Conservative Conservationsists

Is Global Warming a bunch of hooey? I think that the earth is warming, sure. So what? We are but specks of dust in the scheme of the universe. Does that mean that I don't believe we should take care of our global home? Uh, no. For the Christians among us, the scripture "dress and keep it" covers that base. Notice, the scripture doesn't say, "worship it".

John Hawkins interviews Dennis Avery at The Hudson Institute:

"Well, if this were a human caused warming, it should have started
about 1940 and trended strongly upward as global industrialization
followed World War 2. That isn't what happened. The warming started
about 1850. We had a surge of warming from about 1850 to 1870. We had
another surge from 1916 to 1940 and then, when the greenhouse gasses
began to spew from the factories, the temperatures went down for 35
years. 1976 to 1998, we had another surge of warming, but we've had no
warming in the last 8 years. So, what we have is an erratic warming
that started too soon to be blamed on humans and is not following in
the footsteps of the CO2 levels in the atmosphere."

"Q: If this is such a good explanation -- and it does seem to make
sense -- why do you think there are so many scientists out there who
say that man is responsible for global warming?

A: Well John, if people believe me, there wouldn't be 2 billion
dollars a year in Federal research grants to set-up computerized
climate models, Greenpeace wouldn't be selling memberships to people
terrified of warming, and Al Gore would have to get a real job."

Here's the thing, though: I think conservatives are some of the biggest conservationists. My home town is a case in point. I live in The Woodlands, Texas. It is a planned community with one focal point: trees. Back in the early '70s, a gas and oil baron George Mitchell, embarked on a utopian dream: create a planned community where people could work, live, shop, and congregate in villages. The place would be gentle to the surrounding ecology. It was started with a HUD grant, if you can believe it.

My community votes almost exclusively Republican. They are vocal and active. When huge electric and telephone wires were going to cut through the center of the community, public outrage ensued. The local energy company said that the cost was prohibitive, that putting the lines under the ground would be disruptive, etc. Wrong answer. The lawyers and engineers teeming in this community came together, got people to donate, and funded their own cost benefit analysis. There are probably more engineers, ecologists, and scientists per capita here than on some Universities. The Woodlands got their underground wires.

All income levels are integrated. There is low-income housing less than a mile from multi-million dollar mansions. And the mansions are not gated. The first and only gated community came to The Woodlands last year. Senior housing is built next to shopping, banks, restaurants and entertainment. A person of meager means doesn't need to own a car here.

There are miles of bike-paths. There are parks everywhere and they are used, a lot. There are beautiful public pools. The life guards are specially trained. Hundreds of them serve and go on to be well-trained water safety experts.

Environmental concerns draw people here. The number one reason people choose The Woodlands is ..... the trees. Yes, the trees. Earth Day is huge. Seedlings and seeds for trees and flowers are given out each year. The community wins awards for its recycling. People are obsessive about it. There are all sorts of restrictions about cutting trees.

Here are some of the environmental awards given to this conservative community.

After living here, it is my belief that Conservatives are very concerned about conservation. The more religious among us, especially care about the environment. The notion that the Left claims moral authority on environmental concerns is another myth. My community proves it.

Oh, and the community has connections to and loves Rudy!