Island Guardian

Tuesday, May 27th

San Juan Initiative

Another group of do-gooders wants to help us. They invited a token group of folks to a meeting to educate us about their plans and hopefully to get us to buy into their agenda. So what did I learn?

Many environmental groups around the sound have united to form a “super pod” called the San Juan Initiative. They are supplied with cash by the usual suspects that promote environmental regulations and coincidentally also fund the “Comrades” of the San Juans. Their goal is to focus on “eco-managing” and controlling human activity along the shorelines of the San Juan Islands.

Never mind that Victoria BC is spewing millions of gallons of raw sewage in our faces each day. This is not on their to-do list. They can also disregard the fact that millions of people are crowding into the urban areas of Puget Sound basin causing havoc with traffic and polluting the water. No. Their focus is on the poor sap that wants to build a house on the shores of our islands. For this reason they must spend a fortune to educate the ignorant populace and stamp out waterfront growth in San Juan County. Why?

The assumption of this group of well-intentioned green activists is that we are having an environmental meltdown in the Islands. Eelgrass is disappearing, the whales are full of pollutants, the salmon and forage fish are diminished, and it is all the fault of humans. (I guess it is just the few particular humans that want to build a house or dock on their shoreline property. They are the real enemy.) So if any of these assumptions are false the entire reason for their focus of energy to stop human activity on the islands is misplaced. And some of their assumptions are absolutely false.

For instance, Islanders are not responsible for the pollution found in whales. There is a preponderance of evidence that eelgrass and forage fish thrive in colder water temperatures and that they are making a huge comeback now that we are in a cooling cycle. It is natural cycles of the earth, not human activity that may be responsible for many of the negative impacts that we see along the shorelines. So if there is no real catastrophic environmental destruction to blame on humans, do we really need more regulation?

According to the Department of Ecology we have the most pristine waters in Washington State. We have done a fine job of environmental protection. So once again we have new people coming in from outside the islands and “helping” us to better understand our environment and how to protect it. They know what is best for us.

Of course they had a chance to protect the areas down sound, but that shoreline is already ruined. Here they see some shorelines that are pristine and free of the corruption of humans. Here they can really make a difference by educating us on the basics of environmental protection and eco-management. The fact is we already know how to do this, and that is exactly why our environment is so pristine.

No one can successfully ague that everything that is done in the islands is in perfect harmony with nature. But we have done a pretty good job over the years of protecting our shorelines. So if these do-gooders really want to strike a blow for mother earth, why don’t they go to Victoria and protest the dumping of raw sewage? Why don’t they put their efforts into restoring the shoreline of Elliot Bay? Why not put the focus of environmental protection where it is needed?

We have rules that work and there is ample evidence all over our beautiful shorelines to prove it. Unless this group can take a new non-regulatory approach to environmental protection their efforts are wasted. I got the idea that they want more control over private property. Their agenda will eventually become obvious. We shall see.

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Thursday, May 22nd

Loan

The Council just voted to approve another loan. This time it was for 2 million dollars. By some bizarre twist of logic the lender was the Public Works department. That’s correct. The Council voted to borrow 2 million from the road fund to pay for storm water projects in Eastsound. At least they got a good interest rate.

Apparently this money was just lying around collecting dust, but if it wasn’t needed why did they take it from the taxpayers in the first place? Who knows? But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

In 2007 this council confiscated $782,511.00 against the will of the people of San Juan County for storm water projects. They managed to get this money before a referendum stopped them from taking more. The Public Works department, by order of the repealed Ordinance 20, was required to transfer $320,443, into this sum from the road fund. This year’s budget added another $208k specifically for Eastsound’s storm water infrastructure from the facility improvement fund. This money was to be exclusively reserved for storm water projects.

What happened to these funds? Why did the Council vote to loan more money from a department that was given almost a million toward building Eastsound’s storm water system? Is there anything to show for the money we already gave Public Works?

The obvious answer is NO! They have nothing to show for the money they took from the taxpayers under the repealed Ordinance. It seems to me that Public Works should pay this back to the people with interest not the other way around.

I think this Council owes it to the people of our County to give an account of these funds prior to any “borrowing” from a fund that was to be used for these very projects.
I brought my concerns to the Council but they fell on deaf ears. Council Chair, Howie Rosenfeld declared, “I just don’t understand, why don’t people understand that the money is gone?”

Administrator Pete Rose stated with confidence that we can account for how the funds were spent.

But the money has disappeared. Some may call this business as usual. I call it irresponsible and wasteful. I have heard many excuses for squandering this money but there is really no excuse for it. The people should hold this Council responsible for the money that should have been used for storm water projects and instead was frittered away. We should expect more from our leaders.

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Wednesday, May 14th

Green Believers

In order for the “Green Industry” to exist it needs a huge brainwashed customer base. These green believers must be certain of imminent global destruction and convinced that they are responsible for it. They must feel tremendous guilt for their role in planetary extinction. Since there is no factual basis for these beliefs they must be assumed by faith. This not only makes environmentalism religious in nature it also makes it possible for unscrupulous corporate predators to con these naïve true believers into buying “carbon credits”.

Who could have predicted a few years ago that anyone would buy a carbon credit because they felt guilty for their lifestyle? Collective guilt is a powerful force and fortunes can be made if companies can figure out how to tap into it. And due to popular consensus, consumers actually believe that they are the source of planetary stress. It is no wonder that corporate America is bringing us salvation with "sustainable planet saving" products and concepts promoted on fancy web sites. Today, nothing covers the nakedness of self-interest like the fig leaf of environmentalism.

Take a minute to think about the convergence of incredible things that need to happen in the marketplace for the carbon credit industry to succeed. Advertisers must convince consumers that the world will end if they don’t make responsible “planet saving” choices. Marketers need to persuade people that they can actually change the weather by purchasing their products. To perpetuate the profit consumers must be convinced that no matter how much they spend to save the world it’s never going to be enough. And the massive guilt we are expected to swallow for our part in destroying mother earth requires a powerful selling job. Mission accomplished!

There is no doubt that this industry has achieved success. So either these guys are the best group of professional promoters that ever walked the earth, or there is another reason.

Why have green consumers abandoned logic and robotically accepted the guilt? I believe the answer is that this eco-phenomenon is actually a religious movement and corporations and entrepreneurs are tripping over each other to take advantage of the green believers.

Most religions encourage followers to make soul saving choices. Today we are encouraged to make earth saving choices. When this kind of green orthodoxy is demanded in consumer behavior it is clear evidence that environmentalism has changed. It has become a new paradigm for “seeing” the world and gives real meaning to people’s existence. And sadly, environmentalism is no longer related to science. It has all the characteristics of religion.

It is astonishing to realize how deep in the collective psyche this goes and how many people actually believe fantastic ideas like “if we buy this product we can change the climate”. Just like other types of religious fundamentalism when the evidence can’t support an idea then it must be believed on faith. And it takes blind faith to believe that personal buying habits have anything whatsoever to do with planetary events in our solar system. (However, if you believe this then carbon credits may be for you.)

I don’t have a particular problem with environmentalism as a religion, but it should be called what it is. In this country we are free to believe whatever we want. I want to save the planet as much as the next guy, but I also know a scam when I see one. I just can’t understand why a rational person would give away money to some company that claims to perform questionable agenda driven ecological miracles, unless the decision is a religious one. This is just like what happens in cults.

Like most religions, there are those who choose to live outside the group. Those who doubt and deny the faith become “the problem”. That’s me. I don’t need to apologize for living and neither should you. Stop torturing yourself.
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(See http://www.perc.org/publications/articles/Crichtonspeech.php)

Author’s note: Parts of this article also appeared in AdventureTravelNews.com

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