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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
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