Fear: it's as American as freedom fries these days, and the Right isn't afraid to manipulate you with it. Anger and fear are good motivators, like it or not, and violence is oft cited as effectively "sending a message." Should environmentalists be focusing more energies on scare tactics, or is there a more effective way to tackle long-term problems? In a five-part series on Grist's blog, David Roberts considers where fear intersects with environmentalism, and whether reason, compassion, forbearance, and selflessness can hold their own.