Conservatives Mock Conservation on Earth Day

"Trashcan Man" from Stephen King's
The Stand, would probably be considered
a "conservative" today.

I'm posting this not because I have some sort of particular interest in Earth Day, but because I'm genuinely curious as to what "conservatism" actually means. If you were going to be literal about it, conservative ought to denote a person interested in conservation, right? Conserving things ought to be conservative. And if you get a little more esoteric about it, it could mean keeping things the way they are, or conserving them. Or, it could even mean "tighter" or "more restrictive." So how does this relate to wasting energy? Why do arch-conservatives think it might be funny to waste energy on Earth Day? Yeah, I know that "punching the hippie" can be fun, even for the left, but how does wasting energy = conservatism? Somebody help me out here.

[Excerpt]

Right-Wing Media Celebrate Earth Day By Mocking Conservation



In the lead-up to Earth Day, members of the right-wing media have ridiculed conservation efforts and downplayed the concerns of environmentalists. This is nothing new for conservative media figures who have, in the past, used the Earth Day to attack conservationists by urging audiences to cut down trees and increase their energy consumption. . .
 
Read more at: Media Matters