As in so many regions of the North American heartland, small towns in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan are suffering.  Longtime residents who remember how their municipalities once thrived start looking for solutions, and along come the eco-quacks selling their snake oil.

And now the problems go from bad to worse.

Let what follows be a lesson to all that whenever the greeny-weenies come calling, slam the door firmly in their faces.  Hopefully, the tragedy that took place in the town of Craik can serve as a reminder to never, ever let the Greens near power at local, regional, national, or international scales.

Think ISIS is a threat to civilization?  The Greens are just as destructive.

Keep in mind that this is a story about a town of just 400 people in a rural farming area, but it could also be your town – no matter how big or small – if your community opens the door to these crackpots.

Recently the Eco-Centre in Craik burned to the ground.  The police have opened a file because of the blaze's suspicious nature.

As Jason Warwick writes in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix:

The Eco-Centre opened with great fanfare in July 2004. It was the brainchild of several members of Saskatchewan's environmental community.

Following a series of meetings, the town agreed to finance and operate the $600,000 facility ... Officials said a Vancouver company would soon build a $5-million hemp processing plant there ...

From the start, the Eco-Centre has been a money pit subsidized by Craik taxpayers ... The 6,000 square foot building featured straw bale insulation, wood from local elevators, solar power, recycled water and waste composting ... it was promoted as a sustainable way to revitalize rural Saskatchewan. Scores of tourists, researchers and permanent residents were expected to flock to the region. By most measures, that hasn't happened.

The Eco-Centre housed a restaurant, conference and teaching space and a clubhouse for the golf course. It was to be sustainable in every way -- financially, socially and ecologically[.] ... "We are going to be able to be a showcase for Saskatchewan," Craik's then-mayor, Rod Haugerud, said at the time[.] ...

The hemp company never came. Many homes have been abandoned or are visited only occasionally. One owner constructed a massive circular wall that was blown over recently by high winds. One long-vacant home was not vented properly by the owner when he was making some repairs. He died as a result[.] ...

The facility was built too close to the valley rim, particularly with the massive soil disturbance caused by its own geothermal system[.] ... Tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours have been spent trying to prevent slumping[.] ...

One would think this is more than enough Green-induced tragedy for any small town of only a few hundred to bear, but it gets worse.

The (trigger warning: severe oxymoron forthcoming) "Eco-Village experts" also recommended that the town of 400 build a $1-million "environmentally-friendly water filtration system."  It has never worked.  Six years and counting without safe drinking water in the town.  Elderly widows have been forced to install in-home water filtration systems that have cost more than $7,000 each.

These initiatives are all around us.  Go to your city hall and ask around.  It is guaranteed that some crank will be trying to sell you the same garbage as went on in Craik.

Then do as Nancy Reagan would recommend when any bad drug is pushed on you: just say no.