When an outfit announces that it is acting in "the public interest," the public is wise to be wary.
The phrase should set off mental yellow lights flashing, as should anything that has "social justice" in the title.
Often, such an organization is working to promote a liberal cause and any public interest will be subordinate to the interests of Big Government, Big Law or some other entity that is in the pursuit of wealth and/or power.
For example, look at how Big Environment has a cozy arrangement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/349111/enviro-fix
As the article explains, taxpayers -- the poor suckers who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of the "public interest" groups -- often get stuck with the legal tab, which is an incentive for green groups to sue at will.
Florida already has had a taste of this. Green groups filed suit claiming the state was not protecting water quality. Rather than contest the absurd claim, the EPA rolled over and capitulated. It then tried to seize control of the state waters.
By some estimates, the cost was likely to be near $50 billion. No body of water in the state would have met the new nutrient limits. One authority said 80 percent of the streams in Florida now designated pristine would have been declared polluted overnight and there was no known technology to meet the proposed standards.
The net result would have been a huge increase in water bills for state residents, probably without any discernible improvement in water quality.
To the state's credit, it fought the attempt, and won.
Another tactic is to use regulations that force entities to report violations of environmental rules to file phony lawsuits.
An example that probably is typical was when the city-owned electric utility in Jacksonville was sued by a green group a few years ago. Using information about wastewater discharges into the river that exceeded allowed limits (a fairly routine and usually harmless occurrence) that the utility had filed, the group cited this public record as "evidence" of harm.
Because it would have cost more to be tied up in courts for a long time, the utility just paid off the legal greenmail. The group pocketed the cash, moved on to another venue and sued someone else.
The public is perfectly capable of lookingafter its own true interests. That is best done at the nearest government level possible, when government action actually is necessary.
Everyone in Florida is in favor of protecting the environment. No one wants to foul his own nest.
But making the world safe for bugs and weeds at the expense of humans -- who, I often remind environmental wackos, are part of the environment -- is an endeavor that leaves liberals all warm and fuzzy, feeling noble and filled with self-esteem. The rest of us, not so much.
Lloyd Brown was in the newspaper business nearly 50 years, beginning as a copy boy and retiring as editorial page editor of the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville. After retirement he served as speech writer for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
