Critical thought is under siege
A long-churning grumble has erupted into unbridled attacks on science and expertise. An ongoing example is (President Donald) Trump’s EPA eradicating well-established evidence verifying that climate change is caused by fossil-fuel emissions.
Disinformation undermining facts about threats to public health and the environment has spawned unfounded confidence in the supremacy of subjective opinions. Aided by the disruptive but profitable algorithms of social media, self-proclaimed truth-seekers attract millions of gullible followers daily. Postings about imagined conspiracies and rationalized retributions are fabricated to exploit armchair philosophers.
The detractors of science, unschooled in the empirical method, condemn theories tested and advanced in the path toward solving difficult problems. Accordingly, legitimate steps to mitigate threats, including cancer and climate change, are ridiculed as counterintuitive and insufficient. Legions of self-deceived critics profess enhanced insights derived through hard knocks and partisan dogma.
For hundreds of years, civilization advanced through the application of science in technology and policy, but is now struggling against cynical political manipulation that transforms subjugated discontent into impetuous disdain for knowledge. Tyrannical authority is being empowered by obstructing facts, rebuking wisdom and scorning educational institutions.
When we need it the most, critical thought is weakened by nefarious opportunists whose greed and dominion thrive on ignorance.
DAVID KYLER, CENTER FOR A SUSTAINABLE COAST
Timber markets have shrunk and so have forests
Across Georgia, forestland is increasingly being converted to residential, commercial or solar development, and many people immediately cry, “It’s just greed.” But it’s not greed, it’s survival.
I love the land, the woods, and the outdoors as much as anybody, and I cannot think of a better use for an acre than forests, yet love alone doesn’t pay the bills. Timber markets have shrunk, prices are historically low, and costs for equipment, labor and materials have skyrocketed. Some markets have disappeared entirely, and survival, not greed, drives the decisions of forest landowners and farmers.
The only reason some forestland remains a viable investment is the potential to convert it to other uses, yet Georgia cannot buy two-thirds of the state to protect forests, and most people would not pay the taxes to do it.
Survival, not greed, leaves landowners navigating a harsh economic reality while the public mislabels their choices. If we want forests to continue providing clean air, wildlife habitat and carbon storage, we must support the people who manage them. Their future, and the public benefits they provide, depend on survival, not greed.
DREW JONES, CHARLTON COUNTY
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