Patrick Moore: Founder of Green Peace

[Sam Or I]

I don't know if this has been posted before, but it is about the founder of green peace. Very intresting read.

http://www.basinelectric.com/NewsCenter ... der_d.html

Greenpeace founder debunks environmental "facts" and myths
Julie Lindemann Slag, staff writer/editor
originally published in Basin Today magazine, March-April 2003

Stereotypes often die hard, particularly when the person in question is a founder of Greenpeace, the radical movement begun in the late 1960s to stop human destruction of the Earth's environment. Since its origin in a church basement in Vancouver, Canada, Greenpeace has evolved into an international organization with offices in 21 countries and $100 million budget. Greenpeace today operates on the extreme edge of environmental politics, instead of following its original goal - to be an agent for positive change in the world.

So says one of its founders, Dr. Patrick Moore.

Dr. Patrick Moore
Greenpeace's early notoriety and media clout were due, in part, to the energy and efforts of Moore, a featured speaker at the 2003 Energy Generation Conference. Still impassioned and eloquent about the environment, Moore said he is no longer a member of Greenpeace. Now he has "grown up," he said, and travels the world, appearing on television and radio, writing books, and speaking to large audiences in order to build consensus on creating a "sustainable world."

Moore kicked off his presentation by debunking stereotypes the audience may have had about his years as a young, frizzy-haired Greenpeace agitator. He said his journey to becoming a "born-again ecologist" began in a fishing and logging village in Vancouver. There he learned to appreciate the natural beauty of the rainforest, tidal flats and spawning streams. While studying life sciences at the University of British Columbia, he said he discovered ecology - the science of how all living things are interconnected. When he saw the effects of human, industrial, nuclear and other pollution, it moved him to engage in environmental activism, which resulted in him organizing Greenpeace with several other people. Moore played a pivotal role in many Greenpeace campaigns including some protests that resulted in landmark environmental decisions by international organizations, the United States government and regulators of industry.

Over time Moore came to realize that environmental issues - and methods for improving the ecological balance of Earth - had become daily topics of conversation at the highest levels of world government. So he did a personal and professional about-face.

"I had been against three or four things every day of my life for 15 years," Moore said. " So I decided I'd like to be in favor of something for a change. I made the transition from the politics of confrontation - telling people what they should stop doing - to the politicsof trying to find consensus about what we should do instead."
Sustainability linked to renewability

Like Bruce Vincent, Moore advocates partnerships between environmentalists and lumber companies to grow and harvest trees. "Trees are my favorite subject," he said. "Forests are home to the majority of all living things. The trees themselves create a new environment that would not be there in their absence."

Moore said trees are the answer to a lot of questions about our future - such as biodiversity, clean air and water, sequestering carbon dioxide (CO2), and creating more space to grow more trees. "The forests of North America cover about the same area they did a hundred years ago. Yet 75 percent of the public think they are disappearing. The reason there is so much forest today is that we use so much wood - and wood is renewable. Wood is made by renewable solar energy in a factory called The Forest." Moore believes this makes trees preferable to producing steel, concrete and plastic for construction, which all require the burning of fossil fuels to manufacture them.

"So the campaign against using wood is logically inconsistent with the campaign to prevent climate change and CO2 emissions," he said. "People have been duped into thinking that when you go to a lumber yard and buy lumber, you're causing the forest to be lost, when, in fact, you're sending a signal into the market to plant more trees and produce more wood."

Besides energy use issues, Moore said that deforestation of tropical forests due to population growth - combined with low intensive agricultural practices and poor soil conservation - is a most pressing environmental issue today.

Another favorite topic of Moore's is geothermal energy, otherwise known as ground source heat. "Geothermal energy is affordable, it's renewable, and it's clean. The sun's energy comes to earth and 47 percent is absorbed - in other words, it goes into the ground. Eventually it radiates back as long-wave radiation - that's how green houses work." Moore said ground source heat is "an energy generating device" and offered statistics to show how it works in the home as a multi-faceted resource. "Geothermal energy can be classified as solar because it's stored solar energy, as geothermal because it's from the earth, as renewable, and as alternative energy because it conserves precious fossil fuel resources."
Political potboilers

Moore shared a series of real life stories that debunked popular opinions and beliefs about the current state of the environment, genetically modified food, population management, empowerment of women, urban sprawl, invisible poisons, exotic species extinction, nuclear power and climate change.

Setting the facts straight is an important part of the process of achieving consensus, Moore said, and told the audience that during the 1980s extremist groups "captured" the vocabulary of the environmental movement's language (and the media's attention) by using the aims of the original environmental movement as an umbrella for their own political agendas.

Extremist groups share a common perception about the world, Moore said. They are anti-science, anti-technology, anti-trade, anti-globalization - not just free trade, but all trade. He said people who embrace extremist views and philosophies believe all large machines are inherently evil, and - worse - science is used to justify positions "that actually have nothing to do with science." Moore believes these viewpoints are naive, including the oft-stated wish to return to a "Garden of Eden." How ironic, he said, that these same people use cell phones, laptops and jet planes as the main tools of their trade.

This new language, media hype, political correctness and distorted or inaccurate facts are perceived by the public to be 'science,' he said, and this pseudo-science will eventually affect our daily lives by wasting billions of dollars of taxpayers' money and corporate, financial and industrial capital. Some examples of fear mongering based on bad data and media hype follow:
Exotic species

Moore said exotic species are the mainstay of civilization. "Everything we eat is an exotic species. Not one single crop species in California, the food basket of the United States, is native to the state. Cows came from the Middle East. Chickens came from China." He said that the concept of exotic species is an example of a phrase that has become negative. "The phrase is being used to scare the public into thinking that the natural biodiversity of life is threatened," he said.
Invisible poisons

"A lot of people are afraid of pesticide residue on their food. That's why they are in favor of organic farming - they think the food is better because it doesn't have pesticides on it. The Natural Resources Defense Council's scare about Alar on apples almost destroyed the apple industry in California," Moore said. A four-year peer review study by the National Cancer Research Council of the United States and Canada published in 1997 found no evidence of connecting pesticide residue in food with cancer in humans. "It's a fact that 30 percent of cancer is caused by tobacco, a perfectly natural substance, and 35 percent by diet - too much fat and cholesterol, also natural substances. Ironically, the environmental movement's campaign against pesticides scared parents into avoiding fresh fruit and vegetables for themselves and their children."
Genetically modified foods

"Frankenstein foods, killer tomatoes, terminator seeds - all these scary metaphors are being invented to make people afraid of what they are eating," Moore said. "Isn't it interesting that these titles are borrowed from scary Hollywood movies?" Moore said that 30 percent of corn and 80 percent of soybeans - a major component in all processed foods - are genetically modified, and there hasn't been one case of a health issue. "In fact, the truth of the matter is genetically modified crops result in a drastic reduction of pesticides because they make the plants resistant without the use of chemicals. Farmers till the land less and there is more crop productivity using less land."
Climate change

Moore outlined the extreme positions of opposing sides of the climate change issue, including the commonly held belief that increases in atmospheric CO2 from fossil fuels' emissions are warming the planet. "Climate change, to me, is one of the most interesting subjects because it points out the limitations of science," Moore said. "Most people think that if you take enough people in lab coats and throw enough money at them, then you can find the answer to any question. Of course that isn't true. Science actually has its absolute limit." He said there are so many variables that trigger climate change - other than CO2 - that it is "impossible to sort out the root cause."

Moore emphasized that the most important point in the climate change debate is "the fact that there is only one planet Earth, and it's very hard to do statistics on a sample of one, when you're trying to predict the future. If there were 50 planet Earths that were identical, you could increase CO2 on 25 of them and leave the other 25 alone, and you might get statistical probability." Moore said scientists who produce studies about global warming are reduced to best guesswork, plus some questionable computer models.

All parties need to engage in a "logically consistent global analysis" of data involving current scientific, environmental, social and governmental policies relative to how people interact with each other and the biosphere, Moore said. He cautioned the audience not to "turn the Earth into a junk heap, but manage it carefully as stewards. Learn to be better gardeners of the Earth ... and may the force be with you."

Moore is a frequent speaker on national television shows, magazines, radio, public forums and the speaking platform both here and abroad. Find out more about Dr. Patrick Moore's activities and philosophy on www.greenspirit.com.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Don't do that! I thought you meant THE Patrick Moore then.

[Ryoga]

Hey, I remember Dr. Moore. He was on Penn and Teller's Bullshit! for the Greenpeace episode.

Kinda sad to see how it went downhill from there; I think his exact words on that show were that the movement had been "hijacked by politicos".

[sketerpot]

Another favorite topic of Moore's is geothermal energy, otherwise known as ground source heat. "Geothermal energy is affordable, it's renewable, and it's clean. The sun's energy comes to earth and 47 percent is absorbed - in other words, it goes into the ground. Eventually it radiates back as long-wave radiation - that's how green houses work." Moore said ground source heat is "an energy generating device" and offered statistics to show how it works in the home as a multi-faceted resource. "Geothermal energy can be classified as solar because it's stored solar energy, as geothermal because it's from the earth, as renewable, and as alternative energy because it conserves precious fossil fuel resources."

Geothermal energy comes from the sun? Huh? I thought that geothermal energy came from the earth's formation and radiactive decay. Even though this guy is much saner than Greenpeace, it seems that everyone associated with them enjoys spreading misinformation.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Another favorite topic of Moore's is geothermal energy, otherwise known as ground source heat. "Geothermal energy is affordable, it's renewable, and it's clean. The sun's energy comes to earth and 47 percent is absorbed - in other words, it goes into the ground. Eventually it radiates back as long-wave radiation - that's how green houses work." Moore said ground source heat is "an energy generating device" and offered statistics to show how it works in the home as a multi-faceted resource. "Geothermal energy can be classified as solar because it's stored solar energy, as geothermal because it's from the earth, as renewable, and as alternative energy because it conserves precious fossil fuel resources."

Geothermal energy comes from the sun? Huh? I thought that geothermal energy came from the earth's formation and radiactive decay. Even though this guy is much saner than Greenpeace, it seems that everyone associated with them enjoys spreading misinformation.

Well it is a combination of things to be sure. But he is right. 47% of the solar radiation that hits the planet is absorbed by the crust rather than reflected back out, and that is a significant energy source to be sure.

[El Moose Monstero]

Don't do that! I thought you meant THE Patrick Moore then.

Christ, I had exactly the same thought. Was rooting through that article for xylophone and gamesmaster references. That's a relief. Not sure my world view could have coped with that kind of revelation at midnight on a Monday...

[Alyrium Denryle]

Let me add something as well. He isnt talking about using a geyser for energy, he is refering to the heat that slowly radiates from the earths surface due to being heated by the sun and being conducted through the ground and re-radiated.

[Rogue 9]

Who the hell is THE Patrick Moore?

[phongn]

I remember reading other articles about him -- IIRC he's been branded a "traitor" by some of the environmental movement since he's not one of the extremist idiots.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Who the hell is THE Patrick Moore?

Only the greatest xylophone playing, brilliant astronomy and BBC show hosting, former Gamesmaster man on the planet!

[Rogue 9]

Oh, I understand now. For a second I thought you were gasping because he was some serial killer or something, but I was looking at it entirely the wrong way, apparently.

[TrailerParkJawa]

I remember reading other articles about him -- IIRC he's been branded a "traitor" by some of the environmental movement since he's not one of the extremist idiots.

He has been branded a "traitor" because he actually tries to come up with some common sense solutions with industry. The Sierra Clib and Greenpeace think he is a sell out. I think this guy is right about the environmental movement being taken over by radicals. If you read some of the essays on his website, he suggests that when the Cold War ended and we saw how crappy Communism and Socialim really were, many radical left groups needed a new cause and many converted to environmentalism.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Can of the engineers here think of potentially feasable ways to collect energy from deep earth sources, such as the buildup of magma pockets?

[Admiral Valdemar]

Can of the engineers here think of potentially feasable ways to collect energy from deep earth sources, such as the buildup of magma pockets?

There have been ideas put forward. For instance, burrowing a hole deep enough to really take advantage of the vast thermal output of the supposed fission core at the, ahem, Centre of the EARTH!

Of course, this requires some amazingly durable boring machines and would be time consuming especially given we've not even drilled more than a couple of klicks in the past. But if you could pull it off, you'd have an endless supply of cheap power and if it took off, could be done anywhere in the world nearly.

[White Haven]

But OMG teh p1an3t could fall apart! </greenpeace>

Drill down far enough, though, and you can have oodles of fun with thermocouples and steam turbines. Just a pain in the ass to start up.

[Colonel Olrik]

There have been ideas put forward. For instance, burrowing a hole deep enough to really take advantage of the vast thermal output of the supposed fission core at the, ahem, Centre of the EARTH!

Of course, this requires some amazingly durable boring machines and would be time consuming especially given we've not even drilled more than a couple of klicks in the past. But if you could pull it off, you'd have an endless supply of cheap power and if it took off, could be done anywhere in the world nearly.

I don't see how that can work, seeing that to get energy from a thermal source you need to have a hot source next to a cold one (the biggest the temperature difference is the more energy you take). That's the reason why geothermal power is only profitable in places with hot sources at the surface.

[Admiral Valdemar]

I don't see how that can work, seeing that to get energy from a thermal source you need to have a hot source next to a cold one (the biggest the temperature difference is the more energy you take). That's the reason why geothermal power is only profitable in places with hot sources at the surface.

I believe the system proposed wasn't going to rely on traditional steam turbine based power generators, as that would indeed negate the whole point of the system. I'll have to look up exactly what it was again.

[The Third Man]

Only the greatest xylophone playing, brilliant astronomy and BBC show hosting, former Gamesmaster man on the planet!

Did you know that he's not quite an all-round good-guy?

Sir Patricks unfortunate "racist" comments

and up until 1980 he was leader of a right-wing party that was a predecessor to the BNP. Plus he likes cricket.
Anyway, Doctor Patrick seems a much more reasonable man than Sir Patrick. Probably more intelligible too.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Did you know that he's not quite an all-round good-guy?

Sir Patricks unfortunate "racist" comments

and up until 1980 he was leader of a right-wing party that was a predecessor to the BNP. Plus he likes cricket.
Anyway, Doctor Patrick seems a much more reasonable man than Sir Patrick. Probably more intelligible too.

Technically, he's right though. Immigration is a problem here and everyone's fed up. Of course, speaking out about this brands you a racist when this is more to do with economic and political problems, not racial.