What Bobby Said: In a Rare Uncut Video Clip, RFK Jr. Rails Against Big Polluters
As Earth Day turns fifty-four, we celebrate Kennedy’s environmental legacy
By Leah Watson, The Kennedy Beacon
In an uncut 2014 interview with former Republican political aide Marc Morano, Kennedy stands near Columbus Circle in New York City, on Earth Day, at the People’s Climate March. He reflects on the evolution of the environmental movement and rails against big polluters.
“I remember what it was like then,” says an animated Kennedy, referring to the first Earth Day in 1970, also in NYC. “The Lake Erie was declared dead, the Cuyahoga River was burning, the Santa Barbara oil spill had destroyed the beaches in Southern California,” says an animated Kennedy.
Kennedy recalls how there was little hope that things would change. However, the creation of “Earth Day” inspired some 20 million Americans to take to the streets and protest against pollutants, oil spills, and factory emissions in an effort to protect and preserve the planet.
“Over the next 10 years we passed 28 major environmental laws in this country that protect our air, water, wildlife, fisheries [and] public lands,” Kennedy tells Morano.
Kennedy grows passionate and angry when asked about big polluters, expressing disdain for large polluters, including companies like Shell, Exxon, and Chevron. He’s especially irate about the Koch brothers, accusing them of feeding millions of dollars into the political process so that in return, politicians do the Koch brothers’ bidding and promote climate crisis skepticism. When asked about ‘skeptic’ politicians, Kennedy calls such people “contemptible human beings” and says he wishes there was an existing law that could punish them.
Since then, Kennedy has re-thought some of his views on the environment and climate change.
“Having seen what happened with COVID, if I had known that back then I probably would not have made that speech,” said Kennedy in an interview on ReasonTV with Nick Gillespie and Zach Weissmueller.
“There's a lot of things that I know now, that I think the issue is more complex today than it seemingly was at that point,” said Kennedy, expressing regret about statements he made in 2014.
In a recent interview with Politico, Kennedy spoke about creating a climate policy that “makes sense to skeptics and activists alike.” He also told Politico that he wants to roll back President Biden’s climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, which is funding carbon capture projects supported by the fossil fuel industry.
Still, Kennedy remains committed to the environment. His chief environmental policy concerns include ending the corporate capture of environmental regulatory agencies (including the EPA and USDA); reducing toxic chemical pollution and plastic waste; and protecting rivers, forests, fisheries, and wildlife habitats from corporate abuse.
I've been an environmental lawyer for 40 years and fully support Bobby. He has adopted a reasonable centrist position on Climate Change. The idea that we have to act by 2030 or even 2050 to avoid doom is environmental extremism fear-mongering. We dont undestand the complexity of the earth's climate. this doesnt mean we dont take action but it has to be measured so we dont destroy our economy and displace millions of people into poverty.
moreover, there are more urgent environment problems facing this country and the world such as unsafe drinking water. if these environmental issues are not fixed now, millions of people wont be around to worry about the climate point of no return.
You misunderstand his position. He states the Democrat party carbon policies are false narratives. The remedy is restoring free markets over corporate cronyism. When forced to compete corporations will be more efficient with natural resources. Secondly plant trees as that is the best carbon reducing strategy. In Scotland the narrative has us clearing out old growth forests (timber companies)and replacing the forests with windmills ( corporate new energy cronyism). All in the name of being green but not really green at all.