Conservatives and the Environment

I'm surprised that true conservatives are not supporters of environmental issues. Yes, I know, no conservative wants to be associated with "go hug a tree" Al Gore. But in terms of economics, it is a vital issue. One of the basics of economic theory is that all natural resources are scarce. So wouldn't it be prudent of the conservative to use these scarce resources in the most effective manner possible? Wouldn't the conservative fight for the most efficient allocation of these resources? And yet we're thoughtlessly poisoning the air and water, ruining the land, and making far more garbage than we are useful products. To allow this to go on is simply not conservative.

Something else about natural resources: not only are they scarce, but once they're gone, they're gone. Man cannot cleanse the sky, man cannot recreate water, man cannot produce crude oil. To ignore the implications that we could have a fresh water shortage in the next 20-30 years is not only irresponsible, it's financially stupid. If industries are reliant on natural resources and they run out, the industry dies. Lost jobs, lost income, lost revenue, lost taxes. And yeah, I get it, you want to sell SUV's and people want to buy SUV's, and nobody wants the government to tell them what to do. But from the government's stand point, do you think that people are really going to stand for the rationing of fresh water? Rationing of electricity?

Want to talk industry? Fine, let's talk industry. Fishing is a multi-billion dollar industry. Yet we are constantly overfishing the oceans. For crying out loud, Florida had a scandal because they were passing off other types of fish as grouper because there simply wasn't enough to go around. The U.S. government combined the farmed salmon with wild salmon in an effort to get salmon off the endangered species list so that overfishing could continue.

These actions are done in the same of industry. But tell me this: what happens when we overfish to the point that there simply isn't enough sea life to sustain the demands of sea food?i.e. what if we run out? Then what? A multi-billion dollar industry disappears, including tourism for beach resorts. Restaurants across the world close, and a whole shit-ton of people are out of work all because we couldn't figure out a way to allocate our resources in the best way possible.

I am generally against government meddling in the ways of business. However, the government does have a stake in its own available resources and it is in that country's best interest to allocate and conserve them. That is what a true conservative's position should be. We should tax the shit out of the scarcest of resources (oil being one), which would give the market financial incentive to find other alternatives and resources.

Alas, the conservatives of this country have sold their souls to short-term thinking corporate interests and religious crazies, causing us to waste the natural resources we have at a rate that soon, we will be without them. Do you like having electricity? If the oil runs out, you have none. Do you like having fish for dinner? If the oceans are polluted to the point of danger, you have none. Do you like breathing? If the air is polluted past a certain point...well, you simply can't hold your breath long enough for the planet to fix it.