Environmentalism vs. Human Life

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Keith Lockitch discuss the philosophic meaning of environmentalism, ranging from its quasi-religious character to the moral implications of its political-economic program.

Among the topics covered:

Ayn Rand’s emphasis on how human beings have improved their environment as a result of the Industrial Revolution;
Why, contrary to conventional views, we should celebrate the fossil fuel industry for producing the energy that powers modern life;
How fossil fuels enable us to deal with climate-related dangers;
The environmental movement as part of a long history of opposition to the Enlightenment, capitalism and industry;
The anti-individualist, religious perspective behind this opposition, including environmentalism;
The anti-life idea that we should minimize our “footprint” on nature;
The religious mentality promoted by environmentalism;
How the mass hysteria of environmentalism is an expression of our culture’s abandonment of reason;
How Alex Epstein’s book Fossil Future develops a more rational understanding of energy and the environment;
The response that would be warranted by real catastrophic climate change;
The irreplaceable value of life in an industrial civilization, which environmentalism ignores.

Mentioned in this podcast are Rand’s article “The Anti-Industrial Revolution,” Lockitch’s work on energy and climate, and Epstein’s book Fossil Future.

The podcast was recorded on April 22, 2022. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here.