Environmentalism Michael Crichton Summary

How we discern right and wrong seems to be an inborn instinct, but some of our perceptions seem to be influenced by surrounding people and society. Michael Crichton expresses in his speech that we struggle to determine "which of our perceptions are genuine, and which are false because they are handed down." Crichton believes that the greatest challenge facing mankind is distinguishing fact from fiction and whether the threats we face today are real. Crichton illustrates his point in the idea of environmentalism. One of his claims is that humans act "sympathetically" towards the environment because it seems to be a constant need now and in the future. Crichton says that we have a past history of not taking care of environment and that even
He expects his audience to accept his claim that experts knew that DDT was not a carcinogen, did not cause birds to die, and should not have been banned. Because of this ban, many people died in third world countries of disease carried by mosquitoes, and it "is one of the most disgraceful episodes in the twentieth century history of America." He goes on to give examples of global warming, second hand smoke, urbanization, and greenhouse gases. Crichton expects the audience to accept these ideas in order to promote his main idea of shifting environmentalism away from its religious
Crichton believes that there sound is an environmental movement but that it would be more effective if it is not conducted like a religion. "Environmentalism needs to be absolutely based in objective and verifiable science, it needs to be rational, and it needs to be flexible." He also stresses that it should be apolitical, free of opinions of one political party or another. Crichton says effective legislation for the environment should be free of politics because neither party has the ability to "save us" better than the