Environmentalists must alter tactics
“When you look at the string (of) global warming defeats under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, it is hard not to conclude that the environmental movement’s approach to problems and policies has not worked particularly well,” they wrote in a paper presented to an environmental donors conference last fall.
Global warming is accepted as a given in virtually every country except the US and Australia, with the governments of Europe and Japan actively looking for solutions. Therefore, the environmental movement has done fine elsewhere getting the global warming across. So, why is it different in the US? Because, I believe, by the insistence of the neocons that business must be allowed to obtain maximum profit at all times, and screw the consequences of their actions. And in this belief, Clinton was every bit a neocon too.
So, what’s their alternative? They argue that environmentalists should be working closely with business and political leaders to understand their views and jointly promote policies that will improve our air and water.
A far better tactic than this appeasement get-in-bed-with-the-wolf approach is what Rainforest Action Network does. Direct action. Yes, RAN works with the company – but only after after their direct actions and consequent negative publicity for the company forces the company to relent. And they’ve had many victories with this approach, which works far better than the dull inside the Beltway approach of tired enviros like the Sierra Club.