"Leadership" means just that. The guys in charge of the movement, not the kids walking down the road picking up cans. This is like when I bitch about the Democratic National Committee being leftists, and I get accused of leaning on poor old Joe Sixpack who happens to vote Democrat. I like to think my wording is reasonably precise.

When the environmental movement began, people worked to clean up the air, water and soil. There were real and serious environmental problems (still are, but a lot fewer). The idea became popular that a factory dumping crap into the air was violating other people's property rights. Standards were set--most of them rational--so that factories, cars, sewage systems, and other industrial processes became cleaner. Real progress was made, and our economy did not really suffer over the long run.

The people in the movement were not trying to eliminate cars, factories, industry, and capitalism. They were trying to get us to make cleaner cars, factories, and industries, while preserving our system and prosperity.

The people currently in charge in the major environmental groups; Greenpeace, Earth First, FOE, the Sierra Club, the Green Party, and others; are now largely of the left-wing, socialist persuasion, ranging from only slightly left to completely nihilist. I don't think you can seriously argue that this is not the case.

All of them see capitalism as the problem. Most of them see America as the problem. Some of them see humanity as the problem. Now, it isn't just a matter of cleaning up our act, it's a matter of getting the human race off the stage entirely.

This anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, anti-technology and anti-humanity is what I oppose.

The standard leftist dance doesn't work on me. "You are against the socialist environmental groups, so you must be for dirty air!" This makes no more sense than the idea that being against socialized medicine means I want everyone to get sick and die.