Conservationists, environmentalists, and public lands enthusiasts were ecstatic with the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, which “assures funding of the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund at its full level in perpetuity.” The GAOA headlines make it appear a tremendous win for public lands. But was it really?
Enthusiasts, you’ve been duped!
If you’re concerned over the urgency for combating the accelerating climate change, the GAOA is a disaster. GAOA funding is tied directly to the oil/gas revenue stream. No oil/gas revenue, no funding for the GAOA!
The oil/gas industry is threatened with extinction as the nation transforms from a fossil fuels based energy economy to a zero carbon emission economy, a change necessitated to save the earth from overheating form burning fossil fuels.
What better way to keep environmentalist’s criticism at bay than to tie needed public lands funding to the very industry that must be terminated to save the environment.
The GAOA is a win-win for the fossil fuels industry, but it is a lose lose for the environmentalists and conservationists who believe that climate change is an existential threat to our world.
Sen. Steve Daines took credit for the Act, quite likely the reason he was elected over a popular two term Governor Bullock.
Sen. Daines is no environmentalist; never has been. But he is a known lifetime supporter of the fossil fuels industry. Why weren’t voters suspicious when, all of a sudden, he became an environmentalist?
My father had a saying, “you can tell a zebra by its stripes.” If Daines supports it, there had to be something suspicious. What was it?
Lessons learned for voters: In the future, dig deeper than the headlines to understand what’s behind the headlines.
Duane Catlett
Bozeman
Bozeman Daily Chronicle Letter to the Editor 12/29/20