Beware the Green Police

I was speaking with Kalyeena Makortoff, the Grand Forks Gazette's youngest reporter, the other day about her experiences during and after a protest she was involved in on the UBC campus a few weeks ago. She discovered the difficulties one can have when confronting "the Man." That's my expression not hers; she would never use a Sixties term like "the Man."
Of course, whenever one confronts the prevailing authority of the day, one can expect to be received with less than kindness. In her case, she was arrested and thrown in the clink over night. In the Sixties in Illinois where I grew up, protesters were hit with clubs, bitten by dogs and then thrown in the clink over night. At least neither Kalyeena nor I were Tasered.
Prevailing authority doesn't have to be the police or government of course. It can consist merely of commonly held beliefs or opinions.
The problem is that when large numbers of people hold similar strong beliefs they reinforce one another's certainty that those beliefs are correct and absolute. The fervor with which those beliefs are held can be astonishing. I am not just referring to the obvious fanatics who blow themselves up for holy causes; one doesn't have to belong to an extreme religious sect to exhibit fervor.
An acquaintance of mine who drives a large diesel pick-up was confronted at a gas station by a young mother in a Smart Car who loudly proclaimed her disgust at his disregard for the planet.
While glancing at a fish display in Overwaitea, I was myself told by a woman in her thirties: "Don't you dare buy farmed salmon; they're killing all the real salmon."
Environmental issues have become rallying points for millions who may or may not really understand the issues but are certain that whatever changes might be taking place are bad and must be stopped because the consequences will be... well, no one is really sure, but they are bound to be disastrous. Terms like "extinction," "extermination," "death of the planet" are used to make sure the significance of potential ecological change is taken seriously.
I don't presume to know any more about the speed or direction of climate change than anyone else. Neither do I object in any way to the measures proposed by those who wish to keep earth as close to its present state as possible. I just hope that the environmentally concerned will not turn into some form of Green Police. I don't want to be beaten with a loaf of locally grown, organic nine-grain bread any more than I did a police baton.