By Joshua Spodek
Most environmentalists that I know of consider themselves progressive or liberal. They propose solutions that increase regulation and grow government, often in the style of the New Deal. Their role models are generally also progressive and liberal. They present conservatives as opponents, even enemies, sometimes evil. They consider them interested in themselves and profit, not caring who suffers for it.
Over and over, they say about conservatives, “They don’t care.” Meanwhile, they pollute as much as anyone. They fund future extraction, companies that extract and pollute, their politicians, and lobbyists promoting more.
I don’t think they actually talk to conservatives. They project their preconceptions onto them and treat them as straw men.
David Jenkins helps lead a conservative group that promotes stewardship. I suspect many environmentalists would consider the combination impossible, wondering if it’s a front group.
What do you expect? Could conservative values promote decreasing pollution, depletion, plunder, and misappropriating nature?
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