True Conservationists Can Reclaim Earth Day. Here's How.
Here's the latest dispatch.
This Earth Day, there’s good news to share: The state of our environment is good.
The Earth is literally greener, climate-related deaths are down 98%, and 18,000 new species are discovered annually. But radical environmentalists insist Mother Earth is dying and claim we’re perpetuating a climate crisis.
Mainstream environmentalists intentionally downplay conservation—the wise use of natural resources—as the path to a healthy planet, and instead promote extreme preservationist policies with unobtainable net-zero energy goals and, especially on Earth Day, accuse humans of being irredeemable despoilers of the natural world. This thinking is outdated, toxic, and unsustainable.
As a true conservationist, I refuse to be gaslighted by alarmists any longer. That’s why we must reclaim the holiday from the radicals who sully it.
To care about our natural surroundings, you don’t need to give up modern-day conveniences like gas-powered cars, red meat, blue jeans, or conventional energy that heats and powers our homes. There are better ways to steward our natural surroundings.
Americans are extremely conscious about the environment, yet disagree with government mandates to force behaviors to hastily pivot to a decarbonized future—a policy that’ll lead to energy poverty and grid instability.
For example, radical environmentalists have pushed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate misguided mandates to promote electric vehicles (EVs) to replace gas-powered cars. Most Americans will never buy an EV, citing their terrible range, charging shortcomings, and problematic environmental footprint. It’s no wonder EV euphoria has been declared dead.
Another way radical environmentalists alienate Americans from Earth Day and, by extension, conservation, is by promoting policies that displace hunters, anglers, and recreational shooters from the landscape.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has prohibited lead ammunition and tackle while tying the opening of new areas to fishing and hunting at national wildlife refuges (NWR) to said bans—a move that will price millions of people, myself included, from partaking in these timeless American pastimes. Mandating lead alternatives on faulty scientific grounds will make these activities cost-prohibitive and lead to Americans opting out of the Great Outdoors. The Biden administration is also prioritizing climate change over wildlife management at these very same public lands and has closed down 60 million acres to hunting in Alaska. Hunters and anglers have brought back species like turkeys, whitetail deer, elk, and black bears from the brink of extinction. By restricting public lands access to sportsmen and women, this administration risks jeopardizing nearly $30 billion in conservation funding.
The White House has also enacted various regulations to undermine multiple uses for public lands—a move that’ll turn stakeholders against true conservation.
Since entering office in January 2021, President Biden has permanently protected over 24 million acres under the “America the Beautiful” plan to protect 30% of waters and lands by 2030. This has resulted in restrictions to traditional energy development, mining, grazing, recreational shooting, hunting, and over-terrain vehicle (OTV) usage in states like Utah. Recently, the White House announced portions of Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida will be designated as wilderness and closed off air boating, scientific research, and wildlife management access.
The administration has also favored utility-scale clean energy projects over traditional public land uses. Recently, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finalized its Renewable Energy Rule to unfairly award an 80% discount to solar and wind developers to assist the administration in fulfilling its misguided net-zero energy goals.
Federal lands should be open to all Americans, not just the president’s environmental friends.
Policies that purport to put nature above people and the economy ultimately bear consequences that are worse for us all. That’s why it’s imperative to take back conservation from the radicals, starting with their crown jewel Earth Day.