From humble beginnings in the 1960s, the American ecology movement has grown into big business, expending billions each year to fight global progress and economic development.
Success has poisoned humanity. From the major groups like Greenpeace, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Sierra Club, to local organizations fighting battles you’ve never heard of, their vision has been corrupted by the need to make money. Human survival and living standards are subordinated to the protection of unknown plants.
Greenpeace USA’s actions in organizing opposition to the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota illustrate the problem. Instead of advocating for policy changes to protect the environment and the jobs of working Americans, the organization fought against the development of a regional energy project without much concern for potential collateral damage.
These protests, some of which turned violent, prompted the company behind the camp’s construction to file a lawsuit against the protesters. Rather than admit responsibility for the significant environmental damage that needs to be remediated, environmental groups continue to argue their case. During the protests, the group boasted that it had provided money, training and supplies to the “Red Warrior Resistance Camp” – the name of the protest movement.
Shortly thereafter, the demonstrators were ordered to leave by the Indian tribe whose interests they were supposedly protecting.
Greenpeace USA spent months spreading propaganda about the pipeline to its donors to raise money for the project and for itself. For example, it suggested that the pipeline would run through tribal lands. This was not the case. Pipelines are not safe, even though they are a much safer way to transport energy resources. Approval of the project was rushed and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in the area was not consulted.
What was not said was that the siting and approval of the pipeline took years and required 140 changes to avoid affecting critical cultural sites. The U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the project and “exceeded” its legal obligations in considering tribal concerns.
Greenpeace USA’s use of misinformation to fuel the protests led to violent clashes with police and environmentally damaging fires, costing North Dakota taxpayers $38 million.
This was also evident with the Keystone XL pipeline project. The US government estimated that it would have created between 16,000 and 59,000 new jobs and brought economic benefits of over $3.4 billion. Instead, President Joe Biden killed the project with the stroke of a pen, as a sign to the environmental groups that helped put him in office.
Michael Brune, then executive director of the Sierra Club, boasted to the New York Times, “When we can focus on clear, concrete projects, we tend to be successful.” The same article said that the Sierra Club had raised $1 million for the pipeline protests in just six weeks.
Whether it’s the Dakota Access Pipeline, Keystone XL, or any number of other energy infrastructure projects, environmental groups are putting their own financial needs ahead of what will financially benefit American families and communities. When they say they’re trying to save the environment, what they mean is they’re trying to save their own financial resources.
Peter Roff is a former editor of U.S. News and World Report and senior political editor at UPI.
