On Saturday, October 8, a rally will take place in Nashville in support of Gibson Guitar as left-wing groups funded by George Soros continue in their attempts to smear this household American brand. Attendees at the rally include Tennessee Representative Marsha Blackburn, Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, radio hosts Steve Gill and Phil Valentine and Tea Party Express Chairman Amy Kremer. The rally follows calls of support from House Speaker John Boehner and Texas Governor Rick Perry, who have jumped to Gibson’s defense.
But as expected, Gibson is still coming under attack from left-wing groups and activists such as Glenn Hurowitz, despite embracing some of the most rigid standards for forestry products set by the Rainforest Alliance and Greenpeace. In a letter to CEO Juszkiewicz, the Consumer Alliance’s Andrew Langer notes that rather than receiving praise from the Green movement, Gibson has witnessed “raids by armed agents of the U.S. federal government and increased loathing from other members of the Green movement. In sum, partnering with radical environmental groups is always going to be a losing proposition.”
Fundamentally, Langer recommends that Gibson should “not only reject the relationships you have formed with radical environmental organizations, but also join our growing mission to both educate, empower and mobilize people to stand up against Green injustice and promote free trade, economic growth and pro-consumer policies.”
Meanwhile, the Greens and anti-Gibson crowd have surprisingly found themselves an ally in former Bush administration Agriculture Department official Mark Rey, who recently stated, “to say that the Lacey Act is an example of an extreme, unworkable regulatory framework is flatly preposterous.” That a former Bush USDA official, from an administration that was purportedly pro-trade, to believe Lacey shouldn’t be reformed is more than preposterous. The numerous examples of over-criminalization throughout Lacey’s history justify a re-examination.
And federal government’s arbitrary war against Gibson Guitar has now taken on even more controversy after one of Gibson’s spokespeople claimed that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent Kevin Seiler “lied” in an affidavit filed in federal court. The federal government and the Green crusade against Gibson continues on.
Greenpeace UK Director Banned from Indonesia
John Bernard Sauven, Greenpeace UK’s director and chief opponent of economic prosperity, has been banned from entering Indonesia under the country’s immigration rules. Himahanto Juwana, a professor of law at the University of Indonesia, stated that the government’s move was “correct” before adding that “the motive and purpose of every foreigner to enter Indonesia must first be checked. The government has decided to reject Sauven’s visit after obtaining objective and accurate information.” Sauven was set to attend a conference on forest preservation sponsored by the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
This was not the first time Greenpeace has been prohibited from entering Indonesia based on a disregard for the country’s immigration laws and Greenpeace’s purpose for entry. In October 2010, Indonesia denied access to Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior II based on a lack of clarity for why Greenpeace wished to enter Indonesia.
Greenpeace UK Director’s ban from entry into Indonesia follows other setbacks this radical NGO has faced recently in the country. In August, Greenpeace was yet again forced to defend itself amidst claims that it received funding from a public lottery in the Netherlands. In Indonesia, like other Islamic countries, gambling is frowned upon and the accusation that Greenpeace accepts such funds has severely damaged the Green group’s public image in the country.
Recent News from the Green Movement
As if most Americans weren’t already fed up with the dawdling pace of the nation’s economic recovery, the Obama administration is planning to raise the cost of electricity and threaten the reliability of our power grid. Come next month, the White House is prepared to release its final utility maximum achievable control technology (MACT) rule. This rule would require utilities to install over 600 scrubber units on power plants nationwide. It’s a very costly process in a very uncertain business climate, sticking companies with a $10.9 billion price tag each year. And you know the president’s continued pledge to create jobs? Well, according to the New American, “the Utility MACT Rule and other new environmental regulations are already putting thousands of employees’ jobs on the line.” These types of regulations only serve to punish America’s primary engines of job creation: small businesses. But with Greens furious at the administration for retreating on new, onerous ozone rules recently, look for EPA to plow forward with this over-zealous rule. A better way forward for the administration, however, would be to embrace the bi-partisan Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011. This bill will make regulations smarter, more accountable and best of all reduce the economic burdens of costly and job-threatening regulations, such as skewed environmental mandates like utility MACT stemming from EPA.
Although you’re not going to find the Consumers Alliance attending any British Labour Party rallies with famed author J.K. Rowling, we’ll at least acknowledge that her books have certainly helped with kids’ literacy in the West. The author has received some coverage in Canada recently for using recycle paper in her books, a move that “helped change the supply chain and lead to over 700 of the world’s largest paper purchasers vowing to protect ancient forests in Canada as well as certifying where their pulp comes from.” Unfortunately her decision to embrace the deeply flawed standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council has likely killed thousands of jobs in the developing world, thus preventing people there from sending their own children to school and receiving a decent education.
Recently we highlighted a ludicrous initiative by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to send $30 million to Nepal in order to “mobilize the efforts of international and local NGOs to protect critical forests and forest dependent communities…” It looks as if this administration is doubling down, with reports surfacing that the “Nature Conservancy and WWF are joining with the Indonesian and US Governments today to sign a debt-for-nature swap agreement that will result in a new $28.5 million investment to help protect tropical forests in three districts of Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.”
It’s a familiar theme in this newsletter: trade – not aid – is the best solution for economic prosperity. Recent news from Vietnam proves this point. According to national media, Vietnam’s “furniture exporters have made significant gains with the country’s furniture export turnover expected to cross $4 billion this year.” That’s a lot of jobs when you consider that Vietnam’s GDP is $100 billion. Unfortunately in addition to increased raw materials, producers in Vietnam are also fighting against protectionism in the West, notably the Lacey Act in the U.S. and the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Act (FLEGT).
Erik Solheim, Norway’s minister for the environment was in Indonesia late last month where he discussed forest conservation, noting that there “is no way there can be predictability in the market place while you are destroying the source of your income. Predictability relies upon conservation and sustainable use of the forest.” It’s hard to disagree with this—and the government of Indonesia has already made grand strides towards more conservation. What is a problem, however, is developing nations being coerced by their more powerful counterparts into not developing their resources. Solheim noted that funds for REDD+ “could provide incentives for Indonesian businesses to develop more environmentally friendly practices.” And how should Indonesia invest these funds? “Increasing agricultural productivity, using degraded lands for palm oil expansion or investing in eco-tourism initiatives.” Eco-tourism initiatives? The arrogance of some Western policymakers knows no bounds.
Be sure to look out for our next newsletter as we uncover the dirty tricks and stealth campaigning of some of the world’s most notorious environmental activists.