The Hypocrisy of Environmentalism:
The California Tiger Salamander Versus the Spotted
Owl
by
Eric Englund
by Eric Englund
Biocentrism
has become the cornerstone of the environmental movement. Hence,
mankind must be viewed strictly as being nothing more than a part
of nature – which, in this view, means that all living things are
of equal worth. In other words, a boy, is a dog, is a pig. Using
such "logic," one could assert the following: a boy, is
a dog, is a pig, is a spotted owl, is a California tiger salamander.
It is with this statement that the misanthropic lunacy of the "green"
movement is exposed. Indeed, the very actions of the environmental
movement reveal a choice was made to value one set
of living beings over another. For one only needs to compare the
environmental movement’s tame response to the plight of the California
tiger salamander (which literally lives in the heart of the green
movement’s backyard) against the all-out "war" waged on
behalf of the spotted owl. To compare and contrast the responses
brings to light the hypocrisy of the green movement; for the biocentrists
chose to value themselves over other human beings let alone the
salamander. So much for this subspecies of radical egalitarianism.
Let’s
be clear here, environmentalists exploit the Endangered Species
Act with the objective of controlling how public and private lands
are used. For example, as Collin Levey’s April 17, 2000 Wall
Street Journal article conveys: "…the approach
is first to look for a habitat it would like to save and then hunt
up an ‘endangered’ species to justify invoking the draconian provisions
of the law." In the case of the spotted owl, it was used as
a Trojan horse to "protect" old-growth forests in the
Pacific Northwest and northern California. In the California counties
of Sonoma, Santa Barbara, and San Bernardino, the California tiger
salamander is being used as a Trojan horse to prevent additional
lands from being cultivated into vineyards – such lands are
home to forests and vernal pools.
The
fight, to prevent the Pacific Northwest’s old-growth forests from
being harvested, became national news in the late 1980s. The spotted
owl became the surrogate and the symbol justifying any and all means
necessary to protect the biocentrists’ beloved stands of Douglas
fir and redwood trees. Consequently, the timber industry and its
employees were subjected to violence, harassment, interference,
and intimidation at the hands of greenies – including arson, vandalizing
and destroying expensive logging and road building equipment, shooting
logging helicopters, spiking trees, tree sitters, human chains blocking
logging roads, humans chained to trees, and endless lawsuits blocking
timber sales. Such tactics revealed how deeply the biocentrists
hate the timber industry – which they deem as "evil."
To
say the least, the legal and guerilla wars launched against the
Pacific Northwest’s timber industry took a heavy toll. Not only
were numerous loggers, sawyers, and other timber industry employees
injured (with a few being killed), but tens of thousands were put
out of jobs. What nearly became extinct was the family-owned sawmill,
not the spotted owl. With the demise of scores of sawmills came
economic devastation to dozens of small towns throughout the Pacific
Northwest and northern California. The human toll was terrible.
It is as if the greenies used neutron bombs; for the empty buildings
and mills remained but the people were gone.
In
October of 2004, I made a trip to California wine country. Specifically,
I visited Mendocino County, Sonoma County, and the Napa Valley.
Never have I had so many superb wines served by people who so love
their products. The large "corporate" Napa Valley wineries
(such as Sterling and Beringer) were fun to visit. I preferred,
nonetheless, the small family-owned wineries as you conversed with,
and were served by, the very people who made the wines. These people
are passionate about their craft and it showed in the magnificent
quality of the fruits of their labor. Moreover, the numerous wineries
and vineyards were quite aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Every
aspect of my trip was wonderful.
Two
months before I visited California wine country, the California
tiger salamander was listed as a "threatened species"
under the Endangered Species Act (specifically on August 4, 2004).
Being a native of the Pacific Northwest, I am all too familiar with
how crazy the greenies can be when it comes to "protecting"
the hallowed ground upon which an allegedly endangered animal treads.
However, when visiting Sonoma County, I didn’t see, hear, or read
about wineries being subjected to arson, vandalism, or spiking vats
of wine with salt. There were no protestors. There were no human
chains blocking us from driving up a private road leading to a winery’s
tasting room. No greenies were chained to trees or to grape vines.
No literature was being handed out imploring us to save the California
tiger salamander. In fact, this creature was not ever brought
up in conversation. Why was there complete silence?
Of
course, the answer has everything to do with how environmental groups
raise funds. First and foremost, it is important to understand that
environmentalism is bigger business than greenies would like to
admit. During the heady days of the efforts to save the Pacific
Northwest’s old-growth forests, Alston Chase points out in his terrific
book – In
A Dark Wood – that by 1990 the combined budgets of
the top ten American environmental groups exceeded $250 million.
Additionally, Greenpeace USA’s income was $50 million and its membership
ranks were swelling back then (Greenpeace is based in The Netherlands).
Dr. Chase also brought to light that several top executives, of
these environmental groups, were receiving salaries in the $100,000
to $200,000 range – including Jay Hair, president of the National
Wildlife Federation "…who reportedly rode to work in a chauffeur-driven
limousine, and received a salary exceeding $200,000." It is
Jay Hair who personifies the green-limousine liberals who provide
significant funding for the environmental movement.
So,
it is easy to deduce why there was deafening silence on the matter
of the California tiger salamander. The green-limousine liberals,
who are generous contributors to green causes, are also wine lovers.
Heaven forbid these oenophiles be deprived of the fabulous Sonoma
County Viogniers. To advocate an all-out assault on Sonoma County
wineries (or any winery for that matter) would be tantamount to
attacking one of their own. After all, vineyards represent a genteel
lifestyle and high society while sawmills represent (to them) Budweiser-drinking
hicks who live in trailer parks. Hence biocentrists pick and choose
their battles based upon personal values and tastes. What complete
and utter duplicity.
 Ultimately,
we are dealing with nothing more than a narcissistic movement caught
up in its own utopian self-interest. For greenies romanticize and
daydream about a world of plenty and creature comforts while being
surrounded, when convenient, by unspoiled nature – and, most certainly,
by beautiful vineyards. To be sure, the environmental movement must
be taken seriously as the cowardly aristocracy of this movement
incites its proletarian soldiers to do its nasty, brutish, and violent
bidding. Yet, intellectually, it must be viewed as nothing more
than another irrational mutation of socialism populated by hypocrites.
April
25, 2005
Eric
Englund [send him mail],
who
has an MBA from Boise State University, lives in the state of Oregon.
He is the publisher of The
Hyperinflation Survival Guide by Dr. Gerald Swanson. You
are invited to visit his website.
Copyright
© 2005 LewRockwell.com
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