GREEN Reactor: GREEN Backlash Backlash

The seeds of our last age of enlightenment were planted in the 1960s and blossomed in the 1970s with the establishment of the Environmental Protective Agency (under Richard Nixon!) and celebrated with the brand new Earth Day celebration.  During that age grew the seemingly indisputable idea that “saving the planet” was a natural thing.  Everyone paying attention recognized that man’s explosive population growth and unconstrained expansion would doom us — and so proceeded to sow the seeds of salvation.  But even while doing so, they continued to love those big-ole cars and – and the cheap gasoline powering them.

After having lived through the rapid progress of the Space Race, they were sure that nuclear power would soon be refined into a cheap practical energy source that would obliterate the smog of the coal and petroleum-based power plants.  After the scare of the Oil Embargo of ‘73/’74 — when people wouldn’t stand for higher gas prices (almost a dollar, for god’s sake) — they quickly adopted mileage standards to eventually reduce the cost of driving.  And with it, the demand for oil.  They also “got the lead out” – of gasoline – to enable catalytic converters to reduce smog, and to drive down the nasty side effects of that extra lead in our atmosphere.

This age of enlightenment went far beyond fuels.  It led to the Clean Water Act, which quickly began to clear up left-for-dead waterways and slowed pollution of our ground waters.  It led to expansion of the Clean Air Act, driving a marked reduction in “acid rain” and smog levels.  It led to the Redwood Act, vastly slowing the clear-cutting of these vital forests.  These are just a few of the advances of the era — it was truly a golden age for GREEN progress.

At the end of the ‘70s the virtually simultaneous release of Hollywood’s “The China Syndrome” and the REAL near-disaster at Three Mile Island woke up America to the fact that nuclear energy was not the panacea for future power needs. (And the mega-disaster at Chernobyl in the mid-80’s sealed that deal.) The reality of misplaced nuke ideals in tandem with another gasoline shortage/price increase (due to the Iranian revolution) proved to be major distractions from the GREEN revolution that had begun to turn around the steady deterioration of our environment.

During the Reagan years there began a significant backlash against these environmental ideals. Much of it was fueled by the deliberate political tying of conservation and protection of nature – which had been historically championed by both parties – to a so-called “liberal agenda”.  Because so many prominent proponents of the GREEN enlightenment had been seen as “liberals” (especially all those damn hippies) the right wing expended major capital in tying the very CONCEPT of care for our planet (and the people who live on it) to a liberal agenda.  It seems idiotic to assert that such concerns are only of value to those of a liberal bent, but politics always seems to trump logic.

Reagan dismantled new gas mileage standards, playing up to that “base” who loved their big cars.  He ignored the energy crises, gutting research into renewable energy.  He made James Watt — a zealot of ANTI-environmentalism – his Secretary of the Interior (for crying out loud).   And he did it all with a smile, because all the old-timers of that time who grew up watching him be a nice guy in the movies and on TV were comfortable with him. And they didn’t like those hippies either. His acolytes learned much from his political methods.

His one-time West Texas oil man successor George Bush wasn’t ABOUT to herald a sea change. He continued “regulatory relief” with a passion, further eroding the progress that had been made a decade earlier.  His ties to Big Business fired up the Corporate role in politics – generally at the expense of the environment and in opposition to middle-class friendly policies.

The Clinton era faced an entrenched anti-liberal congress – who dogmatically approached anything good for the environment as something that would “raise taxes” (totally ignoring practical, cost-saving  and life-saving benefits) .  At best Clinton was able to tread-water on environmental progress, but very little was accomplished to offset the disastrous Reagan/Bush regressions.

The George W years brought a new tack: secrecy. Veep Cheney held private meetings with right-wing corporate big wigs to plan efforts to remove all constraints, to push environmental regulation and worker welfare back to Robber Baron era standards.  With the public distracted by 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq, they got away with it – until they gorged themselves at the trough so thoroughly that they almost pushed America – and much of the world – into a depression.

But still they try mightily to push their “environmental concern” = “liberal” = “tax and spend” mantra.  They’ve manufactured a front group of socially inept regressives and given it a patriotic handle (“Tea Party”).  The Supreme Court appointed by their previous cronies has given them still MORE power by letting them pretend their Corporations are “people”.  And they’ve thrown up every roadblock and ploy – no matter how idiotic or racist or dishonest – they can muster at the progressive new president.

But even as they do so, they forget a key fact: they are a dying breed.  All those old folks who loved Reagan are in the grave or close to it.  Our youngsters coming up now don’t CARE about the old boogie-men like non-whites and non-heterosexuals and recently-immigrated. The youngsters  DO care about THEIR FUTURE, and can clearly see that the Teapublican shenanigans are going to doom that future.

The new backlash has begun. The backlash to the backlash.  That will get us to a SUSTAINABLE future, not one where greedy oligarchs can manipulate the masses into allowing them to continue to rape and pillage the Earth.  Those greed-hogs underestimate our youth — they’re not stupid, they see through the lies. They recognize shills who ACT like they’re a “young” Teapublican, when in fact they’re just another “angry white guy” of the old guard, losing their relevance in a changing world.

Welcome, new warriors, I salute you.  Together we will turn the tide!