Naomi Schaefer Riley explains for New York Post readers that environmental advocates tend to pursue policies that ignore or hurt the poor.
Looking for something to do this weekend that will help those less fortunate than you? Better steer clear of the People’s Climate Change March.
Set to start Sunday morning on the Upper West Side, the march includes everything from labor unions to synagogues, beekeepers to anarchists, anti-Zionists to anti-corporate groups.
The thousands of marchers will, the Web site tells us, “take to the streets to demand the world we know is within our reach: a world with an economy that works for people and the planet; a world safe from the ravages of climate change; a world with good jobs, clean air and water, and healthy communities.”
What could be wrong with that? Well, here’s the thing about environmentalists: They have a long history of screwing the poor.
The religion of environmentalism, you see, does everything it can to stop economic growth from happening. Preferring things to be more “natural” typically means restricting energy use, technological advancement and the progress of civilization itself.
Sure, the Sierra Club folks have traded in their Volvos for even-more-expensive Priuses.
But they’re still largely the “haves.” A Pew Poll in March found that the two big groups opposing the Keystone XL pipeline were 1) those who make more than $100,000 and 2) Democrats with college or advanced degrees.
“Environmentalism has always been an enthusiasm of the upper classes,” notes Steve Hayward, a professor of public policy at Pepperdine University. Indeed, the organizers of Sunday’s march have been advertising nonstop on public radio.
Hayward says this is because “lower-income people have other things to worry about first.” Green issues rank low among poor folks’ concerns even in America.
