My Insight Website (For What It's Worth)

Note: I am using the terms "Greens" and "Conservatives" in the American sense of the words, not  in the British sense as political parties, although some similarities exist.

What I am going to say about the environmental debate will not make anyone happy, but I have found that angering everyone is usually the best indicator of the rightness of a position.

The truth is, that the debate has been going on, on a political and emotional level. This rarely works to bring about the truth. The fact is, that both extremes are wrong!

The hardcore "conservatives", who seem to think they are being conservative, are least likely to be truly conservative because they are not seeking to preserve the very resources that drive capitalism. They tend to shy away from replacing older forms of energy production with newer ones, even though the newer forms would make us less dependent on unstable foreign oil, something everyone claims to want, but forget in this debate. This line of thought might be a point that true environmentalists should pursue.

Fringe "greens" on the other hand, tend to be more interested in forwarding a political system which they think will further their agenda than being green. If the goal of environmental groups is to protect the environment, they should seek to be more inclusive, and might find many allies among conservationists and foreign policy experts in conservative camps who are interested in such issues as preserving natural habitats, and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

It is sad, but sometimes true, that green groups are sometimes hijacked by extreme socialists who use the issue of ecology to promote a political agenda, while true conservative groups suffer the same fate at the hands of robber barons. Unfortunately, the fringes of both groups have the same problem. That is, that they are both more interested in promoting a political agenda than environmental protection, or free markets.

By reducing the argument to political issues, the truth gets removed from the mix. By fanning the flames of political partisanship, we get a lot of heat, and no light