This past weekend's stunning confession by Nobel prize-winning author Gunter Grass that he was once a member of Hitler's elite SS, and that he had lied about his involvement for the past 60 years, again reminds us of the hypocrisy found in the Leftist-leaning environmentalist movement. Herr Grass's biographer was reportedly ?dumbfounded? by this revelation. So were we. A leading German historian Joachim Fest told Der Spiegel magazine, ?After 60 years, this confession comes a bit too late. I can't understand how someone who for decades set himself up as a moral authority, a rather smug one, could pull this off.?
Perhaps, the Gunter Grass case can offer us key personality characteristics of those involved in the U.S., and perhaps the worldwide, environmental movement: smug, leftist-leaning, self-righteous, holier-than-thou and secretive. But there is also a Nazi-like totalitarian bent to the modern-day environmentalist, one who opposes the peaceful spread of civilian nuclear power to an energy-starved planet.
Let's talk about specific environmentalists and discover how some developed their nuclear-contrarian philosophies. For instance, why won't Hillary Clinton's ?energy guru? Amory Lovins join members of a more scientific club, which includes Dr. James Lovelock, Patrick Moore and Stewart Brand by endorsing nuclear energy? Here's one of Amory's best quotes on the subject: ?It would be little short of disastrous for us to discover a source of clean, cheap, abundant energy because of what we might do with it.?
A former nature lover in Wales, Amory Lovins got his start as an author by writing a book paid for by David Brower, then president of Friends of the Earth (FOE). Brower liked Lovins' book about an endangered Welsh park that the FOE paid him to write a few more books. Hardly registering a pulse on the world's radar screen, Lovins moved back to the U.S. and became a tour guide in New Hampshire. He made a name for himself with the anti-nuclear crowd by writing a book called Non-Nuclear Futures. It was only after the 1973 energy crisis, and especially after he hooked up with L. Hunter Sheldon, an attorney (whom he wisely married), when Lovins was taken seriously. His marriage to Hunter, though, didn't erase one of his more famous mathematical miscalculations, where he was quoted as saying, ?Phasing out nuclear power should make our electricity cost not more but less.?
In a similar vein, another 'scientific environmentalist' and thrice-nominated for the Nobel Prize, Paul Ehrlich once said, ?Giving society cheap, abundant energy? would be the equivalent of giving an idiot child a machine gun.? Ehrlich was best known for his 1968 environmentalist cult classic, The Population Bomb. The book argued for zero population growth and was later revised because of Ehrlich's numerous errors and poorly conceived forecasts. Again, it was written after encouragement by (guess who?) David Brower. Both Ehrlich and Lovins owe their career launches to David Brower, who critics called a radical and militant environmentalist. He was the mentor for each of these anti-nuclear characters, as well as many others.
Some environmentalists owe their 'blind faith' to a single individual, especially when the individual enriches his life, either financially or through some other means. Brower was the true driving force behind Lovins and Ehrlich for many years. An admittedly zealous environmentalist, David Brower helped start many environmental organizations. These included the Sierra Club Foundation, John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies, Friends of the Earth, League of Conservation Voters, Ecological Council of America, Earth Island Institute and others.
Before he died in November 2000, Brower was the chief proselytizer for the environmentalist movement over more than four decades. That seems to coincide with the rise of the anti-nuclear movement. He ticked off his peers by arguing against overpopulation and immigration. Some called him very bad names. Perhaps they were being too gentle in their appraisal of Mr. Brower. He forever left his mark on the environmental movement as eulogized by a CNN reporter after his death.
Having lost his job in a candy factory, Brower moved on to office work for Yosemite National Park. He found his true life's calling in the publicity department of that national park. Without missing a step, David Brower took a quiet, concerned non-profit organization, The Sierra Club, and quickly built up its membership. As a result of Brower's fanaticism, the organization overstepped its boundaries and lost its tax-exempt status in 1969. Brower's best friends, including fellow board member and world renowned photographer Ansel Adams, helped kick him out of the Sierra Club. In one commentary, it was reported Brower had committed the Sierra Club ?to positions that the board had never taken ? and was financially irresponsible to boot.?
Apparently, Brower never learned his manners. Rejected by the Sierra Club, he started Friends of the Earth (FOE), to pursue his radical environmentalism. Ten years later, the FOE didn't want him as their friend anymore. They tossed him out. By 1982, Brower got around to starting the Earth Island Institute, where he remains idolized by this reportedly radical Berkeley-based group. In 1999 and as his last hurrah, Brower made a final stab at heading up the Sierra Club again. He gave it up after he realized he couldn't garner sufficient support to lead this group. And then he died.
But Brower's legacy was not really one of having created a better or cleaner environment. Witness the global rising of carbon dioxide emissions as one testament to his militant philosophy. It was for naught. If Brower had truly cared about the environment, he would have used all of his fury to shut down the nation's coal mines and to demand utilities rely mostly on nuclear energy. He did not take that path. Instead, Brower fought to save a few national parks and stir up a lot animosity.
James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. To register for free updates on uranium mining, nuclear energy, mining stocks and other investment ideas, visit http://www.stockinterview.com
