By Lewis Loflin
What does Al Gore say about global warming science? “The idea of social justice is inextricably linked in the Scriptures with ecology.” As I noted in “Separation of Environmentalism and State,” this isn’t science—it’s theology. Poor working-class folks in Appalachia and Bristol shouldn’t suffer for Gore’s eco-crusade. Virginia’s government diverts millions from economic development to global warming pork, chasing federal grants while inflation devastates our low-wage, high-poverty region.
The environmental movement splits into two camps: progressive-leftists seeking power and pagan earth-worshippers—what I call the Watermelon Cult (green outside, red inside). Like the Religious Right and big business in the GOP, they’re special interests using each other. The working poor always lose. Environmentalism, to me, is the pseudo-religion of white-collar liberals, as seen in “Green Theology is Killing Children” with Greenpeace’s anti-GMO fanaticism.
Letters to the Editor, Bristol Herald Courier, May 23, 2009:
Re: “Renewable energy will grow jobs” (April 29), why wasn’t Mr. Tolbert identified as staff for Environment Virginia, a leftist PAC (link)? His letter was political propaganda. Phrases like “heal our planet” prove environmentalism’s pseudo-religious bent, violating separation of church and state. To Tolbert and the Watermelon Cult: the earth isn’t holy, divine, or a deity. This pantheistic New Age nonsense doesn’t belong in policy.
Tolbert’s “green jobs” lie propped up debunked warming models—record cold in 2008-2009, with ice jams flooding Fargo, wasn’t predicted. Wind farms and renewables demand corporate welfare, spiking energy costs. The New York Times (March 29, 2009) pegged wind power pricier than nuclear, yet the cult opposes both, projecting 50% electric bill hikes. Obama’s “tax breaks” morphed into carbon taxes—robbing us, then mailing crumbs back. Tell Congressman Boucher to reject the American Clean Energy and Security Act’s hidden religious agenda.
Lewis Loflin, Bristol, VA
Response: Separation of Pseudo-Religion and State
The Bristol Herald Courier endorsed a Wise County wind farm, admitting financial uncertainty but ignoring ratepayer costs (May 22, 2009): “Energy costs will rise... but Congress must act or the EPA will, without economic consideration.” By 2014, no warming in 17 years—now it’s “carbon pollution” to scare us, as in “Separation.” Their one-sided reporting matched this endorsement. Why does the EPA wield such unchecked power?
Boucher, the Pork King, sold his vote for: 1) $10 billion over 10 years for carbon capture—100% failure by 2022; 2) $75-100 billion in corporate welfare for the same; 3) free emission allowances to shield coal regions, keeping rates “affordable.” Nonsense. It flopped, cost Boucher his energy chair, and he lost in 2010. By 2022, green dogma fueled shortages and inflation—hardly “clean energy security.”
The Boston Globe (March 8, 2009) reported a brutal winter: snow in New Orleans, frozen Great Lakes, Europe’s deadly cold snap. Arctic ice estimates were off by 193,000 square miles due to sensor errors. Researchers Swanson and Tsonis predicted decades of cooling. 2008 was the decade’s coldest; 1998’s high hasn’t been topped despite CO2 rises. As “Rational Farming” cited Mojib Latif, 50% of 20th-century warming was natural cycles—NASA’s Richard Wilson pegged solar radiation up 0.05% per decade since the ‘70s. Eco-models ignore this, pushing pseudoscience over data.
From GMO potatoes in “Rational Farming” to Golden Rice in “Green Theology,” environmentalism’s New Age dogma—pantheism, anti-tech bias—rejects reason. Sri Lanka’s organic fiasco cost lives; carbon capture wasted billions. Energy policy should prioritize affordable, reliable power for Appalachia’s poor, not Gore’s scriptures or Tolbert’s cult. Conservation, as in “Common Sense Environmentalism,” beats this eco-religion every time.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
