Chicken Littles
June 20, 2011 - by
Iâm certainly prepared to believe that the Republican budget will damage education in North Carolina. But when it comes to the dire warnings about damage to the environment, Iâm a skeptic.
Itâs a skepticism honed by 40 years of hearing environmentalists warn that the sky (and air and land) are falling into ruination, while watching as North Carolinaâs rivers get cleaner, the air get clearer and green space abound â despite enormous development and population growth.
For an explanation, I turned to a friend who has long been involved in business and industry in the state, someone I know to be a responsible person, not a rapacious polluter. Here is his analysis:
âThe nasty battle over environmental regulation in North Carolina that will leave a disorganized, dysfunctional mess and take years to figure out is portrayed in the press as a battle of business vs. environmentalists. But that portrayal is overly simplistic and naïve. Here are three points to ponder:
â1. Everybodyâs an environmentalist. Nobody wants to drink gunky water or breathe air that has moving parts. This includes people who run companies and write payroll checks to millions of North Carolinians. Most of the people running these businesses are responsible citizens and live where they work. They donât want scary stuff in their water or air. All they want is certainty in government requirements so they can develop plans and find the money to comply and make payroll every week.
â2. The Democrats who controlled DENR for decades are getting exactly what they deserve. They let the place run without supervision, allowing a subset of irresponsible managers (and fervent greenies) to postpone decisions, make up rules and allow the Sierra Club to run the regulatory process by remote control. This is what led to the business vs. enviro mentality, and years of pent-up frustration with the time and expense required to get environmental permits. It was the poster child for the governmentâs failure to be responsive and serve the citizens. The overreaction and backlash when the GOP got the chance to change things was inevitable.
â3. Environmentalists love a good fight, and love to look like theyâre losing badly. Itâs great for their business! They run a business with rent, salaries and benefits, computers, expense accounts, etc. And, lest you forget, here are the priorities for environmental groups â in this order: 1) Raise money by frightening their base; 2) Take an extreme position, dig in and raise some more money; 3) Modify the goal and message, agree to nothing short of the extreme position, and prolong the fundraising opportunity; 4) Hope for incremental environmental improvements ⦠but not so much that precludes another fight and another chance to raise money.â
Chicken Littles
June 20, 2011/
Iâm certainly prepared to believe that the Republican budget will damage education in North Carolina. But when it comes to the dire warnings about damage to the environment, Iâm a skeptic.
Itâs a skepticism honed by 40 years of hearing environmentalists warn that the sky (and air and land) are falling into ruination, while watching as North Carolinaâs rivers get cleaner, the air get clearer and green space abound â despite enormous development and population growth.
For an explanation, I turned to a friend who has long been involved in business and industry in the state, someone I know to be a responsible person, not a rapacious polluter. Here is his analysis:
âThe nasty battle over environmental regulation in North Carolina that will leave a disorganized, dysfunctional mess and take years to figure out is portrayed in the press as a battle of business vs. environmentalists. But that portrayal is overly simplistic and naïve. Here are three points to ponder:
â1. Everybodyâs an environmentalist. Nobody wants to drink gunky water or breathe air that has moving parts. This includes people who run companies and write payroll checks to millions of North Carolinians. Most of the people running these businesses are responsible citizens and live where they work. They donât want scary stuff in their water or air. All they want is certainty in government requirements so they can develop plans and find the money to comply and make payroll every week.
â2. The Democrats who controlled DENR for decades are getting exactly what they deserve. They let the place run without supervision, allowing a subset of irresponsible managers (and fervent greenies) to postpone decisions, make up rules and allow the Sierra Club to run the regulatory process by remote control. This is what led to the business vs. enviro mentality, and years of pent-up frustration with the time and expense required to get environmental permits. It was the poster child for the governmentâs failure to be responsive and serve the citizens. The overreaction and backlash when the GOP got the chance to change things was inevitable.
â3. Environmentalists love a good fight, and love to look like theyâre losing badly. Itâs great for their business! They run a business with rent, salaries and benefits, computers, expense accounts, etc. And, lest you forget, here are the priorities for environmental groups â in this order: 1) Raise money by frightening their base; 2) Take an extreme position, dig in and raise some more money; 3) Modify the goal and message, agree to nothing short of the extreme position, and prolong the fundraising opportunity; 4) Hope for incremental environmental improvements ⦠but not so much that precludes another fight and another chance to raise money.â