 |
www.hopedance.org
|
| <back | home Not dead yet— Local environmentalists respond to 'death rhetoric' by Stacey Warde Locally [in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo], responses were mixed to claims that environmentalism is dead. Environmental activists who work in the trenches were amused, if not outraged, at claims that the movement had died. “It is a complicated question that requires a complicated answer,” responded Robert Ferris, executive director of the Community Environmental Council in Santa Barbara (www.communityenvironmentalcouncil.org). “Is Environmentalism Dead? No, not in the hearts and minds of most Americans who value clear air, drinkable waters and open space. But it is so buried on the political landscape by irrelevant ethical chatter that it is hard to see its heartbeat.” Hunting for a solution Mandy Davis of Morro Bay is spearheading a campaign to limit hunting in the Morro Bay National Estuary. Until recently, she was offering eco-tours out of the marina. Within days after introducing her petition to restrict hunting in the estuary, she was informed that she would no longer be allowed to launch from the marina. She’s paid a price for her environmental activism. “I moved here from Colorado, where people hunted on my property. I grew up hunting,” she said. In the wild, away from populated areas, hunting made more sense, even though Davis doesn’t “think there’s anything particularly sporting about hunting.” When she moved to Morro Bay, she was mind-boggled that so many people “were hunting so close to the city limits.” “I’m on that estuary every day. I can see how stressed the wild life is” from the hunting. “Personally, I don’t think it’s appropriate to hunt on a national estuary. I love the critters out there, and when I see what it does to them, I think, “God dang it, give them a break!” To accomplish this goal, she’s pursued a strategy of compromise. Instead of an outright ban on hunting, she wants to limit access. Werbach’s speech claiming that environmentalism is dead, she said, “was so radical. It was really well done, but I think it went too far. It’s not really a death of environmentalism, but a reinvention of environmentalism. “It was easy to see past some of the extremity of the speech and to see the meat of it,” which is getting people to come together on shared values, which she hopes to accomplish with her hunting petition. Werbach’s speech “made me look more closely at what I’m doing. Am I doing the right thing?” If it’s dead, why am I so busy? Pam Heatherington, executive director of ECOSLO, was less enthusiastic. “If environmentalism is dead, then why am I so busy? I wouldn’t say it’s dead because there are a lot of people who are still fighting the fight.” What Werbach and others seem to be offering, says Heatherington, is simply chucking the “environmentalist” moniker, and making friends with industry, which has shown little interest in scaling back its impact on the environment. “It would be interesting to see how many of these people (claiming that environmentalism is dead) have actually worked on individual projects” to protect the environment. No, it’s not dead Joe Racano is an environmentalist who arrived on the Central Coast Nov. 22, 2004, to save “one of the most beautiful watersheds (Morro Bay Estuary) in the world from one of the most savage assaults on a watershed anywhere in the world.” He spends his days writing letters and campaigning against waivers (stopthewaiver.com) that permit the degradation of the estuary, and infringements on habitats like that of the Snowy Plover (which he says are, in effect, “direct attacks on the Endangered Species Act”). Racano disagrees vehemently with Werbach’s assessment of the environmental movement and of its need to form alliances. Racano thinks it’s wrong to tell young people who are putting their lives on the line for the environment that what they are doing doesn’t matter, that environmentalism is dead.” There’s a huge battle going on right now in Fern Gully. There is activism, it’s alive and it’s kicking,” and it’s not some pretty speech given at the Commonwealth Club. “I’m hard pressed when someone tries to tell me that everything I’m doing with every breath of my being isn’t having an impact or doesn’t matter. The only things that slowed the environmental movement down, are organizations like he’s (Werbach) pushing. Grass roots works, this don’t.” ? Letter to Editor In the article Environmentalism is dead, the argument is made for ending single issue activism. Since I work in the environmental field, I realize the difficulties some people would have in this transition. As much as “liberals” and progressives want change, I have met quite a few that are comfortable in their ways. After I read the article I saw that we needed to group all of the progressive issues into one umbrella group. Universal health care, ecology, education, better democracy, peace, decentralization, equal rights, and campaign-finance reforms are issues that not just progressives, but most Americans want. Who doesn’t want clean air to breathe? Who doesn’t want clean water to drink? Who wants expensive health care? Who wants a world where corporations make the decisions for “we the people”? Why is the media afraid of the G-word? No, not “Gilgamesh”. I mean the Green Party. Why do most publications ignore the Green party? Why don’t progressive authors make the connection between the Greens and a progressive political group? We are labeled as “extremists, hippies, punks, spoilers, and communists”. Call us “radicals” maybe, but we try to work within the current system to work for reforms in society. Is it because we chose a different route than the Democrats, for we reject corporate control of our lives and our political system? The Green Party’s major platforms are ecology & Earth stewardship, social justice & livable communities, peace & nonviolence, democracy & electoral reform, and community-based sustainable economics. Not to mention, they are the only large political party that does not take campaign contributions or lobby group money. If that isn’t the perfect umbrella group for progressives, I don’t know what is! And all you have to do is register to vote. The Greens want an open democracy where more political parties can participate in the political system. We are calling for a unity of diversity. The best part about the Green party is that they have regular local meetings where you, as a registered citizen, can participate in changing the decisions that affect your life. Please come join us. Ryan LaPorte www.slo.greens.org Letter to Editor Is the environmental movement dead? Clearly. The cataclysmic collapse conjured by block-buster imagery has failed to unfold. Our dire warnings of the past four decades have resulted not in the end of the world, but in the end of our credibility. The movement’s message is high on guilt and low on actionable strategies. It is no accident that one of the clearest environmental messages is coming not from environmentalists, but from the building industry. Instead of wrestling with guilt, it has focused on measurable solutions. Spearheaded by the USGBC’s LEED system, the green building movement has experienced exponential growth. That doesn’t mean that they have it right. LEED is clunky and disjointed, with an over-emphasis on complex, high-tech solutions. The threat of greenwashing is real. But it has gotten the discussion of sustainability on the table for the first time with building owners and developers, designers and contractors, and is making a difference. There are a few key lessons that can be drawn from the green building movement. First, it started with what is-industry practice, market pressures, economic realities. Second, it reached out for the participation of all stakeholder groups in order to claim legitimacy across the industry. Third, it translated environmental objectives into the language of what people care about-money, health, children, etc. And most importantly, it honors the role of humans, and look for ways to improve quality of life at lower environmental cost. Guilt and doom are not compelling motivators. Messages of hope accompanied by achievable steps toward right action are what will resonate. Whether our path is to create small-scale functioning sustainable human settlements, or to steer the majority toward sustainability, the first step is to stop wringing our hands and feeling ashamed of our species. That shift should allow us to move beyond single-issue activism and form more meaningful coalitions. As permaculture teaches, we create stability not just through the collection of elements within our movement, but through the diversity of functional relationships within it. A broad perspective, rigorous observation and creative strategies for meeting our needs with existing resources are needed in the mainstream as well as on the fringes. Because at the end of the day, the death of the environmental movement is irrelevant. What matters is that we find new ways to put our shoulders to it and do good work. Heather Rosenberg Sustainability Consultant CTG Energetics, Inc. www.ctgenergetics.com <back | top^ |