The operating logic of most environmentalists is: * Something must be done. * This is something. * Therefore it must be done. Most environmental activists (

The operating logic of most environmentalists is: * Something must be done. * This is something. * Therefore it must be done. Most environmental activists (and sadly, even many environmental policy-makers) tend to see you as standing in the way of progress if you try to get them to understand the engineering implications of what they want to do. The key is that they understand "negative environmental externalities" (== "Destroying The Earth") in emotional rather than engineering terms, so they have no way to access concepts like "good-enough solution," "necessary evil," or "minimal impact." There are only environmental problems they know about ("Nuclear Fuel Comes From Satan's Pooper") and ones they don't ("Several of the reactants used to make solar cells are toxic enough to use as chemical weapons").