Since he was critical of the urban environmentalists who perpetuate the "religion" of environmentalism, a questioner in the packed 500-person audience asked when was the last time author Michael Crichton was out in the environment. Crichton responded that he had been in the Costa Rican rain forests only two weeks earlier. In fact, Crichton has traveled in some of the remotest places in the world, and has seen the environment first hand.

Update November 5, 2008: Michael Crichton died at age 66 after a battle with lung cancer. This great storyteller enriched our popular culture with his exciting and provocative novels, screenplays, and movies. His urbane charm and intelligence will be missed by many, many admirers.