Book Review – Green Hell

Joanna Schroeder

greenhellToday’s Earth Day Celebration is brought to you in part by the book, “Green Hell” written by Steve Milloy. I’ve never met or spoken to the man, but I can presume that he is not a celebrator of Earth Day since his entire book is dedicated to stopping the “greens.” The premise of his book is to educate the public on how environmentalists are trying to control our lives and what we can do to stop them. He writes, “While it is beyond the scope of this book to debunk the scientific claims of global warmists, we’ll take a brief moment here to note the fatal flaw of global warming alarmism: there is no scientific evidence indicating that carbon dioxide, much less man made carbon dioxide emissions, control or even measurably impact global climate.”

Milloy demonstrates the evils of the environmental movement by highlighting the extreme environmental “wackos” such as biologist Paul Ehrlich who has “railed against consumption virtually as a crime against humanity.” Even as a self-proclaimed lazy environmentalist, I think Ehrlich and some of his pals have gone off the deep end. But that being said, Milloy does have some valid points, especially when he talks about next generation transportation fuels. He speaks about how environmentalists are promoting “biofuels” but at the same time are lobbying against them. “Looking closer, we find that greens display their typical schizophrenic attitude towards ethanol. Even while touting is supposed superiority to gasoline, greens denounce ethanol for the environmental damage it causes.”

One of two things will happen if you read this book, you’re either going to agree wholeheartedly with him (many do) or you’re going to become even more passionate about saving the planet. But I think the real lesson to be learned is that moderation (nothing is perfect) is the key – we shouldn’t have to ruin our lives and those things we hold dear while still “doing right” for the planet.

You can buy “Green Hell” or any book I review here, and Happy Earth Day to everyone.

book reviews, Miscellaneous