Why conservatives still hate environmentalism

September 28, 2015 | By TONY FRANCOIS

Pacific Legal Foundation does a lot of work protecting property owners from overbearing environmental regulation. Since that is how we roll, it was impossible not to notice the enthusiasm with which the environmental movement in the United States greeted last week’s visit of a certain world religious leader. PLF does not involve itself in religious questions, but it is always appropriate test how general principles (of whatever origin) are applied to the facts on the ground.

With that in mind, I offer my take over at The Imaginative Conservative on why defenders of liberty are so skeptical of the environmental movement, despite calls for detente from self-described “crunchy cons” who support conservative and environmental causes with equal zeal. The bottom line:

with its subordination of human needs to the supposed demands of nature, modern environmentalism cannot credibly convince conservatives . . .. Environmentalism as a movement also derives too much from the administrative state and the rejection of property rights and the rule of law for it to appeal to conservatives. When the movement fails to elicit conservative support for its practical goals, the problem is not inadequate framing, or failing to selectively quote Francis effectively. It is the lack of foundational principles that are actually conservative.

Please read the entire piece here.