Now observe that in all the propaganda of the [environmentalists]—amidst all their appeals to nature and pleas for “harmony with nature”—there is no discussion of man’s needs and the requirements of his survival. Man is treated as if he were an unnatural phenomenon. Man cannot survive in the kind of state of nature that the [environmentalists] envision—i.e., on the level of sea urchins or polar bears . . . .
In order to survive, man has to discover and produce everything he needs, which means that he has to alter his background and adapt it to his needs. Nature has not equipped him for adapting himself to his background in the manner of animals. From the most primitive cultures to the most advanced civilizations, man has had to manufacture things; his well-being depends on his success at production. The lowest human tribe cannot survive without that alleged source of pollution: fire. It is not merely symbolic that fire was the property of the gods which Prometheus brought to man. The [environmentalists] are the new vultures swarming to extinguish that fire.
— Ayn Rand, Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution
Check out my post: Forget “Earth Day”…Celebrate Life On Earth Day!
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