“This. Is. Serious.”

Environmentalism is Dead

By GREGORY VICKREY

Another tragedy befalls the environment and we can count on those that were once environmentalists to capitalize, figuratively and literally. As you read, perhaps a 1000 or so organizations are happily signing (or being bribed to sign) yet another refined letter to President Obama, praising his efforts to date and encouraging ‘change’. With stellar coordination, you witness the appeals via email from these faux-enviros that clearly state how you can save the sea turtles, or protect the shrimp, or rid us of our reliance on oil by donating today.

This particular letter in circulation is about climate change, and is directly tied to the Gulf of Mexico in its appeal. As it stands, responsibility for pushing the letter lies with the minions at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Repower America aka the Climate Protection Action Fund aka The Alliance For Climate Protection (RA), and a few others.

The letter begins with ‘applause’, as one would expect. Continue reading, and, apparently, President Obama has done an amazing job prioritizing clean energy, solving the climate crisis, enacting fuel efficiency standards that are defining a new paradigm for vehicular motion, and hitting all the right buttons at the Environmental Protection Agency. Who knew?

One can naturally assume The Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, and Repower America know. And with a thousand or so other signatures on yet another letter driven by the same old set of corporate enviros, the rest of us know something as well.

Environmentalism is dead.

In its place we have the notions of ‘pragmatic solutions’ and ‘noncontroversial approaches’ to appreciate.

Such words of discourse come from The Nature Conservancy itself. It is a disgrace to ecosystems everywhere and the next seven generations that they pimp nature dot org as their official website. A quick look-see into the world of TNC and comprehension dawns. Their corporate partners in environmental crime and shame:

3M Company
Alliant Energy
Altria Group
American Electric Power
Bank of America
Barrick Gold Corporation
The Boeing Company
BP
Cargill
Caterpillar Inc.
Chevron
The Coca-Cola Company
Delta Air Lines
The Dow Chemical Company
Duke Energy Corporation
Eastman Kodak Company
Ecolab Inc.
ExxonMobil Corporation
MeadWestvaco Corporation
Monsanto Company
Nestlé Waters North America
PG&E Corporation
Plum Creek Timber Company
SC Johnson & Son, Inc.
Temple-Inland
Weyerhaeuser Company
Xerox Corporation

Scratching your temple?

It is difficult to tell which organization was the most influential in writing the letter to President Obama, but it reads with the gimmickry of a Karl Rove production. Examining information about the National Wildlife Federation makes one consider that they, NWF, may have been the lead, considering they take donations from the likes of the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Defense, The Boeing Company, Walt Disney Company, and on, and on, and on. Care to visit with a Wolfowitz at a fundraiser? Throw a few thousand at NWF.

The mathematics of connection get simpler, even as the names get more complicated, with Repower America aka blah blah and blah. The CEO of National Wildlife Federation is on the board at RA. Repower America prostitutes itself with absurdity while dancing with John Kerry, Joe Leiberman, and Lindsey Graham – the “authors” of some pile of papers related to some charade about some climate (shout out to NRDC!) that will serve no useful purpose other than to keep the timber industry viable. Seeking relevance, Al Gore may be seen here at RA when he is not serving in his role at Apple Computer, Inc. of child-labor/sweatshop city fame. Repower America is also blessed with the presence of Joseph Stiglitz, a former Vice President at that most prestigious of entities, the World Bank.

To quote a Wonder Pet, “This. Is. Serious.”

Environmentalism is dead. It has been co-opted and corrupted to the point of absolute strangulation, and what remains of the corpse is being devoured rapaciously by the necrophiliacs at your favorite corporate-controlled big enviro – yes, the list of cannibals is much longer than The Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, and Repower America, and the responsibility lies with those not herein named to prove themselves worthy candidates for resurrection as organizations willing to serve the next seven generations instead of the next seven figures.

Without environmentalism, there are no environmentalists.

We must save ourselves and our planet as humans.

Gregory Vickrey is a consultant in the nonprofit and political arenas and may be reached at gregory.

http://www.counterpunch.org/vickery05212010.html

May 17, 2010

Why Big Green Must Die

Salazar Unleashed

By JOHN HALLE

Following the announcement of the right wing rogues’ gallery which would serve as Obama’s cabinet, the appointment of Ken Salazar, a well known shill for the oil and gas industry, elicited comparatively little comment.

Among the few who managed to express their outrage was Kieran Suckling of the Center for Biological Diversity who described Salazar as “a right-of-center Democrat who often favors industry and big agricultural interests in battles over global warming, fuel efficiency and endangered species.” (See also Jeffrey St. Clair’s “Ken Salazar and the Tragedy of the Common Ground” and Obama’s Used Green Team and Phillip Doe’s “The Man in the Hat“.)

Those recalling the narcotized climate of the early Obama administration won’t be surprised that these other warnings were never heard underneath the waving of pom-poms and the mindless chanting of the mantra “It’s not the personnel, it’s the policy.”

That this phrase has now become a sick joke is the essential lesson of last Friday’s New York Times which reports that under Salazar’s stewardship “(t)he federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico.”

These were issued “without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species — and despite strong warnings from that agency about the impact the drilling was likely to have on the gulf.”

In the weeks to come, as the true extent of the catastrophe emerges, more fingers will be pointed at Salazar, possibly even leading to his resignation.

But Salazar shouldn’t take the hit.

Who deserves the blame for Salazar are those who unleashed him on us.

These include Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke who “welcome(d) the news” of Salazar’s appointment, noting that “Salazar’s own connection to the land gives me hope.”

No less effusive was Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said, “Senator Ken Salazar as been “a champion for America’s public lands.”

The League of Conservation Voters Gene Karpinsky weighed in, praising Obama for “Filling his cabinet and administration with environmental stewards, dedicated staff, scientists and experts.”

Not to be outdone, Carl Pope of the Sierra Club described President Obama as “the Greenest President in history” specifically singling out Salazar for having “act(ed) on the scientific evidence that a disrupted climate means that federal land managers must take into account the need for connecting ecosystems to preserve their natural values.”

And so rather than turning him back, Salazar was provided with the Green stamp of approval with completely predictable consequences.

Those who deserve the blame are those whose silence mattered and who could have made a difference if they spoke. And whose complicity equalled death for the Gulf of Mexico.

If we didn’t know it by now, the lesson for us is patent:

For the environment to live, the big green groups, the enablers of Salazar, this and other environmental atrocities to come, must die.

John Halle is Director of Studies in Music Theory and Practice at Bard College. He can be reached at: halle

http://counterpunch.org/halle05172010.html