You can be in favour of the environment without being a pessimist. There ought to be room in the environmental movement for those who think that technology and economic freedom will make the world cleaner and will also take the pressure off endangered species. But at the moment such optimists are distinctly unwelcome among environmentalists. Dr Ehrlich likes to call economic growth the creed of the cancer cell. He is not alone.
Environmentalists are quick to accuse their opponents in business of having vested interests.
But their own incomes, their advancement, their fame and their very existence can depend on supporting the most alarming versions of every environmental scare. Mencken's forecast, at least, appears to have been correct. Many articles and books by Julian Simon are available online. And the Worldwatch Institute's site includes excerpts from the institute's magazine. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization has a large online statistical database.