Let It Be Evergreen

by: Matthew Kordon, LPNC House Candidate

The title quotes an environmental song written by The Turtles because Environmentalism has been on my mind since I attended a town hall in Dix Park, Raleigh, nearby to me. I was even inspired after to rewatch Illumination’s The Lorax, about an unheeded spirit who spoke in defense of “the trees.” Fittingly, I even wrote this first draft on the first day of Spring.

By now, you might be rolling your eyes. I get it: Environmentalism stinks with the whiff of Big-Government spending and regulations. God knows the Greens and Democrats have turned Environmentalism into a subject of suspicion among Libertarians and Republicans; the result is that even George H. W. Bush seemed more eco-conscious than our current administration, which eyes park land to sell for housing development.

Winter has a way of making me miss nature, so with encouragement from our friend Brad Hessel, I attended that town hall to add a libertarian perspective: "Raleigh Planning Presents Branching Out: Trees and Urban Ecosystems."

If I was hoping to break from national politics by attending the city park event, it backfired. Prior to it starting, I joined a discussion led by our table’s event handler, a Wake County employee. She revealed —with what I perceived to be hysteria and disgust— that racial DEI initiatives at her job were halted. She stated with shock and horror that this meant her team may no longer prioritize minorities. She then proclaimed her plan to circumvent the new rule and continue racially motivated actions, off the record. Part of her momentary hysteria came from her fear that she might lose her job as a consequence.

I cannot say I feel sympathy for her, even if I lack the conviction to report her to her employer and instead listened quietly while she spoke. Understand that this woman was not elected by the people and instead intends to subvert the voice of the voters. Critically, she seeks to violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subverts due process which is heinous, but I digress.

Anyway, at the town hall, they gave out free food, drinks, flower seeds, pronoun button pins, and pamphlets once we walked inside. It seemed to me superfluous, a subtle microcosm of governmental waste. Even at the local level, governments will spend money on a wide range of things from that-which-is-easy-to-justify all the way to extremely-controversial-and-unnecessary. I might sound like a curmudgeon talking about free handouts, so consider this: they damaged the data they sought to collect by putting us in a better mood; we were bribed with our own money! If Raleigh is serious about collecting feedback, that was counterproductive.

Nevertheless, the bribe of hospitality is not a big issue. All the same, it adds to my suspicion that the city doesn't particularly want your feedback and instead holds town halls like this to appease concerned residents and make it seem like they listen. This is merely a hunch. My point is that government workers are human, and humans given power tend to exhibit hubris. Indeed, they only allowed enough time to answer two questions off a stack of about fifteen, as if they did not care about our feedback!

Much was said at the town hall by the three Raleigh-employed presenters that I found informative. Trees indeed have many positives, and some of their positives are things we take for granted, sure. Of note, Raleigh measured and discussed tree coverage as a ratio of trees among whites versus minorities and spoke about the need for “tree equity,” doggedly upset that people of color would choose to live in a place with fewer trees while White individuals showed an opposite preference. I would greatly prefer they stop stressing over the complete equalization of tree density because of the way it takes away a freedom to choose and to make trade-offs.

Consider this, if certain people want or need to live in Raleigh but are too poor to afford a nice area with lush greenery, then the city’s meddling is likely to inspire their landlord to raise the cost of rent afterwards. That in turn forces the poor sap to vacate the city in favor of a humbler place. If that poor sap owned a house, well, he could likewise expect the city to raise property taxes which often goes hand and hand with public improvements in my experience, and this too might force people out.

One of the three presenters works in zoning. He discussed policies, some reasonable and some unreasonable, regarding the delicate balance between citizen interests and environmental protection, which I actually was impressed by. When I recall that local governments are near-always better run than the Federal Government, it makes sense that Raleigh would surpass my low expectations. The Pew Research Center found in 2023 that 61 percent of citizens approve of local government whereas only 22 percent like our shared federal one. Those who understand this can better understand the appeal of decentralizing power; accountability makes a difference!

Although their recent efforts seem semi-successful among what was discussed, one fact stood out to me as a major failure: 28 percent of trees under the care of Raleigh are not "fair or better" condition. It was brave of the city to admit this to the public because that's over a quarter! Nevertheless, I really do not know what was meant by this arbitrary statistic as I rarely see a tree that looks sickly or hideous in Raleigh.

Towards the end, they reminded us of important reasons to care for nature: Raleigh is home to rare species of flora and fauna. Invasive species need to be combated. Controlled fires are needed to rejuvenate the forests. True, but what was implied is that it is their rightful job to do all of that. I actually largely agree, but I find the question of, "what exactly counts as an invasive species," to be perplexing. They regulate our gardens to exclude marijuana and have decided certain plant life off limits from government property. Central planning is absurd, and this is no exception.

It was by this point that I realized Climate Change went unmentioned. I have to wonder why. The closest they came to addressing the worrisome phenomenon was by pointing out that trees absorb CO2. I was disappointed they did not drive the point home that over 99 percent of people who have studied the science agree CO2 contributes to our ongoing rise in temperatures, gradually baking the Earth and everything on it.

Just before it was time for me to leave, an older gentleman told me he was deeply impressed by my analysis of how decentralized planning is seemingly used by Cary to boost environmental enthusiasm. I thanked his for his comment. As the meeting adjourned, we discussed the exciting future of electric bicycles. He then suggested that I work for government! Little did he know I ran for office only just a few months ago. If only more citizens had his faith in me.

I was glad to help Raleigh navigate the balance between plants, animals, and people. This is indeed our home, third from the Sun.