The biggest loser here is the environmental movement. Sometimes you see kids holding out little cups to collect donations to save the earth. They’re doing it for Captain Planet. They’re doing it because their teachers told them it was a good thing to do. They’re doing it with the all the innocence and goodwill in the world. And it is a good thing to do, if you can rid environmentalism of the hucksterism and scamistry that have infested it.

I grew up in the Third World and old habits have made me, involuntarily, the paragon of a low impact person. No airconditioning, no big house. Walk a lot. Cycle a lot — for transportation too. Can’t stand to throw away food. Heck I recycle gasoline that’s I’ve used to clean parts. But it’s out of a sense of prudence, not ideology. I’ll do anything and buy anything for a reason. There’s no contradiction between walking to the airport and taking a jet plane. I’d buy a 40 room mansion — supposing I could afford it — for a reason. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, provided there’s a reason. And for me, at least, there’s no reason.

So I think the first thing to do is to free the prudent child to exercise it’s innocent faith. In order to achieve this, environmentalism has to get rid of these clowns in the same way any religion has to ruthlessly ditch the phoneys, pedophiles, predators and scamsters in their midst. Otherwise you can’t take it seriously. I think the worst thing the Left has done is transform our best instincts into power-grabs. There’s nothing they haven’t turned into a racket. And I think the world should want its best instincts back. They should grab it; take it from those who’ve made the best into the worst.