Three Stages of Environmental Politics
by Dr. Doug La Follette
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The first Earth Day in 1970 and the modern environmental movement were
born out of the crises of the 1960s. They were motivated by an aversion to
choking on the air we breathe, being poisoned by the water we drink, and
burying ourselves in the garbage we discard.
Reflecting on the past 25 years of environmental politics in this
country I would break this brief history into three stages. The first,
which I call the "big chunks period", was our response to the obvious
environmental insults that inspired the first Earth Day. The now-famous
story of the Cuyahoga River which caught fire in Cleveland, the infamous
weekend in Pittsburgh when 26 people died as a result of air
pollution-related illness, the "fishless" Fox River in Wisconsin, and dozens
of similar incidents around the nation attracted the attention of a great
many people and, eventually, their political "followers". After the 25 year
growth and development fling following WWII, the black smokestacks, smelly
garbage dumps and polluted rivers ushered in the "big chunks period" which
was highlighted by Earth Day 1970.
The response to this realization was some environmental awareness and
some action to deal with the most obvious insults to Planet Earth. Clean
Air, Water and Superfund Acts were passed by Congress, and the Environmental
Protection Agency was created. Most politicians learned to pronounce the
word environment and school children made posters encouraging recycling and
started asking their parents a few tough questions.
All this resulted in some very positive changes. Great strides were
made in cleaning up so called "point sources"; black soot from coal burning
power plants, foul wastes from industrial outfalls and untreated sewage
entering our waterways all became a thing of the past, or at least illegal
activities. Garbage dumps have been replaced with sanitary landfills, and
to some extent, by recycling. The nation=92s symbol, the Bald Eagle, is on
the way to recovery and wolves have been introduced into the Yellowstone
biota, although western politicos make hay with some voters by introducing
bills to pay bounties on these endangered creatures. Still, with some fear
of being labeled a Pollyanna, I think we can acknowledge that most of the
"big chunks" are gone.
However, after a decade of post-Earth Day activities, many of us came
to appreciate that really saving our environment was not going to be so
easy. Band-Aid measures, political rhetoric, ineffective regulatory
agencies, and a lack of public appreciation of environmental ethics have
been the legacy of the 1980s. In short, we had all hoped for "painless"
solutions to serious systemic problems.
The black smoke may be gone, but the invisible gases, CO2 and SO2, are
causing the planet-threatening crises of global warming and acid rain.
Fish have returned to our lakes and streams, but we are warned not to eat
them because of high levels of toxins such as mercury, PCBs and a host of
other human-made poisons. Some of these may be radically disrupting the
reproductive systems of fish, birds and, of course, ourselves. Most
disturbing, the underlying cause of all environments impacts, a rapidly
expanding human population, goes on unchecked, and for the most part
undiscussed. In 1970 the Earth=92s human population stood at 3.8 billion and
was increasing at the rate of 2 per second. Today we have reached the
unsustainable level of 5.6 billion and are blithely adding to this number to
the tune of 3 per second. (A number of international biologists have
estimated that the Earth can sustainably support fewer that 2 billion
people.)
The almost universal realization that things are not getting better,
along with impatience over neglect on the part of governments and polluting
corporations, led citizens in 140 countries across the planet to come
together on April 22, 1990, to focus on what we had come to realize since
the first Earth Day. This was the defining point in the second period of
recent environmental history, what I call the "it ain=92t as simple as we
thought" stage. During this period, a growing number of people started
articulating the belief that our survival will depend on both our
understanding of the necessity of true ecological thinking and on our
ability to take personal and political action to change the value system
that puts profit, convenience and short-term thinking before environmental
preservation.
Learning to appreciate that we occupy a very small niche in the
ecology of nature; that we cannot continue to pollute our finite world and
destroy other species and their habitats; that we are just one interrelated
link in a complex system of living things; and that we are totally dependent
on our environment for our survival comes as a rude awakening to many
people. Change frightens most people, especially those who are getting rich
exploiting our finite resources for very short term gain. The recognition
that "growth" cannot continue and that there must be serious limits to human
activity is a paradigm shift many refuse to accept.
Saying NO to polluting projects, products and technologies is a far
better solution than trying to "clean up" expensive and life-endangering
messes after they have been created. This idea upsets both the polluting
industries and the regulatory systems they have learned to manipulate or buy
off. Suggesting that the over-consuming first world nations cut back and
learn to find happiness in something other than more and more electric toys,
diet dog food and second homes on 5 acre lots upsets those "in power". And
finally, telling people that they should consider having no more than one
child per family is not the way to get elected to high office.
The general public=92s reluctance to change has allowed the powerful
corporate interests to be quite successful in creating an anti-environmental
mood in the country. This is the third and current stage=97"the backlash".
Funded with big money from mining, timber, oil and chemical industries and
aided by the superficial natterings of the "Rush" and "Newt" crowds, those
who profit from the status quo have succeeded in creating an effective
backlash to 20 years of progress in environmental protection. They have set
up numerous front organizations which publish a steady flow of articles and
books with no peer review and employ a few vocal scientists who travel the
lecture and talk show circuit.
What will follow this "Backlash=92 Period? The "new wave" thinking in
Congress is trying to scrap 20 years of meaningful progress and sell off
our national parks and forests to the highest bidder. The anti-government
mood is running high in this country, but recent polls show that large
majorities of the public still favor protecting the environment. How will
this schism between public opinion and corporate financed politicians turn
out? Will the "backlash" fade or will money and influence carry the day?
These are the critical questions of the Politics of Our Environment, the
answers to which may determine our very survival.
People in their neighborhoods, in their communities and in their
nations must take an active role in responding to these questions. They
will have to inform themselves and then come together and commit to
protecting and preserving the planet Earth. Some of the most important
environmental challenges of our time are going to be won or lost during the
next ten years. If we are successful, the next stage of environmental
history can be a safe and healthy environment for our children and
grandchildren. A sustainable society that embraces a true environmental
ethic. The final stage.
"I believe that public officials, scientists, and scholars hold a special
responsibility in today's world of dwindling resources, environmental
crises, and an uncertain economy. We must speak out on the impact of
science and technology on society."
-- Doug La Follette
Dear co-inhabitors of earth, Several organizations asked me to write an
article for Earth Day 96 from my propective as: an organizer of the first
E-Day in 1970 and several since, including the "big one" in 1990; a former
academic turned elected official; author of "The Survival Handbook - A
Strategy For Saving Planet Earth"; a founder of a major statewide
environmental organization; and an observer and speaker on the subject of
our environment and politics for the past 26 years. I share it with you
because I feel we need to combine all our thoughts, ideas and efforts if we
are going to save what's left of our natural environment. I welcome your
thoughts and comments. Thanks, Doug
(feel free to publish it and/or pass it on to others for their input)
Secretary of State-WI
Box 7848, Madison, WI 53707
608-266-8888,fax-608266-3159
dlafolle@ix.netcom.com
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Ancha Srinivasan Ph.D. (Cambridge)
Senior Researcher, Regional Science Institute
4-13 Kita 24 Nishi 2, Kita-ku, Sapporo 001 JAPAN
Tel: +81-11-717-6660 (Office) +81-11-824-4753 (Home)
Fax: +81-11-757-3610 (Office) +81-11-824-4753 (Home)
E-mail: ancha@vtt.co.jp
URL: http://www.vtt.co.jp/staff/ancha/
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