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"You really are clueless, an embarrassment to the name. Hope you're adopted." -- June Dever
"this guy is right about conserving a clue. he hasn't one and that leaves more for the rest of us." -- Jim Lovell
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| Because It's Bad |
| Posted by: dever on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 03:00 AM |
Someone made the mistake of asking me today, out of the blue, what I thought about rainforest depletion. After the obligatory quip to take the offensive ("You mean the right of people who live on the land to do what they must to make a living?"), I gave the topic a bit more thought. The way I see it, the slash-and-burners lack options to do anything else.
Anyone serious about "saving the rainforest" needs to present a viable alternative to the indigenous population currently living in these regions. First, the education system (or lack thereof) needs to be rapidly upgraded (or created), with an emphasis placed on science, medicine, and technology. Second, an infrastructure of roadways, electricity, water, sanitary systems, hospitals, etc. needs to be built. Third, the typical command economies of the third-world must be replaced by a market economy that will provide jobs to the newly educated while providing a suitable tax base for the government to maintain said infrastructure. Finally, the existing governments must be replaced by more stable republics perpetuated by open elections.
And none of this is likely to happen anytime soon. It's a catch-22: No local regime is going to allow outsiders to come in and overhaul the status quo in a way that is likely to remove them from power. Until that happens, no country in its right mind will spend the billions of dollars to build the necessary infrastructure - knowing that the next time some kook with a funny-looking hat comes along, he'll pull a successful coup, keep all the foreign-built booty for himself, and keep his populace subservient, poor, and uneducated ? ruling through intimidation at the point of the gun. The local populations will continue to use the raw natural resources at hand (in this case, the rainforest) as the only way to support themselves and their families ? after all, it's not as if they're up for a job as a trauma surgeon.
After explaining this, I received the distinct impression that the individual asking the question wished they never bothered asking me in the first place ? apparently a simple "Oh goodness no, that's bad!" would have been more acceptable.
Here's an experiment for you, walk onto a college campus and ask someone if people should slash-and-burn the rainforest. After receiving the what-kind-of-idiot-are-you look from your subject, the typical reaction will be "Like, of course they shouldn't." Why shouldn't they? "It's bad for the environment." What should they do then to earn money to buy food and clothes and material to build a shelter? "They should get a job." Isn't their job similar to that of a farmer anywhere else in the world ? using natural resources to trade for goods? "They should do something else." What else should they do? (At this point you'll either get that deer-in-the-headlight blank stare so common when forcing someone to actually think, or will be dismissed as being cruel, evil, and just not able to "get it.")
Unfortunately, for the few of us who actually live in the real world, answers like "because it's bad", while simple and convenient, are neither useful nor particularly constructive. Until you either offer real alternatives, or go and live in the situation yourself, you have no right to tell others stuck in that situation how they should act. "Because it's bad" doesn't address the situation ? it's a cop out answer by a publicly schooled sheep, regurgitating what some teacher told them was the "right" thing to think without considering all the harsh realities of the situation. As Robert Heinlein might say, "It is wishful thinking at its worst." Unfortunately, all the wishing in the world doesn't make the world as you wish.
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