> A very interesting speech about the environment. (Yes, there are a few
> comments about paleo food so I can post this to this list ;--)

Very interesting and much of what he says has merit, especially noting the
non-edenic warfare practises of traditional peoples.  However, I also think
he is seriously uninformed about other issues.  His defence of DDT is
interesting because it brings up the the whole issue of vested interests
which he seems to neglect.  IIRC the company that made DDT hired scientists
who "proved" that DDT was safe.  There are scientists out there who will
give you the results you want, just as there are anthropologists who will
give you the go ahead on your big oil project and tell you impact on the
indigenous people will be minimal and their life will be better.  What
drives it? Money.
Crichton talks about the religion of environmentalism but seems to overlook
his own belief in the religion of science.  If science was a purely
objective pursuit (as it is often portrayed to be) then there wouldn't be a
problem. However, scientist are people and people are subjective and
everyone on this list must be aware of the divergent views from scientists
on health matters.

Also look at the food pyramid and how many scientists are involved with that
and then look at the corporations and government departments involved in it
who all have a vested interest in us believing that a high carb diet is the
best thing.  I'm not a conspiracy theorist and these things aren't always
sinister, simply misguided.  However, in terms of the environment, read
"Global Spin: The corporate war on environmentalism" and have your eyes
opened.

There are plenty of examples from the past of environmental tragedies
brought about by humans that we HAVE NOT learnt from. eg, Copan, Easter
Island, the Anasazi indians, where the degradation of their environment
happened gradually over a long period of time and then they were screwed.
In the last few years, Canadian Coast guard fired at Spanish fishing vessels
to drive them off the Cod banks since the banks are almost depleted,
Australian navy and SAS troops chased and captured an Argentinian? boat
illegally taking Patagonian tooth fish in Australian waters, just recently
in Moreton Bay where I live restrictions on recreational fishing have been
implemented to protect fish stocks - the bay used to be incredibly abundant
but has been overfished by trawlers.

One final point is that from a paleo perspective we have been told by
scientists that fat is bad and yet many people on this list are dubious
about this claim.  I don't know the answer either way but Mary Enig wrote
some interesting info on how vested interest hijacked the scientific
research.  When there is money to be made............whenever you see any
bit of new information whether it be scientific research or a report on the
news just ask yourself WHO GAINS from having me believe this information, a
corporation, the medical fraternity, the government, a health food store, a
science magazine?????? If Paleo improves your life then keep at it.

Sean