For many years, North Carolina has been lucky enough to be served by a dedicated group of public servants of both major political parties who were committed to protecting and preserving the state’s natural environment from the frequently destructive impacts of rapid population growth, industrialization, mushrooming energy use and all of the other trappings of modern American society. A large number of these fine people served in an agency that has long operated under the moniker “Department of Environment and Natural Resources” or “DENR” for short.
In 2015, however, it’s now clear that things have changed. Oh sure, there are still some dedicated public servants of both major parties doing their best to pursue the goal of preserving something of our natural environment, but increasingly, it’s clear that DENR’s leadership has no real interest in such a mission. In recent days, for instance, the appointed leader of what is supposedly North Carolina’s environmental protection agency spent much of his time: a) promoting offshore oil drilling near North Carolina’s beautiful and fragile coastline and b) railing against efforts by the federal government to promote clean air and fight the existential threat of global warming. What’s next — a new DENR initiative to promote fracking?
The bottom line: “DENR” clearly no longer stands for what it once did. It is obvious, therefore — at the risk of giving the McCrory people an idea that they’ll run with — that the agency should be rechristened the Department of Exploitation of Natural Resources.
They won’t even have to change the acronym. A change to the symbols in the above logo might be apt however. How about an oil spill, some smoggy air and a patch of parched and barren land?
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