The right way to sell eco

With Republican backing, Trump has set about nixing regulations on a host of environmental issues. He has annulled regulations preventing industries from leaking chemicals into wetlands, rivers and streams, and looks set to roll back automobile fuel-efficiency standards. He wants to slash the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency and has appointed an EPA head who doesn’t believe that humans are responsible for climate change. From this and the media, one could get the impression that conservatives and Republicans are pretty much unanimous on such issues.

Yet that’s not entirely true. As Ronald Reagan put it, preserving the environment is “not a partisan challenge; it’s common sense.” More than a dozen significant conservative groups agree. ConservAmerica — known before 2012 as Republicans for Environmental Protection — recently unveiled a proposal to give tax breaks to companies that

produce energy with zero carbon-dioxide emissions. The Michigan Conservative Energy Forum fights utilities’ attempts to block the growth of solar energy, while Conservatives for Energy Freedom works to support renewable energy sources.

Learning how the views of these conservatives differ from typical liberal orthodoxy may be key to building a larger coalition. Studies show that when protecting the environment is cast as being about defending the purity of nature, expressing patriotism or obeying authority — or when the message comes from other conserva- tives — the response is more favorable.

For this reason, pro-environment conservative groups could be decisive. As Republicans have moved strongly to the right, such groups have occupied the abandoned center. This actually leaves them well-positioned to recruit other conservatives and cooperate on specific policies with more liberal groups. At the state and local level, where officials must deal with the practical consequences of climate change, many do very much care about the environment.