The phrase "Green Industrial Complex," of course, is a play on "military industrial complex," which President Dwight Eisenhower warned against in his Farewell Speech of January 17, 1961.
And so for Brendan O'Neill to rework Eisenhower's phrase now, in 2009, not about the military and defense contractors, but rather about environmentalists, such as Al Gore, and environmental contractors, such as Jeff Immelt's General Electric is both provocative and evocative.
Ike's speech, of course, set in motion decades of additional scrutiny of the MIC, as critics took Ike's warning seriously. We'll have to see what happens with the GIC, of course, but here's a prediction: If the enviros keep trying to raise unemployment at a time when people are hurting, there will be a big backlash.
Of course, you won't hear about it on MSNBC.
Photo illustration credit: Jim Hubbell.
