Big Business Spurs Anti-Earth Day Protests

by Bill Berkowitz

The Conservative News Service reported, under the headline "Anti-Earth-Day Rally Celebrates Science, Industry and Capitalism," that the main theme of the demonstration was support for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil production. The event was billed as a gathering in support of industry and technology.

Organizers from the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) and The Center for the Moral Defense of Capitalism (CMDC) wanted to counter environmentalists' claims that opening up the Arctic Refuge would cause significant damage to the Alaskan wilderness. CMDC chairman Nick Provenzo said "the only 'massive and irreparable harm' is to the truth." Oil is "the very lifeblood of modern civilization," he added, and environmentalists are trying to "bleed dry the arteries of American commerce."

The Marina Del Rey, Ca.-based Ayn Rand Institute: The Center for the Advancement of Objectivism was founded in 1985 and named after the well-known author of "The Fountainhead," and "Atlas Shrugged." It is dedicated to promoting Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism, or unfettered laissez-faire capitalism. (I'm not a big fan of bio-pics, but if the Ayn Rand story as told on cable television in 1999 -- the lead was played by the wonderful Helen Mirren -- was anything remotely close to the lady's real life, well ... Houston, we've got a problem.)

The Institute, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization that had more than $2 million in total revenue in 1998, 98 percent of which came from contributions and grants awarded by foundations, businesses and individuals. Its major project, according to The Right Guide, was the production of a radio talk show which cost some $285,856. The Institute regularly sponsors a high school essay contest during which "nearly 10,000 students are introduced each year" to Rand's novels.

Although these groups are kind of the burlesquian bottom feeders of the anti-environmental movement, a broader anti-environmentalist "movement" currently exists which should make us all rest uneasy.

Another article, "As science retreats, scare tactics boom" (written by The Greening Earth Society), argues that "scary scenarios invariably are cooked up by people intent upon selling something. Sometimes it's a book of fiction. Sometimes it's a magazine. Sometimes it's a carbon tax. Actual observations do not support such scenarios."

This is the self-billed "newspaper for new-era Environmentalists," which boldly trumpets "Blueprint 2001: Drafting Environmental Policy for the Future," a new report from the Business Roundtable that lays "out a program for 'constructive changes in our environmental protection system.'" The report was put together by BR's Environment, Technology and the Economy Task Force, made up of representatives from government, think tanks and the private sector. Earnie Deavenport, chairman of the Task Force and CEO of Eastman Chemical Company, says that "we need to change the way business approaches the environment and the way the government achieves environmental improvement."

The report focuses on: "sustainability, emphasizing the links between economic growth, superior environmental performance, and rising standards of living for a growing world population . . . strategic investment in science and technology . . . to ensure the most credible science is used to set goals and develop risk management strategies . . . performance-based management" by regulatory agencies . . . (and) marketplace incentives rather than command-and-control regulation."

Sen. Bob Smith (R-New Hampshire), recently named chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and one of the Senate's most reactionary and anti-environmental members, was one of four elected officials who attended the news conference announcing the release of the report.

Cox News Service also singles out CARE, the Coalition for Affordable and Reliable Energy, which "formed about a year ago to advocate coal as an energy source." There's also the Foundation for Clean Air Progress, which according to spokesman Bill Buff, who also works for the American Highway Users Alliance, was set up by "business interests" in 1995 "to promote Environmental Protection Agency data that show improvements in clean air quality."

These organizations, many of which are owned lock, stock and barrel by corporate interests, understand the huge opening represented by President Bush's so-called "commonsense" approach to environmental issues. In a March interview with the Denver Post, Dubya laid out his thinking on land and energy use. "There are parts of the [national] monument lands where we can explore [for oil] without affecting the overall environment," he said. "There are some monuments where the land is so widespread, they just encompass as much as possible. And the integral part, the precious part, so to speak . . . will not be despoiled."

Bush added that his administration would look at "all public lands" for energy development. "There's a mentality that says you can't explore and protect land," Bush said. "We're going to change that attitude. You can explore and protect land" without damaging the environment. He also called for "wiser use" of the nation's resources.

Each year, Earth Day provides a great opportunity to reflect upon the health of the planet. However, it's going to take more than reflection to safeguard the planet from the likes of the Ayn Rand Institute, the "new-era environmentalists," the Business Roundtable and Dubya's "commonsense" environmentalism.