X-Message-Number: 1408 Date: 08 Dec 92 22:44:42 EST From: Charles Platt <> Subject: CRYONICS Environmentalists To: Kevin Brown In suggesting that environmentalists and cryonicists might have something in common, I realize I was making a statement that is not, shall we say, cryonically politically correct. However, I'm a little surprised by the vehemence of Brian Wowk's response. I feel that he (like extropian writers I have read) is losing sight of environmentalist principles and responding only to the methods which are generally used to put those principles into practice. My experience of environmentalists (and I have belonged to various groups) tells me that they have seen a lot of damage done to living things which they sincerely care about; and they believe that this damage has been caused mainly as a side-effect of industry and population growth. Many (not all) environmentalists also conclude that since a chemical factory causes more pollution than no chemical factory, we should get rid of chemical factories, and anything resembling a chemical factory. The whole mindset boils down to the notion that if there's something causing problems, we should control it or ban it. I do not share this outlook, but that's not what I was writing about. My concern was the deeper impulse motivating most environmentalists, which is, as I say, the sincere desire to preserve life and minimize death. To this degree, cryonicists and environmentalists do have something in common, even though the methods that they use to promote their beliefs have been very different. Incidentally, I note that some cryonicists are already eager to seek restrictive legislation (e.g. to control the behavior of coroners) when it suits their purposes. How many of us would remain "pure" if there was a much bigger temptation-- for instance, a chance to make cryonics really widely established via government controls? This was the kind of temptation facing environmentalists, and I don't entirely blame them for yielding to it, even while I feel they were wrongheaded and simple-minded to do so. Brian is absolutely correct that the libertarian-objectivist- technophile constituency has been the most fertile place to find cryo converts. However, if cryonics is to find wider acceptance, the lib-obj-tech fraternity isn't going to be sufficient. I am therefore interested in finding new links between cryonics and larger groups which are more socially acceptable. --Charles Platt Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1408