The republican premise: The atmosphere is too large for us to have an effect; it’s practically infinite.
The response (sound bite):
Did you know they said we could never cut all the trees in Michigan? They said we could not fish out the great salmon runs of the northwest.
A personal experience: I was attending the School of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan in 1970, and an older student told me that the annual biomass production of the Grand Banks off the Newfoundland coast could feed the U.S. population even if it increased by 10 times. The Grand Banks was the location of the movie “Perfect Storm”. The Grand Banks fishery is in total collapse today. It has not been commercially fished for a number of years, not this year and at least not next year. Maybe sometime in the future the Grand Banks can support a limited, controlled fishery again.
And the finale: Take them on a personal tour. Stand with them in 1872 on a rise on the plains, see the cloud of dust, feel the earth tremble, and then watch as the migrating herd of bison appear and pass by for days at a gentle lope. Tell them, go ahead shoot 50 or so, skin the torso – don’t worry about skinning the legs, take the tongue as it sells well back east, and let the rest lay – maybe the Indians will clean it up before it rots. This is who they are!
NOTHING IS INFINITE
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