EDITORIAL - Environmentalists

There are probably two kinds of environmentalists, and it is easy to tell one from the other. The true environmentalist has his feet planted squarely on the ground and it is easy to find a common ground with him and from which can proceed realistic and pragmatic discussion.

The pseudo-environmentalist is he who only recently discovered it an unusually beneficial position to espouse environmental causes and thus has become unusually jealous and rabid about it. His head in the clouds, you can never talk sense with him unless it is on his own terms.

As a rule, it is always difficult to argue against any environmentalist because he usually has the truth on his side. But having the truth on one's side does not necessarily have to be a winner takes all situation.

This is when you can tell the true environmentalist from the pseudo one. The true environmentalist understands the entire gamut of the environmental problem. He appreciates the fact that committed and sustained effort works better than shutting down the system at once.

In other words, the true environmentalist leaves open the door for compromise. He knows it is impossible to kick a bad habit by throwing it out the window. He knows that the better approach is to lead it down the stairs one step at a time till he reaches the door.

Take the case of Cebu. If the uncompromising pseudo environmentalists would have their way, they would shut down all coal-fired power plants this coming Sunday, while God is resting, and never mind if we all get transported back to the Stone Age.

But true environmentalists know the impossibility of that proposition. They would rather settle for regulated emissions, using the cleanest available coal technology, and demand future adjustments as soon as even better technologies become available.

In other words, true environmentalists are practical. They know they cannot change the mistakes and shortcomings piled up over the centuries in a click of a finger. They know the world will end some day but not necessarily this Sunday. So we still have time.

And when people have time, they can rearrange their priorities and reorganize their programs and activities. In short, there is orderly conduct. And what is so wrong with that? Even God had to take six days to make Everything. And pseudo environmentalists are no gods.