Nobody here is advocating a return to the roaring 1820s. What we have is two opposing viewpoints on how to best utilize our resources, and unsurprisingly, they're both wrong.
Capitalists say and do boneheaded things and so do environmentalists.
I don't think either of them is more stupid than the other, but I admit capitalistic stupidity pays better. Personally, I try to look at each issue individually to determine the best possible solution. Sometimes I come down on the capitalist side of the fence, sometimes the environmentalist, but I don't subscribe to either of their ideologies. You don't see many Ethiopian environmentalists.