By Adam Houser
On Tuesday, January 29, 2019, I was invited to speak with Peter Vicenzi of FreedomWorks on their Facebook live stream, with approximately 12,000 viewers as of writing this. We talked about a number of subjects, including CFACT’s recent efforts and our message that humanity is a net positive for the planet, not a problem to manage.
CFACT’s Adam Houser (left) talks with FreedomWorks’s Peter Vicenzi (right)
You can watch the interview in its entirety here.
FreedomWorks is a national grassroots organization dedicated to the advancement of freedom that helps give American citizens a better voice with their representatives in government.
Since before humanity walked the Earth, innumerable species have gone extinct. But thanks to human ingenuity, we are helping preserve endangered species. I mentioned the scimitar-horned oryx, which is a type of antelope that is extinct in the wild. They are thriving, however, on game ranches in Texas. There hunters pay big money for a chance to hunt the oryx, and that funding is used to help eventually reintroduce these animals back into the wild. Hunting, when managed effectively, actually helps preserve and rescue animals, not destroy them.
The scimitar-horned oryx, a type of antelope extinct in the wild but thriving on private ranches in Texas.
The infamous “Green New Deal” proposed by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was also brought up. I explained that while many Democrats and those on the Left think they are being Robin Hood through these programs by taking from the rich to give to the poor, they are actually doing the exact opposite. I did not grow up well-off, and whenever gas or utility prices would go up even marginally, it would impact the type of groceries we could buy or whether we could save anything up during the month. Carbon taxes or carbon “fee and dividend” schemes increase the prices of fuels and energy, which impacts every sector of the economy, and hurt the poor disproportionately. While the advocates of such plans say they will take some of the money to help the least fortunate, it is unlikely to be managed in an effective and efficient way that actually helps struggling families. One look at how Social Security has been managed should be enough to make you realize that the government can’t manage your money better than you can.
To help the planet and the least fortunate, we need to look to economic freedom and technological advancement through the free enterprise system. As a country develops, its ability to care for its environment improves. People can worry about whether their local lake or air is clean because they don’t have to worry about basic necessities for their family. Birth rates actually decline as societies advance – cutting through many worries of overpopulation the Left so frequently brings up.
This message, that technology and capitalism moves both humanity and the Earth forward, is one CFACT will continue to push in the media and on college campuses. There is still much to do to improve our environment and meet the needs of humanity, but we are living in the golden age of freedom, opportunity, and prosperity.
Data from the World Bank and UN showing the advancement of humanity over the last 10 years.
