Why The Nature Conservancy opposes biofuel

Some people are finally catching on to the fact that biofuels are no ecological bargain because the carbon cost to produce the fuels is worse than the effect of burning the equivalent amount of petroleum. The Washington Post covered this topic today.

But why is The Nature Conservancy on the front line of publicity for this issue? It is because they are so deeply committed to protecting our environment, of course. Or maybe not.

There is an old investigation tool that all news reporters should know: When any organization pays for a research study and then pays to promote the result of that study, ask yourself why and follow the money trail.

Consider that the push toward biofuels is now making many thousands of acres in the U.S. and around the world FINANCIALLY VIABLE for their owners. The Nature Conservancy thrives on buying land at bargain prices from starving famers and landowners and has made hundreds of millions of dollars buying land from financially distressed sellers around the world. Cheap land and distressed sellers are their stock in trade. The demand for biofuels rasies prices of land acquisitions and threatens The Nature Conservancy's monsterous land acquisition and development enterprise.

The Nature Conservancy Burns Forests in Arkansas

Some ecologists think that controlled burning of forests is good thing. Some parents think that spanking kids is a good thing. Some people even think that weapons of mass destruction will be discovered before the troops pull out of Iraq. One thing for sure - on the forests issue, that is – is that controlled burns are good for growing commercial lumber. The Nature Conservancy makes tons of money selling timber on land it owns and it is no surprise they jump on the burning bandwagon. If some bird hunters say burning is ecologically good for their sport, so much better in the press releases. The Nature Conservancy burns their own land, state land, military bases, other people’s land - hell, they can’t be too discriminating if they are actually going to meet their goal of burning 16,000 to 18,000 acres in Arkansas again this year. Don’t believe it? See the news report at http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/62647/. Arkansas reporters, are you really buying this?

Newcomb New York poised to be next victim

Despite years of criticism about the profits The Nature Conservancy makes selling land back to local municipalities, Newcomb New York is poised to become its next victim. Their newspaper at http://www.poststar.com/articles/2008/02/28/news/latest/doc47c6c698643f1182362955.txt reports that town officials have already decided to buy land from The Nature Conservancy for development, even though the price is now yet known. The Newcomb supervisor says "It’s in the interest of the town to try to set aside as much private land for housing and whatever business or industry purposes". Really? Would the people he represents agree? Not likely unless they are builders or developers.

Hey Newcomb real estate agents, here's a tip on a sucker. They will commit to buy property without even discussing price!

Birth of The Nature Conservancy Scandal Blog

The phrase "wolf in sheep's clothing" could not be more appropriate. The Nature Conservancy is the richest environmental group in the world with over $3 billion in land and financial assets. The non-profit organization grew by pledging to save precious places but for years has been embroiled in one scandal after another that make most news reports of corporate or political corruption seem mild by comparison. The organization raked in hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars with strong-armed tactics at the expense of family farmers and municipal governments across the country. Yet many people, particularly young activists, are unaware of The Nature Conservancy's shady operations and continue to patronize The Nature Conservancy based on shiny press releases put out by the organization's expert public opinion marketing machine. There is simply not enough coverage of the damage this organization has done and continues to inflict in our country and across the globe.

This blog was born to expose the truth about a true public enemy.