Animal rights vs. Abortion rights

[IGX]

Quote by: Sonart Among those things I pointed to in post #8, was there something not specifically traceable to human activity of one sort or another?

Your claims appear to be theoretical. Matching your claims to specific incidents might allow for better understanding.

[Sonart]

Quote by: IGX Your claims appear to be theoretical. Matching your claims to specific incidents might allow for better understanding.

I suppose that comes down to what you see as theoretical. For example, the case for anthropogenic global warming was made to my satisfaction many years ago, and it stopped being theoretical. It's taken more time for many others who perhaps didn't want to believe such a thing was possible, but most serious students of the issue have come around to accepting it as fact.

The same applies for other macro-environmental issues such as ocean pollution, fishery depletion, desertification, deforestation, water table salinization and reduction, and what have you. From there you can go to micro-environmental issues such as over-grazing, clear-cutting, chemical farming, air and water pollustion, watershed and habitat destruction, etc.

Look at this chart again...



The real significance of that hyperbolic curve is that it doesn't represent just human population growth. Look at history... it also shows the exponential explosion of human technological advancement and our industrial capacity to both plunder and pollute the world around us.

When you get to 6 billion people with an exponentially greater individual capacity to pollute and consume resources, it becomes like the number stars in the sky or all the grains of sand to the average person. They simply can't comprehend the affect it can have. So there's the problem... whether it's about a housing development in southern California that affects the nesting sites for the Least Tern, a power station being developed in Baja California that threatens Fairy Shrimp, or drilling in the ANWR, it's all of a piece... it's about the realization of the affect humankind is having on the earth, and realizing that self-absorbed notions of "property rights" and "progress" have been overtaken by our exploding capacity to unintentionally screw the world up.

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[IGX]

Quote by: Sonart The real significance of that hyperbolic curve is that it doesn't represent just human population growth. Look at history... it also shows the exponential explosion of human technological advancement and our industrial capacity to both plunder and pollute the world around us.

I can agree with your argument to a certain extent. If there was a reasonably priced fuel cell car with adequate hydrogen fueling stations I'd buy one in a heartbeat. But, in addition to some unsolved technology problems, there hasn't been a demand for such vehicles.

Reducing emmisions from automobiles and industrial smoke stacks seems to be a must. Also industrial dumping of polutants in waterways should not be allowed to occur.

I think solutions to pollution problems can be put in place without violating property rights or considering animals' welfare above humans.

The hope for solving mankinds problem lies in the cooperation of individuals not in a force backed "government" (external authority).