You gotta love what's going on in California with the blackouts and their electric woes.

It provides for us a perfect picture of what happens when the "environmentalist whackos"...get their way.

For 20 years they have prevented new plants from being built.....and thus....you reap what you sow.

Maybe now with a new administration that has a more rational view of life......we can keep what's happening in California to the rest of the country.

In my church are a couple of power production people who say....if some changes don't occur soon.....what's happening in Calif. will happen to the rest of the country in the near future.

So....let's start drillin' in Alaska!!!!

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2001

Answers

Craig....

Exactly....just like I said. The environmentalist whackos are to blame.

Add it up.....if it wasn't for them......

1) There would not have been a switch to natural gas 2) There would have been more plants built

It's all elementary.

And yes.....I assure you.....the oil from Alaska....and the numerous other domestic sources....under the Bush plan....will be going to us.

I'm convinced....the next few years will show us common sense in the area of energy policy.....as opposed to "whacko" extremism.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2001

Jack....

Thanks for the "on the spot" testimonial.

I hope Calif. becomes a national wake-up call for the extremism of the environmentalist movement.....which is by the way...fueled by "New Age" gobble-di-gook.....("Mother Earth"....etc.).

In essence....to fight them....is to fight a false religion which is what we as Christians should be doing.

Theirs is a perverted world view.

Thanks!

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2001

Larry....in answer to your questions....

(Just out of curiousity, do none of you think the enviromentalists had some good idea's?)

No...they are nut cases!!!....who have a paganistic & pantheistic New Age view of the world. With that view....nothing they ever come up with is a good ideal.

(Are power plants more important than forest's?)

False dichotomy.....it's not either or. Forests can be replanted. It is a renewable resource....just like a cow.

(How about wildlife sanctuary's? Are they a good idea?)

Yes...I love them. They are great places to hunt!!!

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001

To me...one of the most beautiful sounds in the world....is a chainsaw cutting down a tree.

It means people are being employed....families are being fed....houses and furniture are going to be built.

Then...you plant the tree....and in another 15 years....you can do it again!!!

Trees....what a great resource!!!

PS: If I'm not mistaken (and I'm not) King Hiram of Tyre provided Solomon with all the lumber for the building of God's temple.

SLM....what a hypocrite God must be huh??? Allowing the use of precious trees to build a temple!!!!

Brother!!! As I said before....they are whackos!!!

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2001

Well, it's not quite that simple, Danny...

Yes, the environmentalists did slow things down. But, that's only part of the picture.

1. Forecasts predicted tight power supplies starting in 2000. But these predictions were made while the economy was booming, and the utility companies were having too much fun making money, rather than reinvesting their profits in new facilities.

2. Even the tight power supply forecasts failed to take into account, the explosion in the tech industry in California and the Northwest. Hi-tech=hi-power demands.

3. Many new and older power plants were converted to burn natural gas, thereby avoiding costly environmental safeguards for coal and oil fired plants. However, the power companies failed to negotiate long-term natural gas supplies and instead bought on the short-term market while the prices were low. When natural gas prices sky- rocketed, the power companies were screwed.

4. A large percentage of the power in the Northwest is hydro- electric. There traditionally had been an abundant supply that was sold to California at bargain-basement prices. Several seasons of below average rainfall has severely depleted the reservoirs. The Northwestern states are "hording" their supplies for there own users. California is being charged premium rates.

5. The idea behind deregulation in California was the bad assumption that there would be an abundant energy supply from several suppliers that would benefit the end users. WRONG! When the crunch came, out-of- state suppliers were more than happy to stick it to California. With deregulation, they were not locked into fixed, mandated rates.

The California State legislature and utility companies don't need the White House to tell them they're idiots. I'm sure they've figured that out for themselves.

Go ahead and drill for oil in the Alaska wild-life refugee if you want. But if the oil is sent to Asia to pay for the trade deficit as has been done by Carter, Reagan, Bush AND Clinton, you'll have accomplished nothing. But then again, maybe this Bush will try another tactic. We are no more energy self-sufficient than we were when the oil embargo hit in '73. And in many ways, a lot worse.

(:raig

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2001

Thanks Danny for telling it like it is. I have been preaching the word out in CA for the past two years. As I mingle with a number of people in various occupations, and political affiliations it is amazing the mentality folks have been brainwashed on relative to the Invironment. The Political Left has done their job well. But hopefully there is good news on the horizon. I hope that the wacko's you refer to will continue to lose ground. The great political left did not forsee the great population boom that would accur over the last five to ten years. That is the problem with these kind of folks, some of them have good intentions yet dont do the homework. Isnt the road to hell paved with good intentions. Keep listening to Rush, at least there is one man who can put his fingers on the real problems in a lot of areas. Our rates are really accelerating on gas and Electric. Davis dont understand what the real problem is and where the answer lies. But perhaps private enterprise may yet come to our aid. Right now we are fighting Gov. Davis Pro-homo stand. Sodom and Gomorrah is over in San Fran and its program and influence is being felt in all our communities. However there are many here who are standing strong for the family and Gods institution of marriage. Pray for our leaders in battle. God Bless you faithful warriors of Christ. Keep Studying, Brother Jack

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2001

Just out of curiousity, do none of you think the enviromentalists had some good idea's? Are power plants more important than forest's? How about wildlife sanctuary's? Are they a good idea?

Don't get me wrong. I think the US and Calif have made a lot of really bad moves when it comes to the power situations. We should have switched to both solar and nuclear power years ago.

The problem is now, if we do away with all the advances made under the enviromental policies of the last 30 years, we go back to air that can't be breathed, water that can't be drank and land that won't grow food because it is too seeped with chemicals. While the extreme enviromentalist's were in the wrong, it is just as bad to go to the extreme in the other direction.

At this point, I don't see anyone with any ideas on how to generate the energy needed, without further indebting the US to foreign interests or screwing up the nation further with rampant drilling and lack of control over pollution.

LArry

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2001

Larry, I don't think its the *idea* of conservation that is the problem, but the *why* and reasoning of the conservationists as they put it into practice. (I can talk, too, because I am a California native. Born in San Diego, graduated high school in San Jose, community college in Monterey.)

Conservation is something we should do as good stewards of our world. We do that because we understand the God ordained principles. This is different, as Danny and others pointed out, than the environmentalist for the most part, who is concerned about "Mother Earth." Its pure New Age. There is no "Mother Earth;" it is the creation of God. Environmental literature speaks of "Gaia" the Earth Mother. Remember the cartoon "Captain Planet?" A superhero who possesses the power of earth, wind, fire and water...created by..Gaia, the earth mother! (Ted Turner teaches New Age.)

Christians will conserve the environment because we are challenged by Scripture to be good stewards of God's creation. We apply this differently than the classic conservationist by focus. Based on what we can understand from Genesis, God arranged for the earth and its resources be used for our benefit. That's *benefit* but not *exploitation*. There is a big difference. Being good stewards, we as Christians must approach this problem not just scientifically but look at the whole picture. Environmental conservation involves not just ecology, but also economics, politics, and some other disciplines.

Most environmentalists, however, are motivated by their psuedo-New Age beliefs, or because they personally gain from it (monetarily, as in the case of the guy fired from Greenpeace, or egotistically, because they gain noteriety from protesting in public and being seen as an "environmental expert). They don't view human beings as being the crown of the creation scheme, but just another part, another animal int he ecosystem. This explains why snail darters and owls and other creatures are more valuable than human beings. If human beings are penalized as a result of saving the environment, that's ok. (No joke. I heard something like that out of someone's mouth once, then later read it too.)

Endless pursuit of convenience is wrong. America is wasteful, and needed a little tighning up, I think. But, the right response is not the environmentalists. Environmental groups have sought to place legislation on companies that would require the companies to go bankrupt, forcing them to lay off thousands of employees. Water pollution standards have been attempted that are actually more stringent than was in the water in its original, pre-industrial state. Environmentalists are very one sided, forgetting that there are economic costs as well as ecological ones.

Here's a good quote:

"It is important to recognize that the costs of pollution control extend far beyond the expense of constructing plants to treat water or control gas emissions. A serious pollution-control program can put firms out of business, put people out of work, and bring economic trouble to entire communities. Further, a pollution-control system can result in a redistribution of income. For example, automobiles, electric power, and other goods and services involving considerable pollution are likely to increase in price relative to other goods and services involving little pollution. To the extent that polluting goods and services play a bigger role in the budgets of the poor than of the rich, pollution controls hurt the poor and help the rich." (_Economics USA_, Fifth Edition, Mansfield & Behravesh.)

(I find it ironic that most 'environmentally aware' spokespersons (i.e., movie stars, pop stars, politicians) also claim to be champions of the 'working man' or 'poor people.' That quote shows that in practice, they aren't.)

I'm not sure if I'm making my point here, but its the reason *why* that makes the difference. Christians are not against the environment. Its just our reasons why we should do it, and application of that why, is different.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001

Incidentally, the five rings of Captain Planet -- Earth, Wind, Fire, Water and Heart -- are the five conjuring elements of witchcraft. They correspond to the five points of the witch's pentacle. You also see them (with the corresponding colors) on the inverted pentagram of the Masonic women's auxiliary, the Eastern Star. (Anyone notice that the letters in the inner pentagon spell "FATAL"?)

Actually it doesn't surprise me ... since we all know who the god of this world (the captain of this planet?) is ...

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2001

I met this guy in Georgia who invented a device that decreases the load of electricity by arranging the order in which electrical devices run. It can save 25% of electricity in plants and in houses. The problem is, in Georgia, meters aren't set up to register load, though by law, I think you can request a meter that measures electricity that way.

This guy would go around selling this product to large organizations in exchange for a monthly cut of the discount they got from using the product. Then, the power companies would come in behind him and offer his potential customers an even bigger discount not to use the product. The power company was promoting wasting electricity. They tried to sue him to put him out of business.

Congress wrote some positive things about this device, but it the last time I heard, he never eally made it big with this invention. Big power companies like the status quo.

Maybe he'll find opportunities in California. It sounds like something that could reduce everyone's electrical expenditure by 25% could really help in a time like this.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2001

Well, do not consider me an authority on Christianity or Religion of any sort. I can hardly even quote from the Bible. However, I feel that when you are attacking the New Age people and the environmentalists, you are barking up the wrong tree. While their methods may at times be too extreme and might not take into account what others might endure as a consequence of their actions, they are aware of what's happening to our planet and are fighting those who seek to exploit it for short-term gain (greed).

Whether this world is referred to as Mother Earth or God's Creation is irrelavent. A planet being trashed is a planet being trashed, no matter what you called it. If this planet is God's Creation, when Jesus returns again, He will be most displeased with the contempt with which His Father's creation is being treated. Suppose someone had entrusted you with taking care of his house while he is away for a period of few days, then you decided throw a wild party. You and your friends eat up all the food, run up vast bills by overusing the utilties, demolish the furniture, leave trash scattered everywhere, some of which may soil and ruin the carpet and basically trash the place? How is that person who entrusted you with his house going to feel when he returns to find the place virtually demolished? That is what's happening with Planet Earth right now. Regardless, of who the owner may be, He is going to very unhappy with the way we treated His creation.

It seems that you think that environmentalists and the Pagans are agent of the Devils out to ruin the Earth. You can't be more wrong! While you and the greenies are wasting time putting your hands around each others' throats, Satan is watching you waste your energies futilely on each other and chortling with glee, while his True Followers are laughing all the way to the bank.

As for a comment by Mr. Gabbard:

You say forests are a renewable resource. Well, that resource is only renewable if we give it the chance to renew itself. It is painfully clear that we are not giving the forests that chance.

In fact, I take offence at your referring to forests as a "resource". Those "resources" are actually creations of God, to be regarded as both a bounty and a treasure that we are allowed to make use of by His Grace, and should be regarded as such, not as mere items to be used up and thrown away, as the word "resource" implies.

The problem with this society is that nothing is sacred anymore. We claim to love God, but neglect to treat most aspects of His Creation without the proper reverence, awe, and sacredness due to it. In fact, the times when I feel close to God and can most fully appreciate His Majesty is when I am standing in the middle of an ancient unspoiled forest, a mountain range, or the night sky on a clear moonless night, not when I am in some cathedral.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2001

When it comes to ecological policies bringing economic problems, well, I will not knowingly lie to you. Any policy that will bring about a real difference in the environment is going to hurt. That is the price we are going to have to pay for our binging in recent decades. However, if changes are made NOW, they will still sting, but they can be brought on gradually to minimize the trauma. If we wait, may find ourselves FORCED to adopt far more draconian measures just to survive.

As for the policies harming the Poor more than the Rich, that is true, but it is not due to the policies themselves. It is due to the Wealthy's amazing ablilty to get out from paying their fair share of the bill and making someone else pay that share, guess who?

So this world is ruled by Satan and will soon pass away, does that excuse us from trying the make the world a better place and allieviating the suffering of others in the meantime? Does anyone know of the phrase "Making the best out of a bad situation"?

When Jesus comes, all will be set right. Until then, we will have to endure this situation the best we can. Maybe if we do so, the suffering to be inflicted on us during the Tribulation will not be so great.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2001

Solomon built that temple, not God. However, that is beside the point.

God did not forbid us to use those trees. The problem is we are treating not as items borrowed from God, but as things to be taken for granted, and squandered wantonly. The amount of waste in this country is appalling.

Besides, forests have other qualities other than being able to be used to make houses, paper, and furniture. Qualities that I'm not sure you appreciate. Do you ever go fishing, hunting, or hiking? If so, how would YOU feel if you went your favorite place for outdoor activities only to find it bulldozed to the ground to "make way for development"? Have you ever felt the cool breeze waft from a grove of trees on a hot oppressive summer's day? Have you ever just spent time in the woods alone, away from the clamor and chatter of other humans?

Is your idea of Heaven on Earth one vast city on which every square inch of the Earth is crammed full of Humans? In which every last breath of air, every drop of water, and every patch of ground is fouled by human waste? A city is which you are constantly fighting with hordes of other humans over an ever dwindling share of resources? Don't like the sound of that? Well that's where we're headed.

The Earth at first seemed infinitely large to us. It seems like an unlimited bounty that we can use as much and whenever we saw fit. In the past, whenever we depleted the resources in an area and succeeded in fouling our nests, we could always move on to greener pastures. However, in the past century, an awful truth dawns upon us. The Earth is NOT infinite, that there will soon be nowhere left to run when we foul our current nests.

The Earth does indeed seem large, and that one person couldn't possibly destroy it. However, there isn't just one person on this planet, there are over SIX BILLION of us. Think about it, that is Six Thousand Million people. Think of New York City, about all the room it takes up and all the pollution and waste it causes, then multiply that city by one thousand. THAT's is the kind of impact we will be having on our planet within the next fifty years. Paints an ugly picture doesn't it?

Man likes to portray himself as the crown jewel of Creation, that he is somehow separate from, or above the rest of Nature. We are NOT above Nature, it is a part of us. We NEED it, whether we are aware of it or not. To suggest otherwise is like saying that the brain can sustain itself without the heart, the lungs, the kidneys, the liver, etc.. Satan has succeeded in getting us to attack the very support systems that keep us alive, in getting us, God's crowning achievement, to ruin what God has worked so hard to create. Believe me, the Devil is having a ball!

The environmentalists are not the whackos. The people who support the consumer driven, throw-away culture and encourage waste are the whackos. Before we start extracting more resources from the planet, we consider ways of distributing those resources more fairly and minimizing the waste of those resources.

God is not going to bring about the Great Tribulation, we are doing that ourselves.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2001

**SLM....what a hypocrite God must be huh??? Allowing the use of precious trees to build a temple!!!!**

Yeah, and he allowed things like the Inquistion, the Holocaust, and the Cambodian Killing Fields to happen as well.

But does He condone those actions? He is allowing us free reign to make our own decisions, even though those decisions may be very poor ones. When it becomes clearly apparent that we cannot make it on our own, He will come back to set things straight. That is the purpose of the Second Coming.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2001