Environmental Backlash

There are many who believe that environmentalists are extremists who will hold back progress towards a better life for all.  The opposition to environmentalism is not one unified movement, but rather comes from several groups, which do not necessarily agree with each other on all issues.  Issues of property rights, economic growth, and the right and ability of humans to use and "rework" the earth are all important here.

• A compilation of some general principles of the wise use movement is Wise Use: What Do We Believe? , from the Center for the Defense of  Free Enterprise.  Principles listed include: 1) Humans, like all organisms, must use natural resources to survive, 2) the earth and its life are tough and resilient, not fragile and delicate,  3) we only learn about the world through trial and error, 4) our limitless imaginations can break through natural limits to make earthly goals and carrying capacity virtually infinite, and 5) Man's reworking of the earth is revolutionary, problematic and ultimately benevolent.
• Ron Arnold is Executive Vice President of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, and a leader of the wise use movement.  In this interview with Ron Arnold, he talks about his book, Ecoterror, The Violent Agenda to Save Nature, which discusses "more than 1000 crimes committed to save nature" by environmentalists, and links Unabomber Ted Kaczynski with the environmental movement.  (However, there are two sides to the story: see Intimidation is on the rise , and Greens under attack , both from High Country News).
• Ecoterrorist activities are also discussed in the Alliance for America home page.  The Alliance provides a list of issues and information.
• Private property rights are a very important part of the wise use movement.  For information on this, a good place to start is the American Land Rights Association.
• For further research, here is a list of links to organizations associated with, or of interest to, the Wise Use movement: "sites of mutual interest"   from the Alliance for America.
• Links to some articles about the "Sagebrush Rebellion" in the West, from High Country News.  Also see The West at war with itself, which critically discusses the "Sagebrush Rebellion II".
• Tearing Down the Green: Environmental Backlash in the Evangelical Sub-Culture is a thoughtful discussion by Dr. Richard T. Wright, a scientist and a Christian.
• States Rights Rebellion by Patrick J. Buchanan
• Greening Earth Society "believes that humankind's industrial evolution is good, and using fossil fuels to enable our economic activity is as natural as breathing.  We promote the benign effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) on the earth's biosphere and humankind. Our message is that CO2 is required for life on earth and that the earth is actually getting greener thanks to increasing CO2 levels".

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  Comments, Questions, or Suggestions? Email: J.R. Thorngren
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06/07/06

The grizzly bear is the state animal of  California, and is the bear on the California flag.  There are no grizzly bears in the wild in California today.   The last one in the state was killed in 1922, or possibly in 1924.