"Over the last 30 years there's no question that environmentalism has risen in all the religious traditions," says Green, who studies politics and religion. The message is that God expects his people to be good stewards of the Creation.Green's explanation regarding the "arrangement" of the political system and Harrop's notion of the way environmental issues "get packaged" is a nice way of saying that stereotypes about the relative stances of both political parties regarding environmental issues have taken a firm hold.
That includes largely conservative evangelicals. Green's own polling found that more than 50 percent of evangelicals agreed with the strong statement: "Strict rules to protect the environment are necessary, even if they cost jobs or result in higher prices." [For example, here is a website dealing with environmentalism and the Bible while the Quakers, who are not necessarily conservative though they are religious, also have much to say on environmentalism. ed.]
Conservative members of the environmental majority don't have more pull than they do, because of the way issues get packaged. As Green puts it, "The American political system is not arranged so that you can be a pro-life environmentalist and have a candidate to vote for."
"[O]bserve that in all the propaganda of the ecologists—amidst all their appeals to nature and pleas for "harmony with nature"—there is no discussion of man's needs and the requirements of his survival. Man is treated as if he were an unnatural phenomenon. Man cannot survive in the kind of state of nature that the ecologists envision—i.e., on the level of sea urchins or polar bears. . . .[Ayn Rand (1971), "The Anti-Industrial Revolution," Return of the Primitive, 277.]This, I believe, exemplifies the type of rhetoric that is perceived to be the typical conservative stance on environmentalism. I cannot say that I disagree with Rand's assertions. They are indeed necessary to counteract the rhetoric of the radical environmentalists such as the radical Earth First! "movement," or the extreme eco-terrorist organization the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). The actions and rhetoric of groups such as these, while they don't necessarily reflect the beliefs of the typical liberal environmentalist, further entrench the liberal definition of environmentalism, whether negatively or positively, into the political dialogue. It is from this base of ideas that all debates on the environment tend to originate.
[m]arket-oriented approaches to protecting the environment make sense for the private individuals who implement them and prosper from them, as well as for the public who enjoys the benefits of economically sound and environmentally sensitive endeavors.They have four basic guidelines that they follow in applying their methodology:
1) Private property rights encourage stewardship of resources.Here in Rhode Island, Governor Carcieri has shown that conservatives can work with environmental groups, such as Save the Bay, to come up with answers to environmental questions. He created the Narragansett Bay and Watershed Planning Commission, which has made progress in defining a unified plan for Naragansett Bay, with input from various environmental, business and citizen groups.
2) Government subsidies often degrade the environment.
3) Market incentives spur individuals to conserve resources and protect environmental quality.
4) Polluters should be liable for the harm they cause others.
I'm a Christian environmental scientist. Check out my conservative evangelical ecoblog at http://enviroguy.blogspot.com
Posted by: db at February 2, 2005 2:35 PM