More Nonsense on Inexhaustible Resources from The Wall Street Journal
- Leon Kolankiewicz
- November 4, 2014
- Forum Papers
- Forum Paper
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More Nonsense on Inexhaustible Resources from The Wall Street Journal
Over the years – even over the decades, long before it was absorbed into the Murdoch Empire – the inimitable Wall Street Journal has been a reliable source of baloney on the subject of prospects for infinite growth on a finite planet. So much so, one might be mistaken for thinking it is a slaughterhouse or butcher shop rather than a high-circulation newspaper read by Important People whose decisions, prejudices, blind spots, and whims affect your life and mine.
One of the latest illustrations of its penchant for pap is an April 25, 2014 essay by Matt Ridley entitled “The World’s Resources Aren’t Running Out.” Ridley is a British science writer, businessman, climate change contrarian (or denier) and Conservative Member of the House of Lords. Unsurprisingly, he is also the 2012 winner of the Julian L. Simon Memorial Award, issued annually since 2001 by the free market-oriented Competitive Enterprise Institute. The first winner of the Simon Award was Stephen Moore, formerly of the Cato Institute, a co-founder and president of the Club for Growth, and an editorial board member of the Wall Street Journal.
Leon Kolankiewicz is an “all-around ecologist” whose professional career spans three decades, three countries, and more than 30 states. He received a B.S. in forestry & wildlife management from Virginia Tech and an M.S. in environmental planning from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada). His career includes stints with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, National Marine Fisheries Service, University of Washington, University of New Mexico, Orange County Environmental Management Agency, Carrying Capacity Network, and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras. As an environmental consultant, Leon has written, edited and managed many environmental impact statements on a variety of projects for multiple federal agencies and prepared more than 40 comprehensive conservation plans for national wildlife refuges from Alaska to the Caribbean. He has also authored reports examining the role of population growth in aggravating pressures on natural resources and the environment.
