SEATTLE – If you believe the ultimate goal of the radical environmental movement is to stop “man-made climate change” by getting people to drive electric cars and by taxing companies for carbon emissions tax, guess again.

A recently released documentary reveals the tree-huggers’ real aim is to “save the planet” by greatly reducing the human population – perhaps by as much as 90 percent.

“The War on Humans” is a 30-minute film produced by the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think tank that deals with issues relating to science, culture and bioethics. In the film, director John West exposes the dark side of America’s extreme environmentalists, who reject the idea that human beings should hold a special place in nature over the “non-human animals.”

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More to the point: The extremists believe humans are a “plague on the planet” and the only cure is massive depopulation. To achieve that ambitious plan, the radicals have developed a long-range strategy for carrying it out, as “War on Humans” makes clear.

Phase One is a propaganda campaign to get people – particularly school children and university students – to buy into the premise that human beings aren’t inherently better than other species. In fact, humans might be worse because their selfish actions are responsible for destroying the earth.

To that end, the environmentalists have been using the nation’s education system to convince the upcoming generation that human activity is the sole cause of climate change. They’re also communicating their “humans are destroying the planet” message through popular Hollywood movies, most recently 2014’s “Noah.”

The apparent goal is to get the upcoming generation of adults to think twice before becoming parents. By making it hip, trendy and environmentally “responsible” to remain childless, the extreme environmentalists believe they can achieve part of their depopulation goal through voluntary activity. (This might also explain the progressives’ ongoing obsession with expanding access to birth control, particularly through the so-called Affordable Care Act.)

Giving animals the right to sue

Phase Two of the extremists’ plan is where “The War on Humans” fixes most of its attention. The film explains that the effort to achieve depopulation depends on getting America’s courts to grant constitutional rights to animals and nature.

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Here’s how that would work: If the extremists can get judges to rule that animals have the same rights as humans – perhaps on the grounds that they can feel pain or have some degree of self-awareness – then animals will have legal standing in the courts and will be able to sue (with the help of human “friends”) to have their rights protected.

Such lawsuits could shut down farms and animal-related industries, and could prevent land development – for housing, industrial use or energy production – on the grounds it would kill animals and ruin their habitats. Even if the environmentalists and their animal clients don’t win their lawsuits, the cost of litigation could drive farmers and manufacturers out of business. – or drive up the costs of their products which will make them less appealing to consumers.

The result of all this would be a greatly damaged and diminished American economy. Living expenses would shoot sky-high, and it would make it financially impossible for couples to raise a large family – perhaps even a small family.

In other words, the economic distress caused by the animal-centered lawsuits would suppress human reproduction, thus advancing the extremists’ depopulation goals.

This many all seem conspiratorial and far-fetched, but as “The War On Humans” notes, more than 100 of the nation’s best law schools have animal rights law clinics. That’s a good indication the movement to grant animals legal standing is going to grow and become more powerful in the coming years.

One such effort is currently working its way through the New York court system. Last December, animal-rights attorney Steven Wise, head of the Nonhuman Rights Project, “filed writs of habeas corpus – used to seek freedom from unlawful detention – on behalf of four chimpanzees in the state of New York,” reports The Independent.

If Wise succeeds in freeing the chimps, it would “send legal shockwaves around the world,” The Independent writes.

Wise says he’ll keep bringing these types of lawsuits until a judge confers constitutional rights to animals – and by extension, nature. He believes it’s only a matter of time until he prevails.

Teach your children well

“The War On Humans” director West tells EAGnews the best way for ordinary Americans to fight back against these destructive efforts is to explain to their children the dangers of environmental extremism.

“People over the age of 35 or 40 tend to assume that human beings are unique and worthy or respect,” West says, adding that’s part of the legacy of the Civil Rights movement.

He says there’s a growing contingency of Americans under the age of 30 that’s pushing back against the idea that human beings have a unique dignity above other living things.

Many of these young people won’t even listen to criticism of the rabid environmentalists because they’ve been misled by Hollywood and the education system into believing that anyone who opposes the green movement and its policies doesn’t care about protecting the planet or treating animals humanely.

Parents must explain to their children that’s a false choice, West says.

“Parents have to be proactive and begin discussing these things with their kids. Don’t assume your kids will have the same views, the same level of common sense you do,” West says. “Parents believe that through osmosis their kids will have the same views they do. No, they won’t.”

Parents should take the time to share their beliefs with their children and to answer their questions. West says this will help kids develop critical thinking skills – which they’ll need to navigate through all the over-the-top environmental propaganda they’re going to encounter in high school and college.

West’s favorite scene in the film shows humans rescuing a dog that had fallen through ice and into a body of freezing-cold water.

“That fact that people wanted to rescue a dog – that says something about humans,” West notes. “They made a conscious choice to save a member of another species, that’s something no other animal does. That’s a mark of humanity. That shows our uniqueness.”

“The War on Humans” can be viewed on YouTube. It’s based on Wesley Smith’s ebook of the same name, which can be purchased through Amazon.com.