Ron Arnold
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Ron Arnold (August 8, 1937 – January 22, 2022) was an American writer and activist. He was the Executive Vice-President of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise. He wrote frequently on natural resource issues and was an opponent of the
environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. In its recognition of humanity a ...
. Critics saw Arnold as promoting abuse of the environment, typified in an assessment by Wild Wilderness executive director Scott Silver: "Fifteen years after creating his 25 Point Wise-Use Agenda, an agenda prescribing unrestrained, unregulated and unconscionable abuse of the American commons, Ron Arnold is within striking distance of checking off every agenda item on his list." A key U.S. Senate staffer writing in 2011 noted his impact on federal legislation.


Biography

Arnold was born in
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
and studied business administration at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
and the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
. He died on January 24, 2022.


Career

Arnold worked as a
technical writer A technical writer is a professional communicator whose task is to convey complex information in simple terms to an audience of the general public or a very select group of readers. Technical writers research and create information through a vari ...
for the Boeing Company from 1961 until he left in 1971 to found Northwoods Studio. In 1974 he began contributing to ''Western Conservation Journal'', which exposed him to the effects of litigation related to environmental issues upon logging and mining industries. Between 1978 and 1981, Arnold was a contributing editor of ''Logging Management Journal''. His 1979 magazine series, "The Environmental Battle", analyzed the utilization / preservation conflict, and won the American Business Press 1980 Editorial Achievement Award. In 1981, Arnold wrote the authorized
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...
of
Interior Secretary The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...
James G. Watt James Gaius Watt (January 31, 1938 – May 27, 2023) was an American lawyer, lobbyist, and civil servant who served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior in the Ronald Reagan administration from 1981 to 1983. He was described as "anti-environmenta ...
. Between 1982 and 1990, he wrote a weekly column for the Bellevue (Washington) Journal-American. In 1987, he founded the Free Enterprise Press, later merged into Merril Press, and began writing a series of books on the
environmental Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
movement. His "EcoTerror" was included in the "100 Best Nonfiction Books of the 20th Century"
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
/
Modern Library The Modern Library is an American book publishing Imprint (trade name), imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Moder ...
Reader's List. Arnold also uncovered the identity of the actual founder of the
United States National Forest In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands that are largely forest and woodland areas. They are owned collectively by the American people through the federal government and managed by the ...
after a century of mystery shrouded the origin in conflicting claims. An almost forgotten politician named William S. Holman created the concept and the initial legislation, as revealed in documents Arnold discovered in the
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
. He was invited to present his findings at the centennial symposium of the
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
in 1991. Environmentalists have challenged Arnold's “Wise Use Movement,” launched at a Reno, Nevada conference in 1988, as inappropriately co-opting the term from utilitarian conservationist and first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service,
Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsyl ...
, who held different views on man and nature than Arnold and his movement. Arnold readily admits the borrowing, but disputes arguments that it is improper, a controversy that continues unresolved. He has mobilized political allies to protests, as covered by
ABC News Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...
(broadcast February 24, 1994) by using case histories of environmentalist excesses in influencing policymakers to adopt his ideas. Certain policies of President George W. Bush have been attributed to Arnold's influence.
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
magazine's May 2004 issue featured a profile of Arnold in the Playboy Forum, by reporter Dean Kuypers. Titled, ''Guru of Wise Use,'' its headline read: ''The spiritual father of the Bush administration's environmental policies says we shouldn't be timid about timber.'' Arnold has built a network of academic colleagues to help analyze large-scale social movements, and told the
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
that environmentalism is "the third great wave of
messianism Messianism is the belief in the advent of a messiah who acts as the savior of a group of people. Some religions also have messianism-related concepts. Religions with a messiah concept include Hinduism (Kalki), Judaism ( Mashiach), Christianity ( ...
to hit the planet, after Christianity and Marxism-Leninism." The Globe commented, "'Wise users' charge that the environmental crisis has been largely trumped up as an excuse to take control of the nation's natural resources." Arnold's conclusion that movements of social change, including environmentalism, are fundamentally a kind of war was examined and found valid by sociologist Luther P. Gerlach in the
RAND The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...
research document, "Networks and Netwars." Arnold ran the Left Tracking Library, a site that tracks what it claims to be undue influence by
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
politicians and environmentalists. In late 2010, Arnold began writing a weekly column for
The Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American conservative news magazine based in Washington, D.C., consisting of a website and a weekly printed magazine. It is owned by Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiary of Clarity Media Group. From 20 ...
; one was placed in the
Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Ind ...
in early 2011. Another was used as source material by Sen.
John Barrasso John Anthony Barrasso III ( ; born July 21, 1952) is an American physician and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wyoming, a seat he has held since 2007. A mem ...
(R-WY) in a Senate confirmation hearing in December 2013.


Bibliography

* ''At the Eye of the Storm: James Watt and the Environmentalists,'' Regnery Gateway (1982), 282 pp. . * ''The Grand Prairie Years: A Biography of W.C. Perry,'' Introduction by Gov. John B. Connally, Merril Press (October 1987), 722 pp. . * ''Ecology Wars: Environmentalism as if People Matter,'' Merril Press (January 1, 2010), 182 pp. . * ''Trashing the Economy: How Runaway Environmentalism is Wrecking America,'' Second Edition, co-authored with
Alan Gottlieb Alan Merril Gottlieb is an American author, conservative political activist, Gun politics in the United States, gun rights advocate, and businessperson. Gottlieb has published 23 books. Biography He was born in Los Angeles and graduated from t ...
, Merril Press (January 1, 2010), 670 pp. . * ''Politically Correct Environment'' co-authored with Alan Gottlieb, Merril Press (January 1, 2010), 178 pp. . * ''EcoTerror: The Violent Agenda to Save Nature: The World of the Unabomber,'' Merril Press (January 1, 2010), 324 pp. . * ''Undue Influence: Wealthy Foundations, Grant Driven Environmental Groups, and Zealous Bureaucrats That Control Your Future,'' Merril Press (October 1, 1999), 344 pp. . * ''Freezing in the Dark: Money, Power, Politics and The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy,'' Merril Press (November 30, 2007), 444 pp. .


References


Further reading

*Bill Berkowitz, ''Terrorist Tree Huggers: Ron Arnold, Father of the 'Wise Use' Movement, sets his Sights on 'Eco-Terrorists','

retrieved December 22, 2013. *Phil Brick, ''Determined Opposition: The Wise Use Movement Challenges Environmentalism'' (1995) in ''Landmark Essays on Rhetoric and the Environment, Volume 12'' (Landmark Essays Series), edited by Craig Waddell, pp. 195ff, Routledge (January 1, 1998), , *''At the Eye of the Storm: James Watt and the Environmentalists,'' Regnery Gateway (1982), 282 pages, , *Ron Arnold, ''Congressman William Holman of Indiana: The Unknown Founder of the National Forests,'' in ''Origins of the National Forests,'' Harold K. Steen (Editor), pp. 301ff, Duke University Press Books (April 17, 1992) *Ron Arnold, ''Overcoming Ideology,'' in ''A Wolf in the Garden: The Land Rights Movement and the New Environmental Debate,'' Philip D. Brick (Editor), R. McGreggor Cawley (Editor), Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (January 1996), pp. 15ff, *Dean Kuypers for Playboy: ''Guru of wise use: the spiritual father of the Bush administration's environmental policies says we shouldn't be timid about timber.'' (The Playboy Forum), Playboy, May 1, 2004. *Luther P. Gerlach, ''The Structure of Social Movements: Environmental Activism and its Opponents,'' in ''Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy,'' John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt, RAND Corporation (November 5, 2001), pp. 280ff, ,


External links


SourceWatch article

Senate staffer quote

Modern Library listing


* ttp://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2011-03-10/pdf/CREC-2011-03-10-pt1-PgE448-3.pdf#page=1?title=Ron_Arnold Congressional Record entry {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Ron 1937 births 2022 deaths American political writers American male non-fiction writers American non-fiction environmental writers Writers from Houston Activists from Houston University of Texas at Austin alumni University of Washington alumni