Our Friend, the Earth

Our dear, dear pal Ayn Rand opens her mouth once more on a controversial subject- ecology and environmentalism. She feels that environmentalism, the act of saving our Mother Earth, is anti- man. That is, by saving nature we are sacrificing ourselves. Ayn's philosophy can be countered by the rampant hippie philosophy of the 1970's; an era in which the Peace Corps grew substantially and everything was "green." Many people would condemn the hippies for being too liberal, and for not knowing enough to make a well informed, educated decision. However, maybe the best ideas do not always come from where you'd expect. Without Earth, and until we can find a way to live on other planets, we need environmentalism. Plain and simple. Now, I am not proposing we put scientific and human development on the back burner while we clean up yet another oil spill; I am proposing a compromise. It's actually not a small world after all- a fact not even Disney deny. Earth is huge. Humans have built enough, and most of our buildings are no longer functioning. Think of the last time you saw a condemned building or an abandoned factory. Let us stop venturing into new areas until we fix up the areas we have already built. That way humans have the space they need to expand while protecting the aesthetics of nature. Sorry Ms. Rand, I just don't see your reasoning.