What Is Big Green?
You hear lots of dire predictions these days -- the planet is burning, the seas are rising, and so on. But what is the real purpose of all this doom and gloom? Is it to protect the environment? Or is there a different motive? Rogan O’Handley, aka DC Draino, gets to the bottom of these questions in this important video.
What does Big Green intend to do?
expand individual freedomssave the planet from obliviondownsize government agenciesadvocate for less expensive environmental policiesA major organization that sets the agenda for the Big Green movement is ________.
GreenpeaceSierra ClubWorld Wildlife FundAll of the aboveThe Paris Climate Accord will cost the world $1 to 2 trillion every year.
TrueFalseInstead of protecting the environment, what is the Green New Deal really about?
protecting the freedoms of Americans from every level of governmentcreating a viable third party in American politicstransferring more and more power to the governmentexpanding free market trade, both domestically and internationallyAccording to Big Green, we’re all going to be dead soon unless we listen to ________.
Al GoreBill McKibbenGreta Thunbergall of the above
- Big Green, the major organizations that set the agenda for the environmental movement, has become extremely wealthy and powerful.
Some of the most influential organizations in the environmental movement include Greenpeace, 350.Org, Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club and World Wildlife Fund. These organizations and their agenda are supported by a growing number of politicians, bureaucrats, corporations and media outlets. Their stated goal is to “save the planet,” and their method includes acquiring more money and influence to promote their agenda.
View sourceIn 2019, Greenpeace boasted financial assets topping $100 million.
View sourceThe same year, Nature Conservancy listed financial assets exceeding $100 million and gross revenues nearing $1 trillion.
View sourceWorld Wildlife Fund’s 2018 highlights include over $300 million in unrestricted revenues, gains and other forms of support.
View sourceThe Sierra Club’s December 2019 report revealed it had acquired over $200 million in total assets.
View source- Big Green organizations receive big checks from big corporations—and even bigger checks from big government.
Many Fortune 500 companies donate massive amounts of money to environmental organizations. For example, Citigroup has committed $100 billion to "combat climate change."
View sourceThe most significant money flowing into environmental organizations comes from governments. The Obama Administration directed more than $110 billion to be spent on renewable energy "investments" under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 alone.
View sourceOne of the most infamous recipients of massive government subsidies was Solyndra, the “much-hyped solar panel startup that raised over a billion dollars from private investors and lost $5oo million of tax-payer funds, in the form of a loan backed by the DOE, when the company later went bankrupt.”
View sourceAccording to the best economic models, the Paris Climate Accord will cost the world $1 to 2 trillion every year.
View sourceThe minimum total cost for the Democrats’ Green New Deal would be some $52 trillion.
View sourceRelated video: “What’s the Deal with the Green New Deal?” – Alex Epstein
View source- Big Green’s agenda involves transferring more power to the government.
Saikat Chakrabarti, the architect of the Green New Deal, admitted to The Washington Post in 2019 that the deal “wasn't originally a climate thing at all…we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing."
View sourceBig Green’s environmental alarmism has resulted in the transferal of more power to the government at every level: federal, state and local. The results include poor people paying higher energy bills than they need to because of massive subsidies for wind and solar power.
View sourceAnother result of the environmental agenda: millions of birds, including endangered ones, dying from wind turbines.
View sourceRelated video: “Wind Turbines Are Killing High-Conservation Birds” – PragerU
View source- Deaths from natural disasters have declined significantly over the past century.
In the midst of all the environmental fearmongering, the world is cleaner, healthier, and richer than it has ever been, and deaths from natural disasters are at all-time lows.
View sourceAs a 2019 report noted, “Deaths from natural disasters have seen a large decline over the past century — from, in some years, millions of deaths per year to an average of 60,000 over the past decade.”
View sourceRelated video: “Do We Have to Destroy the Earth to Save It?” – Michael Shellenberger
View sourceRelated video: “The Paris Climate Agreement Won’t Change the Climate” – Bjorn Lomborg
View source- As history has shown, human beings adapt very quickly when faced with climate problems.
The Netherlands has responded to a major portion of the country being below sea level by building taller and better sea walls.
View sourceIn response to desert conditions, Israel has developed technological advances in drip irrigation and desalination and now has more water than it needs.
View sourceSweden gets half of its energy from nuclear power plants.
View sourceRelated video: “Nuclear Energy: Abundant, Clean and Safe” – Michael Shellenberger
View source
You've heard a lot about Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Tech and all the other big bad players out there.
I want to talk to you about the biggest, baddest one of them all.
This Goliath doesn't deal in billions. It deals in trillions.
I'm talking about… Big Green.
Yes, the Environmental Movement.
It's the richest, most powerful "Big" in the world right now.
Nothing else even comes close.
Until we see it for what it is and reign it in, it's going to get even bigger.
And as is usually the case, bigger is not always better.
You see, Big Green wants to take over your life.
It has to.
This makes perfect sense.
Big Green, after all, intends to save the planet from oblivion.
Your freedom would seem to be a small price to pay.
To accomplish its mission Big Green needs two things:
Money. And power.
It already has a lot of both.
But it's hungry for much more.
Who do we mean when we say Big Green?
We mean the major organizations that set the agenda for the movement. This would include, among dozens:
Greenpeace.
350.Org.
Nature Conservancy.
Sierra Club.
World Wildlife Fund.
And, of course, the politicians, bureaucrats, corporations, and media outlets who support and promote their agenda.
Before we get any deeper into this, let's stipulate a few things.
The climate is changing.
It appears, though we can't be sure, to be slowly warming.
If it continues to warm, it could cause serious environmental problems sometime in the distant future.
Industrialization probably plays a role in this warming process.
Reasonable people should be able to agree on this.
Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi and Republican leader Newt Gingrich actually once sat down together and said as much in a public service ad they made in the 1990s.
But Big Green has no interest in being reasonable.
Reasonable doesn't get you money.
Reasonable doesn't get you power.
So, let's talk about the money.
Greenpeace, Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and Sierra Club all have financial assets in the $100 to $300 million-dollar range.
Name a Fortune 500 company and chances are they're writing big checks to Big Green.
Banking giant, Citigroup, for example, has committed $100 billion to "combat climate change."
But the real money is at the government level. In 2009 the Obama Administration directed more than $110 billion to be spent on renewable energy "investments" under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act alone. What the taxpayer got for this investment other than long-forgotten $500 million-dollar boondoggles -- like Solyndra -- is hard to say.
According to the best economic models, the Paris Climate Accord will cost the world $1 to 2 trillion every year.
Total cost for The Green New Deal: $52 trillion—minimum.
But money is only a means to an end.
The end is power.
The power to transform society into what they think it should be.
That's what this is really about.
Here's how Saikat Chakrabarti, the architect of the Green New Deal described it to the Washington Post: "…it wasn't originally a climate thing at all…we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing."
Maybe you like all this.
That's fine.
But don't pretend it's about protecting the environment.
Chakrabarti was being honest. You should be, too. It's about transferring more and more power to the government—at every level: federal, state, local.
And the way to get the power is to gin up scary scenarios.
The planet is burning. The seas are rising. We're all going to be dead soon unless we listen to those masters of disaster, Al Gore, Bill McKibben, and Greta Thunberg.
And what have all their horror stories led to?
A generation of young people who have nightmares about a planet burning up around them.
Poor people who pay higher energy bills than they need to because of massive subsidies for wind and solar power.
Millions of birds, including endangered ones, dying, sliced to pieces by wind turbines.
Yet, in the midst of all the-planet-is-burning fearmongering, the world is cleaner, healthier, and richer than it has ever been.
Deaths from natural disasters are at all-time lows.
Here's why: Human beings adapt when faced with climate problems. We're really good at it. We've been doing it for thousands of years.
Sea levels rising?
Build taller and better sea walls. That's what the Netherlands did. A good chunk of the country, including its international airport, is below sea level.
Need more water?
Spread the gospel of drip irrigation and desalination. Israel has more water than it needs and it's in the middle of a desert.
Need clean energy?
Build more nuclear power plants. Sweden gets half of its energy from nuclear.
None of these simple, practical solutions makes much of an impact on Big Green. You don't raise money off of common sense and you don't get political power telling people how good things are and you certainly don't become famous by being calm.
Big Green is not poor, not honest, and certainly not powerless.
It's time we all plug in to that truth.
I'm Rogan O'Handley, aka DC Draino, for Prager University.
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