If you have been attending public schools (i.e. government schools) for the last 12 years, you have likely been thoroughly indoctrinated into the cult of environmentalism.  You have been told by your teachers (and just about everyone else) that the earth is warming, that the oceans are dying, and that unless we recycle everything in sight, we are doomed to drown in our own trash. Whether any of that is true or not, is it based on science or is it based on faith?  Do environmentalists do real science or just confirm their bias?  Do environmentalist practices such as recycling actually do more harm than good to the environment?  Do environmentalist policy prescriptions help animals, bugs, and even rocks at the expense of human welfare?  What are the opportunity costs of environmentalism?  Are the costs worth it?  How can economics offer a possible way of understanding this issue?  Readings: Steven Landsburg, “Why I Am Not an Environmentalist”  (excerpt from Steven Landsburg, The Armchair Economist); Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson Chapters 1-3