nigh or pushing for population-reduction initiatives to cut carbon emissions is a "profoundly negative" way to treat the problem, and saps the hope of today's children, Applebaum writes in the Washington Post.

Moving toward renewable energy is a very important goal, Applebaum writes, but it can only be achieved with faith in the future and in humanity's abilities. "A profound change in the nature of human energy consumption is possible, thanks to the entrepreneurship that created the Internet, the compassion that lies behind the advances in modern medicine and the scientific reasoning that sent men into space," Applebaum writes.
(More Anne Applebaum stories.)

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