Greg (6:50)

Armed with a pickaxe and sledgehammer, these two fellas went to town on this Tesla.

Brett Cooper (6:55)

We don't like what Elon Musk is doing.

Greg (6:57)

This man would only give me his first name. Greg, Greg, Greg. But says he actually owns the white Model S. I bought it just to destroy it. And Greg says he coordinated the stunt with his friends because he doesn't like Musk.

Brett Cooper (7:09)

Wow. Just stunning and brave. This little group of four people supporting Elon by buying a Tesla only to spray paint it. Just hideous, awful colors. Put a sign up and then go to town with a sledgehammer. Again, the protests, they make no sense. Nothing you are doing is effective. Again, you are actually supporting him by buying the damn car. Now, another example, and one that was far larger than just one man with a sledgehammer, was that in New York City, protesters broke into and took over the Manhattan Tesla showroom. Just watch. What the. We don't want. Wait, but what are they. What is this?

Benji Bakker (7:47)

Whoa.

Brett Cooper (7:47)

What's this? Look at the shattered glass. Cops are having to push people out. They're dragging people out of the showroom. What the hell? Wait, what are you doing to this guy? Pulling him off of private property. My name's Frankie, and I'm getting arrested today. Protesting. Elon Musk fought his way office. He bought his way into heading a government agency. He bought his power at the expense of the American people, at the expense of our environment, at the expense of our world and all of the people in it. Wow, Frankie, you are just. You are so brave. You are so stunning and brave. Thank you, Frankie, for getting arrested so that you can stop Elon Musk from saving our country from bankruptcy. Because that's really what you're trying to do. Now, one thing that I want to point out that was just so ironic is that CNN was obviously covering this protest, and in their article, immediately after, they said that the protests were mostly peaceful. 2020, anyone? Do you remember the cities literally on fire, stores being looted. Oh, there. It's mostly peaceful. Fire behind you.

Benji Bakker (8:48)

Fire.

Brett Cooper (8:48)

Fire. They literally did it again. Five years later. They're like, I wonder if people forgot that we did that. Let's just try one more time. No, you are breaking into stores. You are setting cars on fire. That is not mostly peaceful. Cnn. But I digress. We can move on from that now. The most hilarious part of these Tesla protests, in my opinion, is that the people burning Teslas breaking into Tesla are also climate activists. Planet over profit posted this and they said breaking. Hundreds of New Yorkers have swarmed and shut down the Tesla dealer in Manhattan. Six have been arrested after occupying the showroom. Protests are erupting across America to reject Musk's billionaire regime. This is how we beat fascism. Mass direct action. Okay, Planet over profit. I want to just talk to you for a second because do you realize the irony of the fact that these are the electric cars that you demanded be mandated across the country? The only real reason that EVs are so widespread, that we have so much innovation and progress in this country in regards to EVs are because of Elon Musk. And this is the man and the company that you have now decided to turn on. I mean, do you not realize and see that the first person at any environmental crisis in our country, in the world, is not our government, which is sloppy and slow and lazy, but is actually Elon Musk. He does more to push forward clean energy, to push forward innovation, to be there when disaster strikes, than anyone else. You look ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as these Just Stop Oil protesters. Some of my favorites. I've kind of missed them. Can't lie. Who wanted to get in on the fun last week? What's so funny is that I was planning out this episode and in the back of my mind I was like, man, if only I had a Just Stop Oil protest. I mean, you guys know Just Stop Oil. They're the people that threw soup on the Mona Lisa. They super glue themselves to the concrete and blocks. They are the most insane of the insane. And they always have some, like, piece of poetry that they think is very prolific as they're doing it. They're like throwing soup on the Mona Lisa, being like, we just need clean energy. We are the warriors. And they're like throwing soup at, you know, famous works of art. They are absurd. Anyway. I was literally thinking that in my brain, being like, I wish that I had that to include because that would just be perfect. And then God provided. And this really is just so rich because this organization, as you well know by now, is called Just Stop Oil. And this organization is pouring liquid latex, which is made out of oil, onto a robot made by the world's leading Electric car company, the company that does not use gasoline. I mean, it is truly ironic. It's about as ironic as these planet over profit folks burning Teslas will simultaneously say that they are so worried about carbon emissions. I mean, make it make sense. It is so ridiculous. Like, no wonder environmentalism has become such a fringe issue when these are the world's leading proponents, when these and Greta Thunberg's are the ones that we see leading the charge. No wonder normal people around the world are like, yeah, no, I'm out. Like bring in the oil. Like, I can't deal with you people if you're the one who's at the front of this cause, I want no part of it. And that issue right there is what I want to focus on for the rest of the video. And so I called up my friend Benji Bakker, who is the founder of ACC national, which is the largest conservative environmental group and the founder of the new group Nature Is Nonpartisan to give his take.

Benji Bakker (11:56)

When people think of environmentalists, they don't think of people who care about the environment anymore. They think about AOC, they think about Bernie Sanders, they think about Leonardo DiCaprio or Greta Thunberg. And these are people who don't really care about the environment. They care about growing their own brands and they care about basically making a political statement that is actually not just a political statement, it's an extremist political statement. What politician is going to look at soup being thrown at a painting and think, oh, now I know exactly what I need to do to help the environment? Like, that does not help at all. They're not even hearing from hikers and skiers. They're hearing from radical people who don't have any ideas behind them. They just have complaining and they just have extreme actions. And so it basically has made the environmental movement completely ineffective.

Brett Cooper (12:41)

Now, such a key thing that Benji said was that these protests, these environmental orgs, they care more about pushing their brands forward than their issue forward. And that's why it is never worked. These protesters, whether they be the topless French women, whether they are people in the streets smashing Tesla windows, they want to be seen and they want to feel important. At the end of the day, that's really all they care about. And their obvious focus on that only hurts the causes that they allegedly care so much about. I mean, watching somebody torch an electric car in the middle of a city while simultaneously screaming out of the other side of their mouth about climate change honestly makes me care less about the environment because I don't want to be associated with people who are as crazy as that. And I'm not alone there.

Benji Bakker (13:22)

Over 80% of Americans self identified as environmentalists back in 1990 because it was like everyone agreed that we love these places, we love our home, we love nature, and instead that got co opted by partisan politics. I would blame Al Gore and people on the left for that. But now, when people think of the environment, when they go hiking, when they go hunting, when they go fishing, when they go skiing, they don't actually think about how much they're enjoying their love of nature only. They're also thinking about, you know, the fact that this is caught up in political culture wars and it's so unnecessary.

Brett Cooper (13:54)

So clearly radical left wing climate protests do not unite us around the issue of environmentalism. They fuel division, they turn people off, and they also expose a hypocritical obsession with attention over real solutions. Because again, I don't know how many times I can say this, but what do these protests actually accomplish? I mean, my Beam Dream Sleep Powder does more than they ever will. And that effectiveness is why I'm so excited to share it with you today. Beam is a company that is proudly founded in America and it's run by people who share our values. They value hard work, integrity and actually delivering results. Beam Dream Sleep Powder is a science backed, healthy nighttime blend packed with ingredients shown to improve sleep so that you can wake up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. Dream is made with a powerful blend of all natural ingredients like Reishi, Magnesium, L Theanine, at the Genin and Melatonin. It is all designed to help you fall asleep, stay asleep and wake up feeling amazing. And unlike other sleep aids, there is no next day grogginess, just great restful sleep. Plus, Dream tastes incredible and it has become a part of my nightly routine. Like imagine drinking hot cocoa every night before bed. That is literally what it's like. But the added benefit is that my focus and my energy skyrocketed and I finally felt like I could tackle life head on instead of waking up just trying to get through the morning. And I'm not the only one. Beam has already improved over 17.5 million nights of sleep, helping people across the country wake up and feel their best. And again, what is even better is that Beam is an American company built here and run here. And supporting brands like this is important to me because it's about more than just the product. It's about backing hardworking people and companies who are doing things the right way. So if you are Ready to try out beme and start getting the best sleep of your life. Here is the deal. Beam is giving my listeners the ultimate discount of 40% off. Try their best selling dream powder and get up to 40% off for a limited time. Just go to shopbeam.com Brett and use code Brett at checkout to get that disc that is shopbeam b e a m.com Brett use code Brett at checkout for up to 40% off. You'll be supporting an American company, investing in yourself and your health. And you'll be getting the best sleep of your life. Now why all of this is so harmful on a broad scale is because while all of us are rightfully focused on these insane protests and activists, we are missing the real issues. We are missing major opportunities to make tangible change for our world. And we also miss the fact that a lot of these people in government who run these big organizations who are in our faces about these issues are actually just full of crap. And a recent example of this, which is truly just insane, is that this week it came out that Brazil is cutting through tens of thousands of acres of the Amazon rainforest to build a new highway. But not just any highway for any normal purpose. I want you to guess what this highway is literally being built for. It is being built to transport people to the COP30 climate change summit. They are literally bulldozing acres upon acres of the Amazon so that they can fly people in and drive them in to talk about how we need to save the planet. I mean, you literally, you cannot make this stuff up. It is beyond parody. There's an article about this massive stretch of Amazon rainforest destroyed for upcoming COP30 climate summit's four lane highway. This is a loss. Is a quote from somebody in the community. Like again, this is just so absurd. It exposes everything. How much of a fraud so many of these activists actually are. And guys, what is even better is that the government had actually wanted to build a highway in this region since 2012. But according to the New York Post, it had always been stalled. It had always been halted and put on hold because of environmental reasons. Listen to this. The state government of Para initially hatched the idea for the thoroughfare in 2012, but it was repeatedly put on hold after concerns were raised over its environmental impact. I mean, again, you literally can't make this up. This was an idea that was rejected for over a decade because of environmental concerns. But the moment that an environmental climate change summit is coming to the area. Oh yeah, sure, let's bulldoze the Amazon. All of Our concerns about the environment. Who cares? Because the billionaires are coming to talk about how much better they are and all the things that we need to do as individuals to save the climate. They're all gonna fly in on their private jets while they lecture all of us about paper straws and driving EV vehicles while they bulldoze an entire part of the Amazon to get to their stupid conference. Now, simultaneously in California, there is also a hugely underreported story that again, is just another perfect example of this. And that is how the California government, along with a myriad of different multimillion dollar climate change environmentalist nonprofits, are pushing ranchers and dairy farmers out of the Point Reyes National Seashore because they are hurting the environment. And these are dairy farmers and ranchers that have been here for generations, that the government allowed to stay here in this national reserve to help maintain the environment and the local economy. But now, after over 100 years, they are being pushed out to save the environment. This article reads, dead set on saving Point Reyes. Environmentalists want to kill its best stewards. And the article reads, most of the dairy farms and the cattle ranches on Point Reyes National Seashore will soon disappear, though the ranchers have been leasing the land from the National Park Service for decades, and they had an agreement saying that they could be there. Environmental groups sued the agency in 2016, alleging that agricultural pollution was disrupting local ecosystems. Earlier this year, 12 of the 14 working ranchers accepted a buyout worth an estimated $30 million from the Environmental groups to end years of draining litigation. And I know that $30 million seems like a huge number, but split that up over 12 families who have mounting legal fees, who have hundreds and hundreds of acres on the coast in California that they will not be able to buy again. They now need to relocate, move their entire businesses that they probably will not be able to start over again because they have been sued into oblivion by these environmentalist groups. And this right here is why they're being pushed out. Listen to this. Some environmentalists from these groups argue that removing farming and ranching will restore Point Reyes to a more natural state. Among their concerns are water quality issues created by manure, lack of biodiversity, invasive species, overpopulation, land deterioration, and habitat destruction. They argue that livestock agriculture is fundamentally incompatible with ecological conservation. That is crazy. Like, genuinely, these are family regenerative farms and you are saying they are incompatible with ecological conservation. Now, of course, you and I, I am sure both know that that is utterly ridiculous and utterly unscientific. And it is actually the complete opposite as this writer and this dairy farmer from the area wrote, he said, but the removal of responsible farmers from Point Reyes doesn't restore nature, it neglects it. For more than 30 years, Strauss family Creamery, which I founded in its network of supplying organic family farms, have shown that responsible farming restricted stores ecosystems. Organic and regenerative farming practices can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, put carbon back into the soil, and foster healthy soils that help landscapes adapt to drought, flooding and severe storms. On my Strauss dairy farm near Point Reyes, I have worked to implement a carbon neutral farming model. We are working toward on farm carbon neutrality by reducing methane emissions from animals by more than 90% while maximizing soil carbon sequestration through regenerative practices like compost application and intensive rotation grazing. Farming responsibly can provide measurable scalable climate solutions while feeding local communities high quality nutritious food. Again, this shouldn't be a controversial issue. This is common sense. This is something that we should all be able to get behind. This is helping not only local communities, but California's environment, which obviously we know it desperately needs the help. But of course, the real environmental is the California government. They don't want to hear any of that logic. They don't believe any of it. They just want them gone. But ironically, as all of these family farms are having to get up and move after taking that buyout, the California government has now realized that actually the cows can stay because they need something to graze that land. But the family farmers, no, they have to leave after generations and generations of being stewards of that land. So they have to get out. But they'll find some kind of contracted cow lease system to be able to graze the land because according to the nonprofits, we have to save the earth and apparently save the native Tule elk population on Point Reyes that these lobbyists have been very concerned about. One article wrote. Environmentalists scored a major victory on Wednesday when the National Park Service agreed to revise its land management plan at Point Reyes National Seashore to better serve the area's native Tule elk species. That's really what it's all about. When you get to the crux of the issue. It's all about the damn elk. And the article goes on and says advocates for the elk have locked horns in battle with the National Park Service for years over the effects of of cattle ranching at the pristine coastal site in Marin County. I mean, that is genuinely laughable. It is absurd. Like, no wonder people have turned their backs on environmentalism, as Benji says.

Benji Bakker (22:18)

So much of what the Climate community does is counterproductive. This is a perfect example of the hypocrisy of the environmental community, which is that we are going to destroy the environment to claim that we're saving it. I just think that the environmental movement's not honest with themselves. Like there is no perfect solution to things. Right? It makes sense that you have to create a road to have a conference in Brazil. But then don't lecture people on how evil they are when they're doing something much more minimal than that in their own day to day lives.

Brett Cooper (22:48)

And the reason why I wanted to tell you about both of those stories is because both of these examples show a pattern. Radical climate folks prioritizing grand gestures or forcing their way over practical, proven fixes. Again, how many times can I say this? It will never work. Their strategies are just not effective because people are done. They are tired of being elbowed by these big environmentalists. They are tired of being guilt tripped and emotionally manipulated by hypocritical attention seekers. And no wonder aggressive protesting and radical activism has the opposite effect these days. YouGov has a recent poll on this. The majority of the public believe that protests rarely, if ever, make a difference. But it's not just about making a difference, it's about making a positive impact. Here you go. The vast majority of Britons, 78%, say that this kind of protesting hinders rather than helps a cause, including 61% who believe it hinders a lot. And even among those who say that they have taken part in protests, six in 10 of these protesters, 60%, say that such protesting hinders a cause, with a third saying that it helps. So even the people that are actually protesting are admitting that it's not doing anything productive. That is ridiculous. So why are our lives being disrupted on a daily basis when it doesn't even matter? Well, it's because they want the attention. Because that's really what it's all about. I mean, it's shocking that gluing yourself to the road and disrupting traffic or setting people's cars on fire does not make them sympathetic to your cause. In all honesty, it probably just makes them root more for the damn oil rig. So congratulations, that is what you've created. And the thing that is so unfortunate is that as all of this division has been fueled, those of us who genuinely love and care about the environment, that love being outdoors, that grew up camping and hiking, that love spending time in the mountains, who have farms like me, those of us who really care are left somewhere in the middle with nowhere to Turn. Which is why Benji has created this new organization, Nature Is Nonpartisan, which actually coincidentally is launching today on March 20th. And this is the purpose behind it.

Benji Bakker (24:37)

The environmental movement should stand for. The 80% of Americans that care about the environment want sensible policies to solve those problems. That's what the environmental movement should be about. There's no organization out there. And that's what Nature's nonpartisan is dedicated to doing, is representing those people and also pushing for sensible policies that work for every, every American. I think most of us are, are tired of the back and forth on a lot of policies, right? Like it's just radically left policies. And then we have to undo those policies and then we just kind of go back and forth until we, if you look back, we don't really actually make progress because there's all this back and forth. If you don't have a sensible approach between the right and the left that actually stays true over decades of time and doesn't get undone by the next administration, you don't make progress. And the reason why that matters is, I mean, we've lost a third of the biodiversity in the United States since 1970. 95% of the biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean has been lost since 1970. Around the world, like, we're losing the nature around us. And we need reforms to help us make sure that we're protecting those places, but also doing so in a way that helps humanity.

Brett Cooper (25:43)

So now, after going through all of this, all of the ridiculous ineffective protesting, the hypocrisy that we've seen, where do we go from here? Because if the goal in terms of the environment is to actually preserve nature and stop natural disasters like these crazy California forest fires, then we have to focus on solutions. Obviously, that should not be controversial, and it's insane that that has to even be said. But based on what we've been seeing for the last decade, it's obvious that that has not been a priority.

Benji Bakker (26:06)

So it's really easy to critique something. It's a lot harder to come up with solutions as you are critiquing something. So what conservatives should have done and what we can do, it's not like too late to do. This is say, here's what we don't like about the left's ideas. Here's what we should do instead. We've done a good job of critiquing rightfully so bad ideas. We've done a really bad job proposing our own ideas. And that has actually harmed us in the end as conservatives and the country and I think again, it's not too late to change that course.

Brett Cooper (26:35)

And now with Trump back in office, who is just on fire for change, Basically, he's just ready to get things done. Who is taking meetings with non partisan environmentalists? I do think that there is a lot of hope and the time is right now. There is not a better time to redirect this issue because the environment, like so many important issues of our time, should not be an issue that is dominated only by one side. And we should not let these hypocritical, insane attention whores control something that impacts all of us every single day.

Benji Bakker (27:01)

I believe that we can reclaim that term as people who care about the environment, who want to conserve it in a smart way for future generations. No matter if you hunt, you fish, you ski, you take care of a farm, you ranch, we all have a connection to nature that is undeniable. That makes you an environmentalist, or at least it used to. And it should. Again, this is an American identity, cultural opportunity to reclaim something that we all share, make it something that's all American again and make it about the environment again. Make environmentalism about the environment again.

Brett Cooper (27:32)

And as Benji says, this should not even be a political issue. This should be a nonpartisan point of American pride. And in 2025, I think we can get back to that. And the first thing we have to do is taking back the power from those insane protesters.