RFK, Jr., Identifies Enemies of the Environment at Wooster Forum Address

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., talked about the impact of political and corporate practices on the environment at the second Wooster Forum event Thursday night in McGaw Chapel.

» WKSU: "RFK Jr. Talks Environment in Wooster"

WOOSTER, Ohio - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., blasted the Bush administration and condemned "the corrosive impact of excessive corporate power" for the ongoing destruction of the environment during his address to a capacity crowd at the Wooster Forum Thursday night in McGaw Chapel.

The famed environmental attorney and co-author of The Riverkeeper, whose presentation was the second of four on the theme "Green Footprints on the Blue Planet," bore a striking resemblance to his late father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Sr. He also displayed the same wit, charm, and charisma of the former Attorney General and Presidential candidate.

Kennedy, 53, reflected on his father's influence as he extolled the virtues of nature and excoriated those who threatened it, namely politicians and corporations, but he reserved some of his harshest criticism for the media, which he said is complicit in the process. "There are now five giant multinational organizations that have a stranglehold," said Kennedy. "We can't allow the airwaves to be controlled by corporations that do not act in the public interest." He also expressed concern about the preponderance of conservative talk-show hosts. "Where is the liberal equivalent to the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity?" he asked.

Kennedy argued that the origin of this dilemma could be traced to former President Ronald Reagan's 1988 decision to abolish the Fairness Doctrine, which required media to report news of public import, present both sides of an issue, and ensure that a wide range of competitive voices can be heard.

"This has led the news organizations to focus their obligations on the shareholders and not the public interest," said Kennedy. "More than 80 percent of investigative reporters have lost their jobs in the past 20 years. These were the people who would help us to connect the dots (when the environment was threatened)."

The result, said Kennedy, is an uninformed public. "Americans don't have a clue about what's going on," he said. "We have gotten caught up in celebrity gossip. We have become the most entertained and least informed people on the face of the earth."

Despite his disappointment with the general public, Kennedy laid most the blame for America's environmental crisis at the feet of political and corporate leaders. "Natural resources belong to the people, not government or business," he said. "The first act of tyranny is the privatization of public trust resources. We are not a plutocracy. We have to keep corporate power out of government. The only way we are going to protect the environment is if we have a democracy that works."

Kennedy lashed out at the hypocrisy of appointing lobbyists to government agencies that are intended to protect the environment. He also denounced the destructive strip mining operations in the Appalachian Mountains where massive machines have flattened an area the size of Delaware. In addition, he railed against the devastating consequences of acid rain, and lamented the dramatic increase in the number of children with asthma that have resulted from pollution.

In his concluding remarks, Kennedy talked about the spiritual aspect of nature and the role of God in its creation. "Nature enriches us. It is the source of our values, our virtues, and our character," he said. "When we destroy nature, we impoverish ourselves."