4.23.2009

The Religion of Environmentalism – Price is Right Goes Green on Earth Day


You know that a political movement and identity reaches quasi-religion, (if not outright), status when a culture is permeated and saturated with this identity. From the Ivory Towers of academia, to elementary schools, from Saturday morning cartoons to prime-time news, our entire population is inundated with a daily assault of ‘green’, ‘carbon footprint’, ‘global warming’ propagandizing. Anyone notice the recent polling data that shows a third of children believe the earth will enter some sort of environmental apocalypse? The definition of religion according to the Webster Dictionary –

  1. a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
  2. (archaic) : scrupulous conformity
  3. a cause, principle or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
So let’s go over the above definitions of religion and the comparison to environmentalism.
  1. Attitudes – atoning for one’s sins via carbon credits, even the (seemingly) innocent concept of recycling. Beliefsthe ‘global warming’ mantra is clearly a faith or belief and in many ways not a ‘settled’ science. Remember Al Gore’s comments on the validity of ‘global warming’ being ”settled”. Not to mention his refusal to discuss and debate the scientific merits as with many of his ‘global warming’ peers. Faith, clear and simple. Practices – check above.
  2. The archaic definition here, conformity. Any debate on the fact that if you disagree with the science in today’s ‘global warming’ debate that you are treated fairly? Holocaust denier ring a bell?
  3. Causes, principles and systems held with ardor and faith ‘Eco-defense’, ‘earth-liberation’, ‘global-warming’, ‘sustainable living’, ‘eco-terrorism’, ‘earth-day’ and many others.


So now that we have this out of the way, back to the title of this blog entry. The local am radio talk show host Chip Franklin here in San Diego quipped this morning that ‘earth-day mania’ had reached such a zenith and that the tv show “The Price is Right” had an earth-day special yesterday. If you watch the youtube video I posted you’ll note that Drew Carey quips at the beginning saying “Have you hugged the earth today, have you? Go out and hug the earth.” Knowing that Mr. Carey is a fellow Libertarian and interested in the cause of liberty, I laughed at this. He clearly had a besmirched look on his face. During this ‘green’ episode, contestants had the chance to win a hammock, and trip to Austria, a seemingly ungreen thing, the moderator said that ‘since it was ‘earth day’ that there would be a voluntary contribution to a carbon-footprint offsetting organization (pheww, that was close.) Also up for grabs were an electric bicycle, (pedalling is causing ‘global warming?), an electric-solar golf-cart(what if it’s not sunny on the course?), and a Toyota Prius.

I don’t want to read into this too much but come on, greenie Price is Right? Our culture has reached the saturation point with the environmental nonsense, frankly I’m tired of it. Does such a saturation level indicate a tipping point in which the public will be more suspect of the agenda? Hard to say but I think that we can see some of the public tide turning with ‘global warming.’ We have a lot of work to do.

13 comments:

Susannah said…

My K'gartener asks me yesterday, "Mama, when is Earth Day?" (Who knew she knew about any such thing?) Of course it was Earth Day that very moment, but we were on our way to a music rehearsal & had more important things on our minds…my answer? "Baby, I have no idea. I don't keep up w/ those things…"

And I don't. PLEASE!! Last Spring, my friend says to me that she's not going to water her pansies as much this year in order to 'reduce her carbon footprint.' HUH? So now I can't water my flowers for fear that the earth will explode??

Give me a break!

Left Coast Rebel said…

Susannah – Great personal story, like you I wonder if/when this madness will end? Our society has taken seemingly benevolent enviro ideas and turned them into an insane religosity that replaces christian values! It will be the end of us…..

Joie said…

I was just mentioning to my husband that this movement is getting insane! Everywhere I turn it is something about our Earth, and saving it. Even on my kid’s show that they watch. Just another reason we homeschool, I could not imagine how much more would be thrown at us if they went the schools of indoctrination. UGH!!!
Thanks for checking out my blog btw and following.

Left Coast Rebel said…

Joie – it is insane, religious fanatisism (and not in a good way). Thanks for stopping by too!

Ananda girl said…

Hello. Thanks for coming to Oodles of Funch tonight, it was a pleasure for me. I agree whole heartedly with what you are saying. I work in a school… and yes, it is there, it is supported, fostered and fed into our upcoming citizens. Even Hitler knew to get ’em when they’re young.

conservative generation said…

Suddenly the left’s taxes make sense to me. I’m a carbon sinner and I must tithe to give what belongs to the earth back to the earth. Hallelujah, I’m a believer.

When I was young, the big thing was to be afraid of nuclear warfare, then it was man made CFC chemicals that would open up holes in the Ozone and cook us all like a hot pocket. Now I’m supposed to be afraid to exhale. Which leads me to wonder if the cold war was keeping us sane? At least we were actually afraid of something that made sense.

Ananda girl said…

I have wondered this myself!

The icon… Atlas Shrugged?

dmarks said…

To celebrate Earth Day, I went and rented a huge SUV, and turned up the heat in my house and opened all the windows wide. I was hoping to match the carbon footprint of our great environmentalist hero, Al Gore. However, few Americans can match the output of this carbon-footprint Bigfoot.

President Obama celebrated Earth Day by wasting 9,000 of jet fuel on photo ops. He sets a high goal for us to emulate.

Left Coast Rebel said…

Ananda girl – yes, atlas indeed, Rand was a huge and lasting influence on me…

dmarks – hipocrisy and the Left? Nahh, can’t be, great link!

Left Coast Rebel said…

Ananda girl – you said ”Even Hitler knew to get ’em when they’re young.”
I know that this sounds provocative, but it’s true! Even if our children aren’t being taught to ‘love the fuher’, it doesn’t mean that force-fed environmental religiosity at a young age isn’t nearly as wrong!

CG – Looks like you are onto something there re: taxes….

Ananda girl said…

Thank you… I enjoyed my visit here very much and wondered how you would take my comment. The Hitler Youth were a strategically smart idea. I am no fan of Hitler beyond his part in the production of the VW Bug though. Yet I do think that we get into fads, especially in education. So quick to jump on the bandwagon and push the new buzz.
(Part of this comment is also now on Oodles of Funch.)

RightKlik said…

Many people want their politics to play a quasi-religious role. Leftists are no exception. That’s why I worry when Republicans think they ought to alienate the religious right in order to make progress.

Left Coast Rebel said…

Ananda girl – My wife has said the same thing about Hitler/VW, she drives a Jetta.

RK – Religious overtones/political activism brings out the vote, how do you think this relates to the christian right?

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