The Rise of Eco-Tyranny

Today is Dearthday +38.

(Moment of Silence)

If you were to ask a global warming advocate (hey, don’t yell at me, that’s what they call themselves) how 22nd century historians will record the first Earthday in 1970, he/she will likely respond with something like:

That’s the day people first really acknowledged that humanity was trashing the planet; too bad the stupid a**h***s were too f***ing greedy to do anything about it until it was too late. That’s what they’ll say if anyone’s left to say it.

I have a different view. On Dearthday +150, I think historians will identify Dearthday (April 22, 1970) as the dawn of eco-tyranny. That’s what they’ll say if the eco-tyrants aren’t still in power. If they are still in power, it’ll be because they have successfully taken credit for saving a planet that was never at risk. Then historians will mark April 22, 1970 as the beginning of the glorious People’s Environmental Revolution to overthrow the tyrannical, Earth defiling, resource exploiters.

Whatever happens, the environmental movement in general, and human-induced global warming in particular, are a sham and a scam. It’s not just that I don’t accept the dire predictions of global calamity, and find a lot of this so-called “environmental science” to be seriously flawed and therefore suspect. The truth is, if I’m wrong, and humanities addition of an itty-bitty-bit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is enough to do what they say it will, then it was already way too late on April 22, 1970. In that case, every “environmental” thing they’ve done since then has been nothing but a waste. Doing all the silly, expensive things they’re now doing to curb emissions will also accomplish nothing, and meantime will waste precious time and resources that could be utilized preparing for the inevitable. A lot of people now living on low-lying coastlines will drown while our self-appointed saviors line their pockets and play at being miracle-workers. Shouldn’t we be helping these people relocate to higher ground? Shouldn’t we be preparing for a flood of refugees from the unbearable heat to the south? Shouldn’t we be quietly buying up as much of Canada as we can? No, we need to change our lightbulbs. What a sham. And we’re swallowing it hook, line and sinker. My only consolation is, if they’re right, they won’t be able to hold onto their power because the masses of starving, angry refugees will eat them for lunch.

Every collectivist revolution rides in on a Trojan horse of “Emergency.” It was a tactic of Lenin, Hitler and Mussolini. — Herbert Hoover

In 1970, the U.S. was in a turmoil of youthful, politically volatile unrest. The vocal, sometimes violent minority of the time sought to bring down “The Establishment.” Most of these protesters could be categorized as “useful idiots.” They rightfully opposed things like enforced segregation, imperialist aggression, and dangerous pollution; but had no idea how to even correctly identify, much less fix these things. To this day, I believe most of these “socially-conscious youth” really only wanted, for everyone, the freedom to live as we please without a lot of elitists telling us what we can and can’t do. So they followed the leaders who claimed to want the same thing. They echoed whatever they were told, and became believers. Most didn’t know, at least at first, that they were being led by communists and socialists intent on transforming the very fabric of our free-wheeling culture. Instead, they thought these collectivist ideas, couched in the language of freedom and liberty, reflected either pure altruism or enlightened self-interest.

Into this turmoil came dire warnings of global ecological calamity of all sorts. Overpopulation, mass-extinctions, poisons in the soil, poisons in the air, deforestation, global climate change, these things and more were scrutinized and publicized by a variety of revolutionary, forward-thinking “scientists.” Their conclusions: DOOM!

Now here was something even the most ardent, turned-on, flower-power hippie could agree government should do something about. And what was the cause of this impending ecological doom? Human industrial development. Also known as “The Establishment.”

There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him. — Robert Heinlein

Along came Earthday, legacy of Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wis). By this time, politicians not already leaning left recognized the power of this loud leftist minority and chose either to fight the surge or ride the wave. Nixon chose to ride the wave and created the Environmental Protection Agency. All of a sudden, it was up to the enlightened few to lead us to salvation. All of a sudden, saving the planet from ourselves became a government priority. All of a sudden, we had to start spending like crazy on “environmental programs” and adopting scads of “environmental regulations.” Oh there have been detractors, but even they can be persuaded to fund studies or authorize water clean-up; especially if to not do so gets them labelled as “in the pocket of big polluters,” and “an opponent of clean air and water.” Other non-believers opted to join the party and belly-up to the gravy train. They provided just enough of a counterpoint to give the whole thing an aura of credibility. As more and more studies consistently echoed previous cries of doom and gloom, political detraction became increasingly risky. Before almost anyone had realized it had happened, we had allowed the creation of a huge, government backed and endorsed, enviro-socialist machine capable of politically and judicially monkeywrenching anyone or anything it targets. At the same time, similar campaigns were being successfully waged in the broader arena of public safety and general welfare. Once you support any socialist ideal, you pretty much have to do the same for the rest. It didn’t take long before everyone was looking to Uncle Sam for everything. We have now come to expect big government to do everything it can for us while at the same time protect us from every possible harm. The irony of it all is that, although environmentalists and other social do-gooders are still usually able to represent themselves as altruistic and anti-establishment, they have actually become “The Establishment.”

The result has been nothing less than the redefinition of our most basic cultural identity. “Freedom to…” has become “Freedom from….” Rights are no longer passive things that can’t be given – can only be infringed. Rights are aggressive entitlements that require government enforcement. You are no longer free to pee in the river. Instead, you are entitled to a river free of pee. You don’t have a right to smoke. You have a right to be free from smoke. One of these days you’ll no longer be free to hire a doctor. Instead, you’ll be entitled to access the healthcare system. Yesterday you had a right to take your motorboat out for a spin. Today you are allowed to operate it in a legally prescribed manner. Tomorrow? One can only wait and see. Your neighbor may decide they have the right to be free from the noise of your motor.

We now live in a country in which everything you do is subject to environmental regulation. A country in which a large but incalculable piece of every dollar spent feeds the growth of eco-tyranny. This is big big business and almost everybody’s playing along, either because they don’t see any other option, or because they are now part of the “green” machine. Yesterday’s idealistic altruists are today’s environmental authoritarians. Those enlightened self-interested of the past? Now are greedy cynics milking the “green” cash-cow with unrepentent vigor. So what about the evil industrial polluters that caused all this? If they play along, generously feed the machine, they’ll do fine. They might eventually even be loved for their commitment to environmental causes. Resistors will be righteously crushed. Meanwhile, any detractors left standing are either totally ignored or thoroughly vilified, at least for the time being. One of these days it might be considered seditious.

The anointed have spoken. The debate is over (as if there ever was a debate). You’re either part of the solution or part of the problem. Join the “green” machine or go the way of the dinosaurs.

You can call me

Philosophisaurus