There was a time, before the baby-boom generation took over, when we took pride in the achievements of our builders, producers, and innovators.  There was always great celebration when settler families got a phone, a tractor, a bitumen road, or electric power.  An oil strike or a gold discovery made headlines, and people welcomed new businesses, new railways, and new inventions.  Science and engineering were revered, and the wealth delivered by these human achievements enabled the builders and their children to live more rewarding lives, with more leisure, more time for culture and crusades, and greater interest in taking better care of their environment. Then a green snake entered the Garden of Eden. Many of the genuine conservationists from the original environmental societies were replaced by political extremists who felt lost after the Comrade Societies collapsed and China joined the trading world.  These zealots were mainly interested in promoting...(Read Full Post)