Episode 56 – Environmental Conservatism with Danielle Butcher

Conservative Millennials who came of age listening to rightwing radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh probably associate political conversations about the environment with the likes of Al Gore railing against global warming and sundry other Environmentalist Wacko warnings of environmental apocalyptic doom.  Much of what the Right had to say about environmental concerns was that they were frequently overblown and often used by the Left as an excuse to bring about their calls for central planning.

 

But as younger Americans have come of age, there’s growing concern on the Right about a whole host of environmental concerns from conservation to endangered species to event climate change.  The late conservative philosopher Sir Roger Scruton noted that “there is no conceivable chance that the conservative defense of property will gain converts among the young without the attempt to show that it is not state control but private ownership that will save the planet from human waste.”  If conservatism hopes to survive and adapt, it must find a what to answer the challenge of environmental concerns in a way that’s not hostile to the free market and limited government.

 

Fortunately, there are growing voices on the Right who claim conservatives can do just that.  And among the most prominent of those voices spring from a group of young Americans who make up the American Conservation Coalition: a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and empowering conservatives to re-engage on environmental conversations.  ACC Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Danielle Butcher joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the work ACC is doing, how conservatives can impact the environment for the better and—shudder—the threat of climate change.

 

Danielle Butcher is a nonprofit executive who aides organizations in developing and implementing their national strategies.

Danielle currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the American Conservation Coalition and on the Advisory Board of the British Conservation Alliance, where she merges her love of leadership with her passions for free-markets and the environment.

Danielle was recently named to 2020’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list. She has spoken at several prominent conservative events including CPAC, appeared as a frequent guest on NPR and Fox News Radio, and has had her work featured in publications such as The Times, The Hill, The Washington Examiner, VOX, and more.

With her work prior to ACC, she served in leadership roles at various conservative nonprofits and organizations. Danielle attended Bethel University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she studied Political Science and Rhetoric Communications.