When human cost of 'going green' can be far too high

Buncrana tragedy shows the banning of some unpopular chemicals, such as those which could have cleared pier of slippery algae, can be catastrophic.

By Phelim McAleer

The Buncrana pier tragedy should give us pause. It's a moment to consider life, hug our loved ones, and contemplate how we might prevent such horrors happening in the future. A major piece missing from the Buncrana pier discussion is how empty platitudes and feel-good environmental policies may have contributed to the death of five family members. We owe it to the McGrotty and Daniels families – and our own families – to take a hard look at the culture of dogmatic environmentalism. You can't ask basic questions of environmentalists anymore without being labelled a "denier", or "anti-science" or, worst of all, a "conservative". We're supposed to "go green" without a second thought. But when we turn off our brains for the sake of dogma – any dogma – we lose sight of the consequences of our choices. It's likely the McGrotty and Daniels families weren't thinking about environmental policy on their St Patrick's weekend outing………To Read More

From Paul Driessen - This article reminds me of another outrageous situation, in the USA, where a similar tragedy is only a matter of time. Completing a narrow 11-mile gravel road in Alaska would give King Cove residents a reliable link in bad weather to the large World War II-era airport at Cold Bay, when they face a medical emergency. As it stands, they are forced to take patients by boat through often dangerous waters to reach the airport, putting patients, nurses and boat crews as risk. But environmentalists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oppose the road, on the ground that it would run through a wildlife refuge and might migratory bird habitats. Meanwhile, of course, they don’t give a hoot about lethal impacts from wind turbines on birds and bats, or on human health. Rabid environmentalists also oppose Golden Rice that would prevent millions of children from going blind or dying from Vitamin A Deficiency. And they say ‘No’ fossil fuels for Africa, where 730 million people still don’t have electricity or have it only sporadically and unpredictably a few hours a week. It’s outrageous and unconscionable. It has to be stopped. (And would any fish actually have been harmed by the algae removing chemicals???)