Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. There will be gatherings and speeches decrying the horrible fate of the environment, the ravages of the corporate world ravishing the earth, suggestions of harsh punishment for all who are not eco-responsible, and that government enact more restrictive laws to protect Mother Earth. There will be talk of doom and gloom that if drastic measures aren’t forthcoming immediately, global warming or other forms of climate change will destroy us all. We will be told once again, this is Al Gore’s inconvenient truth.
Meanwhile, conservatives will dismiss this day as yet another time for left wing exploitation. Some like Glenn Beck might even scoff that environmentalism itself is madness.
Reality check, Earth Day is a good thing. We should pause and reflect on this marvelous planet so rich in wonder that sustains us. While we have our needs and harvest its resources, we should do so to leave the smallest footprint possible.
The problem with environmentalism is that it has been hijacked by left-wing ideologues. What is more conservative than wanting to conserve our planet?
While the United States must become more responsible in many ways to improve the planet’s health, what we don’t do is reflect on much of what’s going on elsewhere in the world.
We cheap finished goods from China made in factories that do not have to meet American and European environmental standards. We stand by and do nothing while many in equatorial regions deforest the rainforests. If the United States are truly to do all that is necessary for the environment, then we must make it a supreme matter of foreign policy as well.
We are a culture addicted on fossil fuel. What are we doing to overcome that addiction? Each gallon of gas we burn means even a greater quantity of crude oil is removed from the earth forever more. We buy our oil from countries that are hardly our friends. This is a matter of national security.
Good environmental practices are good for all of us, but getting there is something that should not be a matter of regulation, punishment, and control, but more one of vision, innovation, and creativity. We must explore new sources of energy, more effective ways to inhabit our planet, and more responsible ways to use it resources.
Let us pause and reflect on the blessing of our planet on this Earth Day.
Meanwhile, conservatives will dismiss this day as yet another time for left wing exploitation. Some like Glenn Beck might even scoff that environmentalism itself is madness.
Reality check, Earth Day is a good thing. We should pause and reflect on this marvelous planet so rich in wonder that sustains us. While we have our needs and harvest its resources, we should do so to leave the smallest footprint possible.
The problem with environmentalism is that it has been hijacked by left-wing ideologues. What is more conservative than wanting to conserve our planet?
While the United States must become more responsible in many ways to improve the planet’s health, what we don’t do is reflect on much of what’s going on elsewhere in the world.
We cheap finished goods from China made in factories that do not have to meet American and European environmental standards. We stand by and do nothing while many in equatorial regions deforest the rainforests. If the United States are truly to do all that is necessary for the environment, then we must make it a supreme matter of foreign policy as well.
We are a culture addicted on fossil fuel. What are we doing to overcome that addiction? Each gallon of gas we burn means even a greater quantity of crude oil is removed from the earth forever more. We buy our oil from countries that are hardly our friends. This is a matter of national security.
Good environmental practices are good for all of us, but getting there is something that should not be a matter of regulation, punishment, and control, but more one of vision, innovation, and creativity. We must explore new sources of energy, more effective ways to inhabit our planet, and more responsible ways to use it resources.
Let us pause and reflect on the blessing of our planet on this Earth Day.
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