Say I want to do as much damage as I can to the environment single handedly, what would be the best way to go about it?
Let’s assume I’m in my 40s, independently wealthy, have no need to work and no family commitments (the environment killed my family), I’m dedicated to this and will work with robot-like commitment to even the most boring and repetitive tasks to get it done but I don’t want to go to jail.
It’s a bit tricky to define damage to the environment so there’s some leeway there, I’d say permanent damage > spectacular damage that will be fixed in a couple of years, making a species extinct would be pretty good (the bigger the animal, the better), killing off a species that has knock-on effects on all sorts of other species would be even better.
I assume, despite my wealth, I won’t be able to get people to help me with the actual attacks on the environment…I might be able to hire some guys to move unlabelled barrels up a hill or crew my nefarious boat HQ but the actual work has to be doable by a single, reasonably fit person.
Introduce invasive species to new areas. Kudzu, air potatoes, Asian carp, zebra mussels, seaweed, gerbils, etc. (I’ve long wanted to try to introuduce some big-ass weta into my area, but they probably aren’t robust enough to be invasive)
That will deter humans more than it will the environment. People worry about a 10 fold increase in cancer deaths, animals and plants not so much. The area aroundChernobylis actually thriving now that all the people left
Start tossing highly invasive water plants like the water hyacinth into waterways.
Plus side, you don’t need to be wealthy. They are cheap to pick up, and you only need one to grow into multitudes.
While you are driving around tossing these plants into lakes and streams, also consider picking up some firewood from the emerald ash borer infested areas, and spread that around a bit more.
As stated the invasive species is most likely the best way to do that. Well that or start a political campaign which discredits/disregards the environmental issues, which is close to one of your disqualifies, though if craftily done does not technically violate it.
In order to cause the type of damage you need to consider ‘tipping points’, the point where the old equilibrium is upset, and a new one is being brought about, and point of no return, which is ideally what you want, the inability to ‘tip back’ once your influence is removed. Secondarily even if the tipping point is reversible, that no one will care to put the energy into the system to do so. Either one would produce permeant results, though again passing the point of no return is preferred (such as the extinction of a species).
Apparently being a chemist is a good way to damage the environment for instance this same man created both leaded gasoline and CFC’s and is believed to have caused more damage to the atmosphere than any ORGANISM period that has ever existed. He was also killed by one of his own many creations.
I hear business jets are pretty harmful, at least in the carbon footprint to move one person. Since you’re wealthy, you could use the Gulfstream to run to McDonald’s on the opposite coast.
The snarky, haven’t had enough coffee me says: “Mimic Al Gore’s lifestyle as closely as possible.”
And you call yourself an eco-terrorist; turn in your union card!
All you have to do is hang around the park until Mr. Burns disposes of another few 55-gallon drums of nuclear waste (but not around the playground–all those bald children are arousing suspicion).
