Red Cushion

Conservationists and Environmentalists


It is hard for me to imagine that it has been more than a month since my last post. My apologies, but I've been pretty pre-occupied attempting to pass my NASD Series 6 and 63 investment rep licenses. I passed the 6 on my first try but it took two attempts for the 63. Right now as I am typing this I am enjoying a view of Biscayne Bay in Miami as I take my state mandated 40 hour class for my Florida Insurance license.

Anyways on to the subject of today's tirade.....

The last couple of months have very thought provoking for this ole "Florida Cracker." I am a native of the Sunsine State and by such have developed a great love for the great outdoors and what is arguably the most ecologically diverse and sensitive state in the Union.

The first event was the apperance of Former Vice President Al Gore on the MTV Video Music Awards show. Here after a making a lame joke about Justin Timberlake bringing him to "Bring back Sexy" he proceeded to show circa 1950's photographs of various Glaciers around the world in contrast to photographs of those same glaciers taken within the last couple of years. I'm not arguing that the glaciers are melting, because they are. My argument is that it was indirectly implied that this was something new to this century. This is a completely false implication by the Champion Enviromentalist. Take for example the ice cap that covers the North Pole region. This ice cap was once a glacier that covered the majority of the North American Continent as recently as only Sixteeen Thousand years ago.

The other event that touched this old boy scout was the death of Australia's favorite "bloke" Steve Irwin. Most famously associated with his daring rescue's of crocodiles that could easily snap his body in half with a single bite, Steve was by far natures greatest Champion. You never found Steve manipulating and falsely implying facts to prove a point. Unlike the manipulative, corruptive, and haste tactics of environmentalists, Steve's whole motive was simply to build world support and awareness of world conservation.

"Take a look at this Beauty" is not often a term associated with North America's largest pit viper, the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. But it was one of the first things that I had ever heard Irwin say. This was the first episode of crocodile Hunter that I had seen, where Steve Irwin was in the United States tracking down and teaching us about mans best rodent control, america's snakes. Most particularly all of North America's poisonous snakes. I agreed with Steve, the Eastern Diamondback is ineed a beautiful snake that is feared more than it should be. A lot of that fear is rooted from a basic lack of knowledge and understanding of this serpent. Never in all the episodes did I once hear Irwin make politically driven comments or doctrine statements.

For me the difference the difference between an conservationists and a environmentalists is simply sen in agenda and tactic. Where as they proclaim otherwise, environmentalists such as FVP Gore and his cronies are driven by personal ambition and political agenda. Conservationists simply desire nothing more than securing the livelihood of our ecosystem by means of action and education of everyone. Knowledge is power. Until we truly understand and know about the entire ecological system, not just one angle, we will never have the power sufficient to improve our environment. My prayers are with the Irwin family for their loss, but nearly as great is the loss suffered by us all. We lost an amazing man, conservationists, educator, and Champion. Until another Irwin steps to the plate, we the counterbalance to environmentalists remains a void. God Bless us all.