The War Against the Greens - Paperback

by David Helvarg (Author)

A reign of violence and intimidation, including arson, bombings, rape, assault and even murder has been unleashed against environmental activists and government employees by proponents of the so-called "Wise Use" movement. The War Against the Greens rips the veneer of legitimacy off this right-wing backlash that stretches from armed Militias to the halls of Congress, exposing the public lands corporations, political operatives and fringe groups who have set out to destroy America's environmental protections by any means necessary. In this updated edition, Helvarg revealed how the petroleum-heavy George W. Bush administration helped expand the backlash, bringing the same individuals and industries into alliance with big oil and the Republican Party, ending an era of bipartisan progress. This is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the history behind the science denial, corruption, and public lands debacles that mark the Trump era.

Front Jacket

A reign of violence and intimidation, including arson, bombings, rape, assault and even murder has been unleashed against environmental activists and government employees by proponents of the so-called "Wise Use" movement. The War Against the Greens rips the veneer of legitimacy off this right-wing backlash that stretches from armed Militias to the halls of Congress, exposing the public lands corporations, political operatives and fringe groups who have set out to destroy America's environmental protections by any means necessary.
"Helvarg demolishes the fiction that anti-environmentalism is a grassroots movement by demonstrating its massive corporate underpinnings."--Publishers Weekly

Back Jacket

A Shadowy backlash against environmentalists has begun to emerge in America, the most visible element of which calls itself the "Wise Use" movement. Among its stated goals are the unregulated use of timber, oil, gas, minerals, and range land, and the abolition of all environmental laws and agencies. In this first in depth investigation of the "Wise Use" backlash, author David Helvarg visits rallies, conferences, and confrontations that are the fronts in its war against the greens. Helvarg shows the dimensions of this struggle as it is being waged in the courts; in the media, through popular mouthpieces like Rush Limbaugh and sympathetic coverage in influential newspapers such as the New York Times; in the heretical claims of the movement's "counterscience"; and in the growing number of physical confrontations and threats used against environmental activists. Helvarg also documents the failure of the FBI to prevent such violence.