Update: A version of this story ran in the American Spectator on 10/22.

You remember this age-old story, I’m sure.

Bear attacks man.

Man kills bear in self-defense.

Environmentalists harass man for defending himself.

Wait, what!?!?

Jim West, of British Columbia, Canada, was attacked by a bear on October 4th as he inadvertently walked between the bear and her cubs.  The bear knocked West down multiple times before he was able to grab a large stick and bludgeoned the bear to death.  Conservation officers later put down the bear’s cubs.

Since the attack, emails impersonating West have been sent to members of the local press by animal rights activists claiming that he maliciously killed the bear and that he could’ve easily escaped the situation.  He’s also been receiving phone calls.

“One woman asked me why I killed the bear and why I didn’t run away. Well, you can’t outrun a mother bear,” said West who is recovering from the 60 stitches to his skull, upper lip and left arm he received in the attack.

“It was a matter of survival and I’m sorry people are upset about it, but it was live or die.”

Apparently, the animal rights activists involved in this smear and harassment campaign believe that human beings would make better bear food than healthy, contributing members of society.  This is an excellent example of environmentalism gone crazy.  Even PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), typically the vanguard of such ridiculous campaigns, has denied any involvement in West’s case.  It’s scary when even PETA is on the side of common sense.

If you haven’t already done so, meet David Suzuki.  He is Canada’s version of a more personable Al Gore.  Suzuki is the face of Canadian environmentalism and he is having a bad week in the wake of the Canadian elections.  Why?  The centerpiece of the Liberal party’s platform during the recent Canadian elections was a very expensive Green Shift carbon tax plan and the election results point towards a resistance among Canadians to embrace a massive new carbon tax.

In other words, common sense has prevailed in Canada!

At least a little bit, for now.

Conservative opposition to the Green Shift carbon tax plan outlined the terms of the political discourse early on in the election process and were able to pitch the tax as a massive tax rather than an environmental issue.  The election results do not necessarily mean that the tax won’t pass in the near future or that common sense will continue to prevail, but it offers a bit of hope and an important lesson for those of us who openly oppose oppressive obligations on our wallets in the form of environmental policies.  Shift the discussion to highlight the tax burden and huge price tag rather than letting the feel-good environmentalist arguments prevail.  The problem with feel-good environmentalist arguments is that they care little for the burden it places on people. Fiscal conservatives need to reconquer the language of the debate and rephrase it in real, economic terms.  We need to make people understand that the environmentalists are pushing for policies that are disastrously expensive and will cripple the U.S. economy and stifle future growth.

We simply can’t afford to lose this battle in the coming months and years.

The World Wildlife Fund is offering a private jet expedition in an attempt to reach a new level of hypocrisy.  The journey is made up of a 24-day whirlwind world tour that will take guests to almost every corner of the globe.  Take a look at a brief description of the trip:

Join us on a remarkable 25-day journey by private jet. Touch down in some of the most astonishing places on the planet to see the top wildlife, including gorillas, orangutans, rhinos, lemurs and toucans. Explore natural and cultural treasures in remote areas of South America, the South Pacific, Southeast Asia and Africa.

To reach these remote corners, travel on a specially outfitted private jet that carries 88 passengers. World-class experts – including WWF’s director of species conservation – will provide a series of lectures en route, and a professional staff will be devoted to making your global adventure seamless and memorable.

Sound great?  You can book your spot for a pretty hefty price tag: $64,950!  But, of course, this is trip is meant to raise money for the WWF by entertaining some of its wealthier donors.

But, how does this square with the World Wildlife Fund’s mission?  Here is where it gets pretty murkey.  Steve Milloy, of Fox News, ran some of the numbers using a carbon footprint calculator and this is what he came up with (he claims he uses WWF’s own calculator, which I cannot find, but the calculators on the EPA website confirm these numbers):

Using the carbon footprint calculator on the WWF’s own web site, the 36,800-mile trip in a Boeing 757 jet will burn about 100,000 gallons of jet fuel to produce roughly 1,231 tons of CO2 in 25 days — that’s the equivalent of putting about 1,560 SUVs on the road during those three-plus weeks and that doesn’t even include emissions related to local air, ground and water transport and other amenities.

The WWF laments on its web site that the average American produces 19.6 tons of CO2 annually, which is nearly five times the world average of 3.9 tons per person. But during the WWF’s posh excursion, travelers will produce 14 tons of CO2 per person. That’s 71 percent of the average American carbon footprint and 360 percent of the average global footprint in a mere three-and-one-half weeks. But who’s counting — especially when you’re in “19 rows of spacious leather seats with full ergonomic support” enjoying “gourmet meals, chilled champagne [and] your own chef.”

So, WWF’s suggestion is for their guests to emit, in one month, almost the same amount of CO2 as the average American produces in a year.  Do you know who else likes to emit this much CO2 per month?  Al Gore.  The powerful players in the environmental movement seem to believe that cutting emissions is necessary and that everyone who can’t write a $65,000 check to the WWF needs to do everything they can to save the world.

The brazen “Do as I say, not as I do” attitude that “Big Enviros” display is getting ridiculous.  I hope that people will start to realize that environmentalists are only trying to taking advantage of people when they trumpet their alarmism through the media loudspeaker.  This hypocrisy will continue until people wise up to their slimy green tactics.