Project Teddy: Conserving Our Environment

‍“There is a delight in the hardy life of the open. There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm. The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value.”

- Speech by Theodore Roosevelt in Osawatomie, Kansas, August 31, 1910.

We hold that conservation is a key part of conservatism. For many years, Republicans have been viewed as “climate deniers,” this is simply not true. You’d be hard pressed to find a Republican that doesn’t view ecological destruction as a genuine issue. Conservation has been an important issue to conservatives since the mid-19th Century. Democrats originally stalled the installation of the Department of the Interior, eventually losing the vote to the Whigs 31-25. Later, President Teddy Roosevelt, whom this project is named after, set many of these movements in motion. After becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used his authority to establish 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, four national game preserves, five national parks and 18 national monuments on over 230 million acres of public land. Moreover, Republican President Richard Nixon founded the EPA in 1970.

We’ve made great strides to invest in technologies that remove the majority of harmful pollutants from industrial manufacturing, reuse and recycle non-biodegradable products (unfortunately not so much on the reducing side), and advocate for nuclear alternatives to fossil fuels. The College Republicans believe, however, that our party has not done enough to get our hands dirty to clean up our environment ourselves. Going forward, the College Republicans will make a genuine effort to host regional community service events to clean up our beaches, lakes, forests, and rivers. Many of our College Republicans already do this at the local level, but we want to think bigger and make a national impact by helping to conserve Mother Earth.

You can help us in this effort by donating to help cover the costs of meals and travel for our students. Many students struggle financially and we would greatly appreciate your financial support of our student volunteers that are helping to clean up our ecosystems.

Please consider donating even just a few dollars to support a student volunteer and be a part of Project Teddy by clicking the link below to visit our secure donation portal:.