Apart from small minority groups climate scepticism seems to be
the conservative position in the US right now. But the Republican Party wasnt always as anti-green as it is now and as late as 2008 McCain was pro cap n trade in his presidential campaign.
What is the proper response to climate change seen from a conservative POV. Should you try to "conserve" the present climate or is it too "big government"?
Some arguments for climate protection being a conservative position.
- Industry has developed around energy independence.
- Preserving natural resources can be considered a conservative value.
- Protecting the climate is pro-growth, not anti-growth.
Kinda old, but a link to a talk by Danish Conservative EU Climate Commisioner Connie Hedegaard on conservatism and climate change.
http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/blogs/why-conservatives-back-climate-regulation-in-denmarkSouthern Republican on the issue.
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/interview_bob_inglis_conservative_who_believes_climate_change_is_real/2615/A couple of quotes:
Theodore Roosevelt:
“To waste, to destroy, our natural resources … will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them.”
Richard Nixon:
“Clean air, clean water, open spaces — these should once again be the birthright of every American.”
“…we must strike a balance so that the protection of our irreplaceable heritage becomes as important as its use. The price of economic growth need not and will not be deterioration in the quality of our lives and our surroundings.”
Barry Goldwater:
“While I am a great believer in the free enterprise system and all that it entails, I am an even stronger believer in the right of our people to live in a clean and pollution-free environment.”
Ronald Reagan:
“If we’ve learned any lessons during the past few decades, perhaps the most important is that preservation of our environment is not a partisan challenge; it’s common sense. Our physical health, our social happiness, and our economic well-being will be sustained only by all of us working in partnership as thoughtful, effective stewards of our natural resources.”
“I’m proud of having been one of the first to recognize that states and the federal government have a duty to protect our natural resources from the damaging effects of pollution that can accompany industrial development.”
John McCain (2008 presidential campaign):
“A cap-and-trade policy will send a signal that will be heard and welcomed all across the American economy. And the highest rewards will go to those who make the smartest, safest, most responsible choices.”
Republicans for Environmental Protection:
"Many U.S. Republican leaders have abandoned the parties conservative roots.
The truth is that conservation and environmental stewardship are core conservative values."“The GOP establishment has lost sight of its core conservative values, largely due to the influence of corporate lobbies and political leaders beholden to them for campaign support, and in opposition of the willingness of populist Democrats to embrace environmental protection. The result has been a polarizing battle that is not at all about the advance of conservative principles, but rather the advance of special interest political agendas.”
