Posted on 06/18/2018 9:47:36 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Its no secretconservatives have fallen behind on environmental issues for the past decade. In issues like clean energy and conservation, we have lost sight of the legacy of environmental stewardship left to us by conservative trailblazers like Ronald Reagan.
A report from Duke University in 2014 detailed why many conservatives ignore the issue: solution aversion.
Solution aversion is the notion that if someone does not like the solution to a problem, they will ignore the problem completely. This can be seen firsthand with conservatives and the environment. Conservatives see green policies as curtailing the rights and values they care about most, like property rights, limited government, and free-market solutions. This is because the environmental movement has failed to acknowledge the importance of these fundamental American values. Far-reaching alarmism promoted by the environmental community has lead to intrusive, anti-business, and big-government proposals that turn conservatives away.
As a result, many conservative leaders have jumped to the farthest opposing side possible, suggesting irrational plans such as bailing out the coal industry or drilling within our cherished National Parks. It is understandable for our movement to be against the Lefts policies, but it is irresponsible to refuse a pro-environmental platform of our own. The conservative movement has been against the lefts policies, rather than for our own ideals. Instead of advocating for our own solutions, the anti-left dialogue is rampant within the conservative movement on this issue and it has been incredibly damaging to the movement and environment.
The Millennial generation is taking notice. Most recent studies show that environmental issues are the most significant for Millennial voters, who may be the largest voting bloc in the 2018 midterms. In fact, a recent poll from the American Conservation Coalition (ACC) and Conservative Energy Network (CEN) showed that 92% of young Americans want to prioritize clean energy. Aside from the obvious moral implications of being environmentally apathetic, conservatives lack of emphasis on the environment is hurting them politically as well. Largely because of these issues, Democrats hold a two-to-one advantage over Republicans with Millennial voters.
More importantly, the lack of conservative ideas in environmental politics threatens the planet. It has been difficult to pass meaningful legislation without conservative voices in the mix. The majority of recent environmental laws have consisted of feel-good rhetoric and little substantive action, wasting energy and failing to take account of important sources of clean energy like nuclear power. They punish instead of incentivize, and they disincentivize crucial hands-on conservation practices.
In order to win over and retain important Millennial voters and protect the God-given land all of us cherish, conservatives must make the environment a priority. Thankfully, a new wave of young conservative leaders are attempting to do just that. In Congress, Representatives Carlos Curbelo, Mike Gallagher, Elise Stefanik, and Mia Love are pursuing common-sense environmental policies from a conservative perspective.
College Republicans across the country are joining together to support clean energy and conservation as a priority, with 38 state chairpeople signing onto a letter from the American Conservation Coalition. Additionally, this past Earth Day, conservative organizations like the American Conservation Coalition, College Republicans, Turning Point USA, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, RepublicEn, and Conservative Energy Network called on conservatives to prioritize the environment by participating in Earth Day celebrations across the country.
However, this new wave of young conservative leadership will not be enough for meaningful reform unless the GOP steps up and makes the environment a priority.
As Ronald Reagan once said: Preservation of our environment is not a liberal or conservative challenge, its common sense. Its time for conservatives to live up to that ideal and push forth our own ideals on the subject. If we dont, our Earth, livelihoods, and the conservative movement will suffer.
I read a book once by either Cussler, Koonts or some other mega popular author where the bad guys were environmentalist animal rights whackos that were going to release a chemical that would kill all of mankind except their chosen thousands living in s protected and sealed building. Then they would, after the poison went innert, venture forward and rule the world as an all natural Utopia of nature as it was meant to be.
They got busted and lost (but they almost won). Their penalty? The twenty or so leaders were stripped naked and dropped off by helicopter into a jungle infested with various types of poison snakes, insects, and carnivorous animals of various sorts.
Conservatives understand that it is a balance. We are to subdue nature, not become part of it. It’s what makes us “in God’s image.”
Compare with conservative rallies and get back to me you tree-hugging twits.
It's true that most Americans consider environmental issues important, but political polls conducted specifically during political campaigns consistently show that the vast majority of them see this as a classic "important, but not right now" issue in every election cycle.
The attitude of a typical American voter can best be described as the following on the day he or she enters the voting booth: "The environment is important, but I'll worry about it later because other things (the economy, jobs, education, crime, health care, etc.) are more important right now."
Guess what happens? "Later" never comes for the vast majority of American voters.
The Federal government has a clear role in addressing environmental issues that affect people across state lines -- which happens to cover a lot of situations.
Nope. Stick with immigration until we have a sensible solution that shuts down the incentives for illegal immigration once and for all time.
It is the Progressives who need to continue scatter-shooting until they find an issue worth discussion. We have ours.
Ever go to a Willie Nelson Concert and observe the tons of garbage that his crowd leave behind?
If you have observed that then go to a BlueGrass festival, you can cary the trash left behind in a hand bag.
Hardly. Millenials favor Democrats because the donks promise them all kinds of free stuff.
Translation: it’s time for conservatives to get on board the junk science train — by calling it “stewardship “.
I’m a Hunter and a Fisherman. I don’t want dirty water or air. I just don’t want men put out of work, because there’s one lily spotted tree newt, 8 miles from their job site.
Hey, millenials, do you consistently:
Set your thermostats to 68 in winter and 76 in summer?
Walk or bike instead of drive?
Drive efficiently when you do drive?
Waste little food?
Minimize lights at night?
Recycle?
Avoid one-use plastics?
Understand energy balance?
Political movements almost never reach 50% buy-in so why are the eco-commies demanding 90%? Short of pointed machine guns that's impossible to get. They should stop wasting time capturing that unicorn and just go full eco-tard in all the places where they live, mainly the cities. Most carbon emissions are in support of the high-spend cliff dwelling lifestyle. Focus on the biggest pollution problems first.
Not easily; but worth doing; because we have seen that a federal agency that has a mandate to guard the envioronment will become overbearing, overly-officious bureaucrats who benefit most when the problem is NOT solved.
The Federal government has a clear role in addressing environmental issues that affect people across state lines -- which happens to cover a lot of situations.
A clear role, yes. That is what the Interstate Commerce clause covers already. A good example would be the air, and rivers.
I, for one, do not “cherish” “National Parks”.
Convince me I should.
That's right, Jerry Brown's papa, the big wig democrat, did nothing.
Hehehe...something about the way you worded that made me laugh...
I ‘cherish’ National Parks. Well, no. I cherish my wife. I cherish my friends. I cherish my Country.
I ‘like’ National Parks!
"It's Time for Conservatives to Address Environmental Issues"
KMA!
That’s it. Simple but oddly satisfying. especially the end.
The abolition of first principles calls for a subversion of the understandings of what virtues and values should have our admiration. Rights are constants and not something to be battled over. When battles of rights begin to occur, the leftist with metaphysical vigor is sure to be behind it.
Rights are generally understood by the conservative to be established, exercised, passed down and for the individual. When leftists promote fake rights they make them collective and they do this with malicious intent. The purpose is to have collective rights of the many, trump individual rights of the real person. (Hat tip, T. Sowell) They use Utilitarian justifications for saying that the “right” of the many should overturn the right of the one.
The “environment” becomes more important than my own, and very real, back yard. The environment becomes what “those that truly care” want it to be and mean, in a metaphysical sense rather than a real sense.
Once they have subverted rules and logic. only they can make the evaluations and rulings that show how the make-beleive environment’s requirements valued by the many that care can demand a solution that takes my freedom in my back yard away.
Central planning and centralized solutions are an integral part of this ignoring of the simple rules for the commons area adopted from time immemorial but hey, there are Socialists to elect, a revolution to have and conservative dinosaurs to kill.
The US is probably the one place that has actually done more to clean up the environment than any other country on earth.
You want to see what neglect of the environment looks like? Go to China, Russia, any current communist country, and most of the third world. There is where the real disasters are.
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