As a country, Russia's primary source of income comes from its oil exports. It stands to reason, then, that Vladimir Putin would do everything he can to stop other countries from producing oil and competing with his country's market share.
In this way, Putin and the American environmental lobby have shared interests. Both want to stop American oil and gas companies from extracting oil, and environmentalists have often been unknowing pawns in Russia's schemes.
New reporting by a variety of outlets and politicians has started to show just how deep the ties are between Russian and environmentalists. For years, Russia has used shell companies and organizations to funnel money into the environmental lobby, and large lobbying groups like he Sierra Club and the Center for American Progress have received millions from these companies, according to the Daily Wire.
The Sierra Club has turned around and used that money to support federal politicians in Washington. They spent $3.7 million in 2020 to elect Joe Biden and his allies because they know that Washington controls the country's environmental policy. Washington has the power to ban fracking, to prohibit oil drilling, and to force Americans to use "green energy."
Imagine for a moment if power was de-centralized away from Washington. Imagine if Putin and the Sierra Club had to spend money in all 50 states to try to accomplish their aims. It would be virtually impossible. They wouldn't have the money or the resources to control policy in all 50 states, and Putin would be unable to so easily influence energy policy in our country.
Centralizing power in Washington is dangerous for a host of reasons, but one of the scariest is that very few people wield a vast amount of influence. If a foreign enemy can control those people, they can control our country.
Washington will never decentralize power willingly. That's why the states have to do it for them with an Article V Convention of States. A Convention of States has the power to propose constitutional amendments that limit federal power across the board and return that power where it belongs: with the states and the people.
