Conservative Pragmatism in Environmental Policy

Updated: 2025.10.08 14D ago 2 sources
The article argues environmental protection should be reclaimed by conservatives on pragmatic grounds: target high‑impact problems with cost‑effective tools instead of litigation‑heavy, conflict‑maximizing regulation. It supports this with forgotten history—Reagan’s pro‑environment language and National Review’s early defense of the Endangered Species Act—suggesting a viable, non‑progressive environmental tradition to build on. — Reviving a non‑progressive, cost‑conscious environmentalism could realign coalition politics and unlock stalled permitting and conservation reforms.

Sources

The Managerial Tyranny of Boomer Environmentalism
Richard Morrison 2025.10.08 78% relevant
The article argues the anti‑elite political turn can 'defang' radical environmentalism and explicitly points to groups like PERC, American Conservation Coalition, and Breakthrough Institute as models for a pragmatic, non‑progressive environmentalism.
A New Environmentalism?
Steven F. Hayward 2025.10.01 100% relevant
Steven Hayward highlights Reagan’s 1970 address, National Review’s stance on the ESA, and Newsom’s pressure to loosen CEQA as evidence for a post‑litigation environmentalism.
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