Conservation and the Republican Party

With Donald Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, his Secretary of Interior reducing the protections of public lands, and his Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency dismantling many of the scientifically based protections of previous administrations, you might think that the Republican Party does not have a conservationist/environmental bone in its political body. That may be correct today, but the Republican Party, historically, was a party of conservation leadership.

This came to light as I was driving though North Dakota listening to the radio we had the opportunity to hear Republican David Jenkins of the Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, (CRS). I learned that, in the past, Republicans have led on stewardship legislation. For instance, Richard Nixon signed into law the Clean Air and Water Acts. Ronald Reagan signed the Montreal Protocol to heal our protective ozone layer.  There is a litany of great Republican environmental accomplishments which are hard to imagine possible today. The Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship are very troubled today and they are on a mission to bring a sense of stewardship back to the Republican Party.

It just so happens that while we were captivated to learn more from David Jenkins, we lost radio contact. We were on our way to camp in and explore the Theodore Roosevelt National Grasslands. Little did we know that the park would put an explanation mark on Mr. Jenkin’s talk.

Republican Theodore Roosevelt! He gets a lot of ink in the history books. My opinion, though, is that our schools and our popular culture fail to recognize his importance as an environmental leader with incredible foresight. If God is pleased with HIS creation and proud of HIS talent at creating a planet with a vast diversity of life, then TR must have a special seat at the Lord’s Table. He did a great job protecting the Lord’s creation. Here are some TR facts:

Under TR’s administration 230 million acres of public land were set aside for our, and our kid’s continuous, sustainable use. His leadership was instrumental in the formation of 6 National Parks; the creation of 19 Monuments; the establishment of 51 federal bird sanctuaries; the formation of 150 National Forests; and the protection of 4 national game preserves for our hunters to enjoy responsibly.

I thought, “I wonder if much is written about President Roosevelt’s conservation legacy”?   I searched Amazon and stopped counting at 25 books. If you are interested, you can find a wonderful read or two about a magnificent period in our history at our local library.

Where am I going with this? We are experiencing global warming at an unprecedented rate. This rapid rise in temperatures is compromising all life on earth whether protected by the foresight of past intelligent leaders, or not.

Sometimes good leaders need polite, respectful encouragement to be courageous leaders like Teddy Roosevelt. On June 12, Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteers from across the US will travel to DC on their own dime and meet with every member of Congress to encourage them to do just that.

Please consider contacting Rep. Bergman, (MI-1) or Rep. Duffy by phone, email or written letter to amplify the efforts of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. For more information go to: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/call-congress-about-climate-change/#/6 .We, CCL, are a citizen powered organization and one, after many personal trips to DC with them, I am proud of being a member. But,if you are uncomfortable about going through our organization, you can simply search your congressperson or senator’s name and get their telephone, e-mail, or mailing address to express your concern.

With your help, we can encourage our leaders to take meaningful action to address climate change and protect our kid’s future.

It is your patriotic right.

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