Location: The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium

For nearly a half century, most of the mainstream media and much of the general public have accepted the environmental movement's claim that it occupies the moral high ground in efforts to save hundreds of struggling species of wildlife and plants.  In Green Gone Wild (www.greengonewildbook.com), M. David Stirling examines this clever marketing and public relations scheme that elevates nature above human rights and fosters a mentality that totally disregards people’s lives, livelihoods, and private property rights.

Stirling takes an in depth look at government confiscatory regulation of private property in the name of protecting so-called endangered plant and wildlife species and provides a comprehensive review of modern environmentalism’s use of the Endangered Species Act.  He spotlights the extreme actions of the green movement that have not only cost many Americans their lives, jobs, and homes, but also trampled on our citizens’ fundamental Fifth Amendment guarantees.  And all the while, only a handful of species can truly be said to have been saved in the process. 

Green Gone Wild concludes by offering a series of substantive recommendations for making the Endangered Species Act more people-friendly while also making it more effective in protecting and preserving truly struggling species. 

M. DAVID STIRLING is Vice President of the Pacific Legal Foundation (www.pacificlegal.org).  He served three terms in the California State Assembly as well as serving as a Superior Court Judge before becoming Chief Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice.