Environmentalism

As I made my bed this morning, I listened to a story on Public Radio about the Tea Party Republicans and their attempts to dismantle the environmentalist movement by reversing legislation in individual states which would advance environmental research and regulation. The initiatives of these born-again troglodytes are funded in part by the Koch brothers.

Despite all the Libertarian lies about the practicality of allowing the Free Market and Private Enterprise to solve environmental issues, the environment is deteriorating rapidly. The environmentalists have not helped. Being good Leftists for the most part, they could not form a national coalition to decide which way is up and which way is down, let alone how to solve complex environmental issues. Too many environmental enthusiasts are scientific and logistic ignoramuses. They wax poetic about the spiritual significance of exotic butterfly species while sipping a latte at Starbucks. 

Meanwhile, the rest of us are chin deep in toxic pollution as this Titanic, known as Earth, sinks. The problem is not government. The problem is lack of good governance.

Good governance in this case would entail considerable spending on general public awareness about the environment. Government should be doing everything in its power to enable individual behavioral changes and changes in business practices. Yes, we've done the light bulb thing to death with excellent results. But how about encouraging industrial use of recycled materials by funding research and development of more efficient recycling technologies for industry? Rather than obsessing on remedial methods of clean-up, how about focusing on preventative methods of regulation? If we wait for the Walmart method of greening the world to work, there will be no world.

Probably the most effective environmental movement would fund political candidates who would throw the likes of the Koch brothers out of state houses and Congress. The current environmental stalemate is caused by the oligarchy in Washington and across the nation in state assemblies. Oil interests and gas interests are standing boldly in the way of progress on the issues. Massive retailers, whose shelves are lined with petrochemically based products, are right behind them. Why aren't environmentalists teaming with existing government agencies to organize boycotts and demonstrations against these obstructive titans boldly and openly? Instead, many environmentalists and academics are courting the enemies of progress and humming their privatization hymns along with them. Bought off by the Machiavellian 'philanthropy' of the Koch's and their ilk.

Whether environmentalists succeed or not on this issue or that, the environment of the planet will continue to react in response to human action, which exponentially grows with population and petro-based technologies. There is a calculable end point to this process, as it now proceeds. And, that end point is not far off.