I used to be an environmentalist. Back in those days, the decade that was the ‘90s, we concerned ourselves with deforestation, polluting the oceans and recycling our trash. We warned against poisonous chemicals in our food and water. We detested the oil companies and global warming was still refuted by most scientists. In my college geology class back in 2003/2004, only two people raised their hands when asked if they believed in global warming, myself and my best friend. Things have changed. The term global warming mysteriously transposed into climate change and everyone’s on board it would seem. True to form, I jumped ship.
The green movement was hijacked. The minute high-paid politicians took notice and got involved, environmentalism became less about saving the earth and more about profit and power. Well-meaning people who truly cared about our planet were duped into paying higher taxes and supporting job loss. It’s a touchy subject, but when Al Gore pointed his finger at climate change deniers when another twister ripped through tornado alley, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Are we to believe that every natural disaster that happens from here on out is a result of humanity’s carbon footprint? It’s an endless debate, and I’m no scientist, but I smell a touch of hypocrisy in the polluted air. I mean, does our government really care that much about the environment?
Independently run, family-owned farms are being shut down due to federally mandated, EPA regulations while big AG companies reap the rewards. These giant agriculture and biotech companies can afford the fines and increased taxes, plus, they have influential friends backing them in Washington. Carbon taxes strangle the little guy, the competition. We can tax American coal producers out of business along with the organic farmer, we can pay a higher price to maintain our vehicles, but it will not save the earth. Halliburton will continue dumping toxic chemicals into our oceans, Monsanto will continue growing genetically-modified crops that even the bees won’t touch, and China will continue blocking out the sun with its death-grip haze. Environmentalism is now a money-making scheme, and mother earth is the big loser.
When policy-makers fly around in private jets and the Hollywood elite purchase oversized yachts and mile-long mansions with seven car garages, I can’t help but choke on the hypocrisy. These public officials and media personalities, the smooth talkers who lecture about sustainability and climate change, these hypocrites leave a bigger carbon footprint in one day than I will in an entire lifetime. I don’t know what’s going on with the earth, but I do know that the people running it care only about one type of green.
The Apple and the birdcage 