What Makes Someone an "Environmentalist"?

Every day, no matter the weather, I eat my lunch at a picnic table next to the lake. Yesterday was absolutely beautiful, as most Florida days are, and I was joined by two companions.


Every evening I sit on my porch and enjoy the breeze off the bay. I love manatees. Nothing is more glorious than dolphins playing at sunset. I know it sounds silly, but I love to watch lizards chasing each other.

I feel blessed to have a very simple lifestyle that for the most part centers around nature. So does that make me an environmentalist? I imagine that many people would say "no."


I was recently told by an acquaintance that I only think that I care about the environment but that I am either fooling myself or being insincere because I don't believe in global warming. Now let me be clear, I believe that the globe warms and I believe that the globe cools. That is the "change" in climate change. I also hope that future generations will enjoy the ocean just as I do today. But I am not willing to ruin the economy for future generations based on a risky and unproven scheme.

Nobody can explain the medieval warming period to me. How is that we had period that was much warmer than today but there were far fewer people and no cars, no jets, no factories. Yet, I am to believe that warming is caused by over population, inefficient cars and industrialization.

The medieval warming period ended without Cap and Trade. Nobody met in Copenhagen and there were no carbon offsets. But it ended anyway.

I get that I sound simplistic. I readily admit that I don't understand the science. But from a common sense point of view, Global Warming just doesn't pass the smell test.

We are a pretty smart bunch of people. We can, without sacrificing our market based economy, preserve and protect our environment. Technology improves and evolves when the market is allowed to function. Instead of putting our faith on the alter of questionable science, let's take a step back and put our faith in ourselves.

What a Difference a Senate Race Makes

Yesterday I took a short break to grab something to eat at a buffet close to the hospital where my father is staying. I picked a copy of the St. Pete Times to read while I ate (I quit reading the Tampa Tribune over a year ago). There was Charlie Crist on page one under the headline: Charlie Crist sheds environmentalist image. Well, heh, Charlie Crist has been desperate to shed several aspects of his image since Marco Rubio came out as a viable challenger for the Republican candidate for the US Senate race, the environmentalists are just the latest Crist constituency to find themselves under the bus.

From the Times Piece:

"(Charlie Crist) was more green than any governor had ever been before," said David Guest of Earthjustice, an environmental law firm.

But since he launched his bid for a U.S. Senate seat this year, Crist has left environmentalists feeling jilted. He canceled his climate summit. He didn't fight the Legislature's move to end funding for the popular Florida Forever environmental land-buying program. He signed a controversial bill changing the state's growth management law. And he has all but endorsed a proposal to allow drilling for oil near Florida's gulf beaches.

What happened to the man they once called "Governor Green"? A tough primary challenge from Marco Rubio.

Of course Charlie insists that he is the same Governor Green he always was but he says he's putting the environment on the back burner while he works on the state’s economic problems. As a Floridian I am glad that the Governor is finally recognizing that the state has economic problems but I find it disingenuous that his epiphany only came after Rubio posted his challenge.
Crist has toned down his rhetoric in an effort to preserve his viability in the race against Rubio. Should he prevail he will revert to the same old Charlie:

Guest predicted that, if Crist beats Rubio in the Republican primary, he will revert to his old positions.

"I don't think Charlie's green politics were gambit," he said. "I think that was the real Charlie."

Guest is correct about the real Crist. Florida can’t afford to send the real Crist to the Senate.

This just another Crist flip flop for the election's sake.