Eco-Activists
• Framing
• skepticism about technology,
capitalism, deep ecology
• Mobilization
• grassroots
• no compromise
• Tactics
• direct action, mobilization
• Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben
Eco-Modernists
• Framing
• don’t talk about Env.
• emphasis on innovation
• Mobilization
• Be smart politically
• emphasis on kitchen table issues
• Tactics
• play politics
• Shellenberg and Nordhaus
(aka, the reapers)
POLITE REVOLUTION THAT FAILED
• insider “grand coalition” strategy
• Technocratic solutions – cap and trade, preemption
of EPA regulation of carbon
• Grasstops/insider lobbying strategy
• Design to Win- $250 million in foundation $
• No grassroots pressure
• Harry Reid “where are the college students”
• Emanuel, the climate bill simply needed more bipartisan
support. “This is a real big game, and you’ve got to wear
your big-boy pants.”
• Obama, my legacy is ..... Health Care!
IMPLICATION
•
•
•
•
Grassroots mobilization
Progressive partnerships
Diverse funding
Tough legislation
• would have provided comparable political pressure
on President, Senate to act
COUNTERFACTUAL
2,000
SHALLOW ROOTS
• what if American support for environmental causes
is a mile wide and 6” deep?
• save the planet bumper sticker on SUV
SINCE THE FIRST EARTH DAY WAS HELD 30 YEARS
AGO, HOW MUCH PROGRESS– IF ANY– HAS BEEN
MADE TOWARD SOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS: MAJOR PROGRESS, MINOR PROGRESS,
OR NO PROGRESS, OR HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS ACTUALLY GOTTEN WORSE?
60
52
50
40
30
20
18
16
7
10
0
Major
Progress
Minor
Progress
No Progress
Gotten
Worse
rP
ol
W
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at
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WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU THINK
IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEM FACING THE WORLD TODAY? IS IT…
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
19
19
17
13
12
5
8
3
4
IN GENERAL, HOW IMPORTANT ARE
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN DETERMINING YOUR
VOTE FOR MAJOR POLITICAL OFFICES? ARE A
POLITICAL CANDIDATE’S POSITIONS ON
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES VERY IMPORTANT,
SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT, NOT TOO IMPORTANT, OR
NOT AT ALL IMPORTANT IN DETERMINING YOUR
VOTE?
32
19
ic
an
s
l
Re
bu
bl
41
34
Very Important
Somewhat
Important
42
40
De
m
oc
ra
ts
In
de
pe
nd
en
ts
46
41
Al
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
ENVIRONMENT INC
• Sunday, April 22: Price of power
• A century after John Muir served as the Sierra Club's first
president, environmental groups have successfully
traded on his legacy, becoming bigger and richer than
ever before. But in their quest for power and money,
have they cashed in their tradition?
• Monday, April 23: Cause or commerce?
• When you give $20 to an environmental organization,
you expect it to go toward protecting the environment.
But creative accounting hides the myriad ways groups
can fold a hefty chunk of that donation back into their
fund raising and bureaucracy.
• As a grass-roots conservationist from Oregon, Jack
Shipley looked forward to his visit to Washington,
D.C., to promote a community-based forest
management plan. But when he stepped into the
national headquarters of The Wilderness Society, his
excitement turned to unease."It was like a giant
corporation," Shipley said. "Floor after floor after
floor, just like Exxon or AT&T."
BOSSO’S BIG 3
• Why did environmental organizations seem to go so
mainstream? How?
• Why did so many groups appear to follow similar
courses?
• Did the environmental movement somehow sold
out?
• population ecology model
• competition for shared resources
• political opportunity structure
POPULATION ECOLOGY
ORIGINS OF ENVM MOVMENET
http://angeles2.sierraclub.org/about_u
s/chapter_history/great_leaders/leader
POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE
1950S-60S
POS
• Dependent on elite
support
• Loss of tax exempt
status
• No access to courts
• increasingly
marginalized by
government agencies
• No political clout
Implications
• develop natl
constituency
• enhance
organizational
capacity
POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE
• Why the explosion of groups between 1965-1975?
• Expansion of Standing
• Ford Foundation $  EDF, NRDC, Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund
(Earthjustice )
• Role of government
• 1950 = 0 lobbyists, 1971, 70 had a DC office, 13 groups have
lobbyists
• New issues
• pesticides, pollution, population control, nuclear power = new
organizations, new members
• Critical help from older organizations
• FOE League of Conservation Voters
• Popular support
• David Brower loss of non profit status = Sierra Club Foundation
POLITICAL CARRYING CAPACITY OF
POLITICAL SYSTEM EXPANDS
1972 ENV DANCE CARD IS FULL
MAPPING THE ENVIRONMENTAL
ADVOCACY COMMUNITY
• P. 70-73
• Keystone, sectoral, niche players
• Nature of niche players, Boutique
• Tactics- Sea Shepherd
• Issues- North American Wolf Society, Rainforest Action
Network
• Services- Environmental Working Group
• Implications for scope and range of environmental
movement
• http://marinebio.org/oceans/conservation/organiz
ations/
OCEAN
• Ocean Conservancy- science-based advocacy
• Oceana- international advocacy
• Ocean Futures Society- exploration of the ocean (videos and
books)
• Marine Conservation Biology Institute- ocean think tank, does
policy research to "frame the marine conservation agenda“
• Global Coral Reef Alliance:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SeaWeb- trains scientists
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society:
Seaflow- fights sonar
Marine Fish Conservation Network- umbrella fishing env group
American Estuary Fund
Surfrider Foundation
Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island (CRESLI)
REAGAN-POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY
STRUCTURE
• Marginalization/Rollbacks -Environmental Groups
• the erosion of federal funding,
• diminished access to powerful officials,
• decline in government-based scientific research
• Responses
• Financial self-sufficiency, mass membership, corporate
structures, professional leaders, "accelerated niche
positioning,"
• Evidence- p. 92, 97, 103, 106, 110
DOWIE’S CRITIQUE
• National movements
• have sold out- are driven by what will bring in
mailing $$ and not offend foundations.
• Professionals who worry about being respectable;
afraid of offending people
• Too Narrow,
• Focus is on legislative victories, rather than saving
the planet/doing what is right
• Too much compromise/not enough radicalism
PRE- 1994 POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
• Democrats control Congress, most state legislatures
and governorships.
• Republicans the White House.
• Environmental groups  DC focused environmental
community.
POST 1994 POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY
STRUCTURE
•
•
•
•
•
•
Presidency moderate- conservative
Environmental agenda  consensual goals
Budgetary/deficit politics major constraint
Real grassroots conservative populism in West
Significant economic/carbon opposition
Shallow public enthusiasm for environmental
• Environmental groups- “We are f_____”
COUNT THE TEETH!
• What is the Evidence for this?
• P. 92 staff of environmental groups- increase
steadily p
• P. 97 annual revenues have increased
• Biggest increases are for the land conservancy groups
• Need to diversify their funds p. 103 increase in fixed
assets; 103% broader this fiscal base the better.
• P. 106- example of sources of revenue
• P. 110 reduction in the % of revenues that come
from annual dues- way to ensure stability.
POST 2000 POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY
STRUCTURE
• Presidency moderate- conservative
• Environmental agenda  consensual goals
• Budgetary/deficit politics major constraint
• Enthusiasm gap
• Significant economic/carbon opposition
• Shallow public enthusiasm for environmental
• Environmental groups- “We are f_____”
• 350.org
DEAD? COUNT THE TEETH!
REBUILDING THE GRASSROOTS
•
•
•
•
List enhancement projects
Email Action Alert Systems
Scorecard.org
Future Activists
• LCV Education Fund
• Environmental Leadership Institute
• Sierra Club Illinois, Chicago Water Team, T. Wendell
• 350.org, Powershift, TarSands, Occupy the Climate
WHAT MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL
ACCOMPLISHMENT JUST HAPPENED?
AGENDA SETTING- PERMANENT
CAMPAIGN
• Angry Obama at White House Correspondents
Dinner
• https://youtu.be/G6NfRMv-4OY
• THE PRESIDENT: The science is clear. Nine of the ten hottest years
ever came in the last decade.
• LUTHER: Now, I’m not a scientist, but I do know how to count to 10.
(Laughter.)
• THE PRESIDENT: Rising seas, more violent storms.
• LUTHER: We’ve got mosquitos. Sweaty people on the train, stinking it up.
It’s just nasty.
• THE PRESIDENT: I mean, look at what’s happening right now. Every
serious scientist says we need to act. The Pentagon says it’s a national
security risk. Miami floods on a sunny day, and instead of doing
anything about it, we’ve got elected officials throwing snowballs in the
Senate!
• LUTHER: Okay, Mr. President. Okay, I think they’ve got it, bro.
• THE PRESIDENT: It is crazy! What about our kids? What kind of
stupid, shortsighted, irresponsible bull -- (Laughter and applause.)
• LUTHER: Wow! Hey! (Applause.)
• THE PRESIDENT: What?!
• LUTHER: All due respect, sir. You don’t need an anger translator.
(Laughter.) You need counseling.
AUDIENCE DRIVEN COMMUNICATIONS
• Focus group/media test to identify messages that
work
• Emphasis on images/anecdotes not science/policy
• Market segmentation
• Omni-directional lobbying
• Biodiversity Project has a successful history of
bringing together and facilitating diverse groups
with varied agendas to achieve common goals.
• We employ an audience-centric approach that
considers the specific values and beliefs of the
target audience.
• We have extensive experience creating a full range
of top-quality, cost-effective materials from full
exhibits and brochures to websites and
environmental beer coasters.
"WHAT HAS FIVE SIDES AND IS
TURNING GREEN?"
• “Assessments conducted by the intelligence
community indicate that climate change could
have significant geopolitical impacts around the
world, contributing to poverty, environmental
degradation, and the further weakening of fragile
governments. Climate change will contribute to
food and water scarcity, will increase the spread of
disease and may spur or exacerbate mass
migration.”
Pentagon, Quadrennial Defense Review 2010
PERMANENT CAMPAIGN
• 'Pipelines blow up and people die'
• http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/the-littlepipeline-agency-that-couldnt-117147.html
• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/opinion/adanger-on-rails.html
Threatened by climate change, Florida reportedly bans term ‘climate
change’ and “global warming” Washington Post March 9
• Blue Men Group http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsGWpQxMx0k
• •Train-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_LBXWMCAM
• Tick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU7BO35n47I&
feature=related
• Human Lifehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMNu68gsAPA
&feature=related
• •59thStreet Bridge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA0nza5WL_s&
feature=user
• Evangelicals and Climate
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeFZx3nD8GY
PLAY PARTISAN POLITICS
• Nader and the Green Party 2000
• Florida, Nader received 97,421 votes,
• George W. Bush defeated Al Gore by 537 votes.
• #thanks Everglade activists x Homeland Air force base
• Environmental Movement is part of the Democratic
Party
• Targeting of congressional races
• Independent expenditures
• Campaigning
• LCV
• Harry Reid
• 328 votes
LCV
“SINCE 1996, MORE THAN 60 PERCENT OF THE
DIRTY DOZEN HAVE BEEN DEFEATED”
LCV CLIMATE CHAMPS”
• Senator Al Franken (Minnesota) filed an amendment to bolster the
resilience of communities, the electric grid, fishing, agriculture, and
forestry to human-induced climate change. (No Action Taken)
• LCV Latino Outreach Program- As we celebrate Cesar Chavez Day
on March 31st, it's important to honor the legacy of this farm worker,
labor leader, and civil rights activist who lived by the mantra of ¡Si Se
Puede!
LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS
• $2 million against Romney
• $8 million for Ds in Senate
• $3 million against flat earth 5
WHY DO WE WORK SO HARD?
CADILLAC AND FORD HAVE VERY
DIFFERENT ANSWERS
• http://grist.org/list/why-do-we-work-so-hardcadillac-and-ford-have-very-different-answers
LIMITS
• Political culture
• Agenda is contested
• Corporations have more cash
GREEN DRIFT