Anthony, you either don't understand what you wrote, or are being disingenuous. You contrasted two so-called models of capitalism. One version -- the enlightened one in your mind -- produced Bandon Dunes. You said it "should be encouraged in all areas of business or public enterprise."
Then there's your other version of capitalism. It runs "roughshod over the competition, unions, federal regulations and the environment." You said that in it "people get to make what they want free of any government oversight or consideration of the long-term impact on our planet..."
Fine, use "roughshod" instead of "rape." More nonsense semantics on your part.
Jim, I understand perfectly what I wrote. The subtext was provided by Steven Goodwin the author. I have provided the alternative narrative. Let's be clear here, I'm not accusing Mike Keiser of entering the project with the intention of razing this property and making it conform to his wishes ('accidental' gorse fire not withstanding). The fact that he made $100 million out recycled greeting cards at a time when sustainable business models were not all the rage indicates to me that he probably sees himself as more of a steward of the environment that the average pro-business Republican. Protecting our environment wouldn't even be an political issue if certain politicians hadn't decided they want act as sock puppets for the coal, oil and gas industries.
If you're not currently in the employ of Exxon Mobil or the Koch Brothers, you should be able to see the way we live on this planet is unsustainable. One of two things is going to happen: The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere will cause such catastrophic climate change that it will completely disrupt society and the commercial activity that supports it; or we will run out of fossil fuels before we have the infrastructure and distributions systems in place to move seamlessly into a world powered by renewable resources.
I have no idea of what the total carbon footprint of the Bandon Dunes resort is... Due to its unforeseen rise as a golfing destination, its remote locale actually counts against... I could easily imagine a scenario where Mike Keiser installs 15-20 acres of solar and takes the resort off the grid. However, the amount of CO2 emissions created by those traveling to the resort means that every resort guest would need to purchase carbon offsets for their travel for Bandon Dunes to be considered a sustainable enterprise.
Instead of arguing the toss about this, perhaps that is some the GCA community might be interested in doing. Before you post anything related to your visit at Bandon Dunes, you have to purchase carbon offsets for your travel to the resort.