Emotional Environmentalism

Re: Tracy Belles’ letter “Intervene to Save Starving Sea Lions” (Dec. 22):

I would like to commend Ms. Belles on her heartfelt efforts to help Pacific sea lions. However, she does an immense disservice to the environmental cause by blaming El Nino on “human lifestyle.”

A quick check to the FAQ (frequently asked questions) page of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/NASA Web site (https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga-tao/el-nino/) addresses the cause of El Nino. In short, nobody knows. The dynamics are complex. Indeed, El Nino is most likely to be Earth’s natural way of processing both heat and carbon dioxide.

However, if Ms. Belles has some data she wishes to share, I am sure NOAA will gladly listen to her.

The disservice that Ms. Belles does is that she echoes emotionally driven concerns as if they are facts. For the more moderate of us environmentalists, this simply cuts our own credibility.

The Kyoto summit was a silly exercise except in one regard. Energy efficiency is its own reward. The more energy efficient America becomes, the less dependent we are on foreign energy sources. The nation becomes more secure, our military involvement less needed.

Moderate environmentalism has a real payoff, as opposed to the Chicken Little extremists who make headlines but become little more than objects of ridicule by the extreme right. The ironic result is that environmental progress is slowed by the self-righteousness, heartfelt as it may be, of the environmental left.

Unfortunately, the L.A. Times does not come away clean. Ms. Belles’ letter is not the only one from concerned, albeit overwrought, citizens blaming El Nino on man. The Times has not been clear in stating that the cause of El Nino, if there is one other than a natural process, has not been determined. As editors know, it is not just what one includes that pushes an agenda, but also what one decides to leave out.

The pathologies of the environmental movement make for an interesting read. It would be helpful if those on the environmental extreme wore their concern and love of the planet with less of an attitude of “We care more than you do.” People care. Most are less hysterically self-righteous than others.

LELAND HAMMERSCHMITT

Ojai