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Why Bullets are Good for the Environment

2017-08-04 · explainer · Hank, Michael, Ceri, Brit · 3:56 · watch on YouTube

Topic: US politics & society · mode: Explainer · tags: self promotion, guest or collab

Hank explains the 1937 Pittman-Robertson Act, which funds wildlife management and land conservation from a tax on guns and ammunition: fear-driven gun buying under Obama raised its revenue from $310 million to over $800 million, so a Republican president is, weirdly, worse for conservation. He then plugs DFTBA Games' ROLF Kickstarter and VidCon Australia.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Why a Republican president is worse for conservation; both parties like resource extraction

  • ★★★ Hank says that, for a really weird reason, it is worse for conservation to have a Republican in the White House than a Democrat. — 00:00:02 · Republican Party
  • ★★ Hank rejects the idea that Republicans simply hate the environment: it is more complicated than that. — 00:00:11 · Republican Party
  • ★★ Hank says both parties like resource extraction because it keeps energy prices low and makes the US less dependent on other countries. — 00:00:17 · United States
  • ★★ Hank says President Obama did a great job of keeping gas and energy prices low by having a lot of fracking happen in America. — 00:00:23 · Barack Obama, United States

00:00:28 — The Pittman-Robertson Act: a 1937 tax on guns and ammunition for wildlife and land

  • ★★ Hank says conservative people in the US are very much into land conservation, which they use for hunting, fishing and other recreation. — 00:00:28 · United States
  • ★★ Hank says their dad was the Florida state director of the Nature Conservancy, which is how he knows about an obscure law. — 00:00:36 · Mike Green, Florida
  • ★★★ Hank says the Pittman-Robertson Act, an obscure but popular law named after the two senators who thought it up, was signed into law by FDR in 1937. — 00:00:47
  • ★★★ Hank explains the idea: America had much open space, unlike Europe, but was growing fast, so existing revenue from a tax on guns and bullets would go to managing wildlife and conserving land. — 00:00:53 · United States, Europe
  • ★★ Hank says that in 1937 people bought guns mainly to hunt, so the tax effectively taxed hunters to protect land for them and keep hunting from becoming a rich person's sport as in England. — 00:01:14 · England

00:01:34 — Fear-driven gun buying under Obama tripled conservation money; fewer hunters; give to land trusts

  • ★★★ Hank says guns and ammo are now bought for more reasons, and one of the biggest is fear of soon being unable to buy certain guns or ammunition at all. — 00:01:34
  • ★★★ Hank says that, driven by this limited-time fear, Pittman-Robertson revenue rose during Obama's eight years from $310 million to a peak of over $800 million, giving states three times more conservation money. — 00:01:55 · Barack Obama
  • ★★ Hank says states even had a hard time spending all the money; much went to local and national land trusts to buy land that must be open to hunters but is closed to development. — 00:02:09
  • ★★ Hank says that as Pittman-Robertson revenue has risen, the number of licensed hunters has fallen, so it protects wildlife that is hunted less and less. — 00:02:22
  • ★★ Hank says nobody dislikes this: gun buyers, even non-hunters, are proud to support hunters, and supporters of more gun regulation are probably happy that more land is conserved. (hedged) — 00:02:33
  • ★★ Hank counts himself among people who might be in favour of more gun regulation in America. (hedged) — 00:02:39 · United States
  • ★★★ Hank says the best way to support conservation is to donate to a local land trust rather than buy a bunch of bullets. — 00:02:47
  • ★★★ Hank finds it fascinating and weird that a surge in gun and ammunition buying, driven by fear of the president of the time, did amazing things for wildlife conservation over eight years. — 00:02:53

00:03:10 — John's text, DFTBA Games' ROLF Kickstarter, VidCon Australia coupon code

  • ★ John texted Hank that he had forgotten Hank is CEO of a board game company and that he is hilarious and amazing; Hank is not sure he is the CEO, just helps make it work. (playful, unsure) — 00:03:10 · John Green
  • ★★★ Hank announces ROLF, a new silly party game from DFTBA Games, on Kickstarter for the next 24 days or so; it has already reached its goal, so it will be made. (hedged) — 00:03:20 · ROLF, Kickstarter
  • ★★ Hank says John can't come to VidCon Australia, but he will be there. — 00:03:32 · John Green
  • ★★ Hank offers viewers near or in Melbourne the coupon code 'Hank' for VidCon Australia and looks forward to seeing those who come. — 00:03:35

00:03:42 — Sign-off and outtake of Hank and friends playing ROLF

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: hunting · Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act · ROLF · wildlife conservation

Also: People: Barack Obama · Brit · Ceri · Franklin Delano Roosevelt · Michael · Mike Green

Projects: DFTBA Games · VidCon Australia

Organizations: Democratic Party · Kickstarter · Republican Party · The Nature Conservancy · White House

Concepts: gun control · hydraulic fracturing

Places: England · Europe · Florida · Melbourne · United States

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