A friend posted this article by Michael Crichton, and I wanted to share a portion of it, because I found it incredibly telling:
“Today, one of the most powerful religions in the Western World is environmentalism. Environmentalism seems to be the religion of choice for urban atheists. Why do I say it’s a religion? Well, just look at the beliefs. If you look carefully, you see that environmentalism is in fact a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths.
There’s an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature, there’s a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Sustainability is salvation in the church of the environment, just as organic food is its communion, that pesticide-free wafer that the right people with the right beliefs, imbibe.”
Allison!
I had no idea you were such a fantastic (and witty writer)!!! Your headlines are snappy, and you keep me interested. you should seriously think about going into this as a career…is there such a thing as professional blogger?
love you.
Ami
I thought of you and this post when I read an article in The Jakarta Post today titled “Climate change superstitions put human well being at risk” by a writer from Bali. It was an article challenging the assumptions behind climate change, but here’s the sentence that I thought was most interesting: “As it is, attempts to alter human behavior to avert climate change reflect a primitive mindset whereby a vast, misunderstood force is appeased through contrition or sacrifices.” You gave me environmentalism as religion from a Judeo-Christian perspective. Here’s someone who sees it the same thing from a culture with strong roots in Hinduism and animism. Fascinating stuff.
Love from Laura