RUSH: Earth Day. Forty-three years ago, Earth Day, 1970. I have here from our friends at FreedomWorks, they went back and did the research: "13 Worst Predictions Made on Earth Day, 1970." Now, this is important, folks. These are the environmentalist wackos who are alive and thriving today. Forty-three years ago, we have survived. These people are still hysterical. They're still completely wrong about everything.
"Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind." That was Harvard biologist George Wald. Earth Day April 22, 1970, we got 15 or 30 years, take your pick.
Number two: "We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation." Washington University biologist Barry Commoner.
New York Times editorial on that day: "Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and possible extinction."
Number four: Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich, who has yet to be right about anything. "Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years."
Number five, again, from Paul Ehrlich: "Most of the people who are going to die in the greatest cataclysm in the history of man have already been born… [By 1975] some experts feel that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur until the decade of the 1980s."
Denis Hayes, Chief organizer for Earth Day, "It is already too late to avoid mass starvation."
All these things were said on Earth Day in 1970. North Texas State University professor Peter Gunter said, "Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions. ... By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine."
Life magazine on Earth Day 1970: "In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive air pollution… by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half."
All of this stuff was said back in 1970, and a bunch of leftists believed it and began making policy based on it, folks. This stuff is absurd, it's asinine, it's lunatic, insane, but they get action on it. This is why there are attacks on your cars. This is why the snail darter takes precedence over you. Ditto the kangaroo rat. This is why the spotted owl, because of these literal lunatics in 1970.
Ecologist Kenneth Watt said on the original Earth Day, "At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it's only a matter of time before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land will be usable." Only a matter of time.
Paul Ehrlich: Air pollution is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of lives in the next few years alone. Ecologist Kenneth Watt. "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate… that there won't be any more crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'" Well, then why would he be open? So in 1970, there wasn't gonna be any gas because there wasn't gonna be any oil by the year 2000.
Newsweek magazine on Earth Day 1970: "[One] theory assumes that the earth's cloud cover will continue to thicken as more dust, fumes, and water vapor are belched into the atmosphere by industrial smokestacks and jet planes. Screened from the sun's heat, the planet will cool, the water vapor will fall and freeze, and a new Ice Age will be born."
Can you imagine people reading all this stuff back in 1970, pulling their hair out, being confused? I was alive. I was 20 years old. And I thought all this stuff was bogus then. But, man, everybody that I knew my age is just eating it up, couldn't get enough of it. I'm telling you, these people ended up making policy, folks. This is why Algore's out there with his insane movies and books, becoming a multimillionaire scaring kids with polar bear disaster stories and so forth.
Not one of these people were anywhere near being right. They were all part of a leftist political agenda. Here is the 13th worst prediction made on Earth Day 1970 by Kenneth Watt, once again the ecologist. "The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age."
These quotes actually come from Earth Day then and now by Ronald Bailey. Reason.com May 1st, 2000. Kenneth Watt, ecologist: an ice age by the year 2000. Others, famine, no oil, starvation everywhere but the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Australia. None of it right. And yet to this day these people and their descendants have total credibility with the Democrat Party and the mainstream media.
"Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind." That was Harvard biologist George Wald. Earth Day April 22, 1970, we got 15 or 30 years, take your pick.
Number two: "We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation." Washington University biologist Barry Commoner.
New York Times editorial on that day: "Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and possible extinction."
Number four: Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich, who has yet to be right about anything. "Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years."
Number five, again, from Paul Ehrlich: "Most of the people who are going to die in the greatest cataclysm in the history of man have already been born… [By 1975] some experts feel that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur until the decade of the 1980s."
Denis Hayes, Chief organizer for Earth Day, "It is already too late to avoid mass starvation."
All these things were said on Earth Day in 1970. North Texas State University professor Peter Gunter said, "Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions. ... By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine."
Life magazine on Earth Day 1970: "In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive air pollution… by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half."
All of this stuff was said back in 1970, and a bunch of leftists believed it and began making policy based on it, folks. This stuff is absurd, it's asinine, it's lunatic, insane, but they get action on it. This is why there are attacks on your cars. This is why the snail darter takes precedence over you. Ditto the kangaroo rat. This is why the spotted owl, because of these literal lunatics in 1970.
Ecologist Kenneth Watt said on the original Earth Day, "At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it's only a matter of time before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land will be usable." Only a matter of time.
Paul Ehrlich: Air pollution is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of lives in the next few years alone. Ecologist Kenneth Watt. "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate… that there won't be any more crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'" Well, then why would he be open? So in 1970, there wasn't gonna be any gas because there wasn't gonna be any oil by the year 2000.
Newsweek magazine on Earth Day 1970: "[One] theory assumes that the earth's cloud cover will continue to thicken as more dust, fumes, and water vapor are belched into the atmosphere by industrial smokestacks and jet planes. Screened from the sun's heat, the planet will cool, the water vapor will fall and freeze, and a new Ice Age will be born."
Can you imagine people reading all this stuff back in 1970, pulling their hair out, being confused? I was alive. I was 20 years old. And I thought all this stuff was bogus then. But, man, everybody that I knew my age is just eating it up, couldn't get enough of it. I'm telling you, these people ended up making policy, folks. This is why Algore's out there with his insane movies and books, becoming a multimillionaire scaring kids with polar bear disaster stories and so forth.
Not one of these people were anywhere near being right. They were all part of a leftist political agenda. Here is the 13th worst prediction made on Earth Day 1970 by Kenneth Watt, once again the ecologist. "The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age."
These quotes actually come from Earth Day then and now by Ronald Bailey. Reason.com May 1st, 2000. Kenneth Watt, ecologist: an ice age by the year 2000. Others, famine, no oil, starvation everywhere but the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Australia. None of it right. And yet to this day these people and their descendants have total credibility with the Democrat Party and the mainstream media.
