Can RFK Jr. make conservatives environmentalists again?

Clean energy. Al Gore. Nuclear power. Richard Nixon. The Green New Deal. Conservation. What do all of these things have in common? They are all parts of a partisan past in the vague bubble called “environmentalism.” Fortunately, not everyone sees it this way, and some even believe that the new administration holds the key to bringing in a cleaner, brighter future for America and beyond.

On “Zero Hour,” Benji Backer, founder of American Conservation Coalition and author of the new book "The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solution for a Sustainable Future," sat down with James Poulos to discuss conservation, nuclear power, and making environmentalism a bipartisan issue again.

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Many people on the right usually cringe when they hear the word "environmentalism": “The left has done such a disservice to the environment by making it so political. ... It shouldn’t be that there’s a pro-environmental side and an anti-environmental side. ... Both end up being anti-environmental sides because neither one actually has an incentive to solve a problem.”

Backer, a conservative environmentalist himself, draws inspiration from conservative leaders in the past: “Teddy Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan were the original conservationists. They were Republicans, and they proposed good conservative policy for the environment that also is good for our country, and they actually worked across party lines. It used to not be a partisan issue.”

He is optimistic that RFK Jr., Trump, and many of the figures surrounding them represent a “coalition of Americans who want to build a better country and to take this issue back.” This is a “real opportunity” for changing the way politics deals with environmental issues: “I believe the next four years provide this real opportunity for the right to take this issue and say, ‘Hey, we care about the environment, too, we just don’t want to solve it in a crazy way. We want to protect people’s livelihoods, and we want to protect our communities. We want to make America stronger, and we want to protect the environment.”

To hear more about what Benji Backer had to say about nuclear power, the history of environmental movements, and a bipartisan future, watch the full episode of “Zero Hour” with James Poulos.