Greensboro’s Maureen Parker writes in this N&R counterpoint:
With global warming, climate change, melting glacial ice, dying polar bears, hybrid and hydrogen cars, cool cities, vanishing species, bee colony collapses, declining bird populations, deforestation, recycling, green energy, green awareness, water pollution, air pollution and draught so constantly in the news these days, it seems inconceivable that the Guilford County commissioners would rezone land next to the protected Haw River State Park in favor of a golf course and a gated community.
Good gracious, gosh almighty. My gut reaction is Ms. Parker doesn’t know our county commissioners very well. You could argue they don’t care about that stuff, considering the way they coldheartedly allowed an asphalt plant to be built across an interstate highway from a neighborhood despite passionate pleas from residents to deny the permit.
Look, I don’t know what county commissioners are going to decide about this case, and frankly I’m OK either way. I’m confused by the fact that many environmentalists’ lobby for more regulation and oversight, yet the oversight process, stringent as it already is, often isn’t good enough. Ms. Parker’s opinion is yet another example of the emotionalism behind the environmental movement, which is as great an example of the politics of fear as many claim the war on terror is.
How about this for another view of environmentalism, from Roy Cordato:
What do higher gasoline taxes, mandatory renewable energy standards, carbon taxes and carbon dioxide (CO2) cap-and-trade schemes, open space preservation laws, subsidies for ethanol production, and so-called smart growth planning have in common? They are all cornerstones of “progressive environmentalism,” and they all disproportionately hurt the poor.
Don’t hear too much about that, do we?
