From
Tree-Huggers
and
NIMBY's
to
Astroturf
and
Greenwashing
Politics and the
Environment
The Environment
• definitions
– circumstances or conditions that surround an
organism or group of organisms
– the complex of social or cultural conditions that
affect an individual or community
• for humans - our home - well suited to our
existence
– “man-made”
– natural world
•
•
•
•
•
plants
animals
earth
air
water
• sociological
• scientific
• Technological
Science
• characteristics
– objective (subject to the scientists
background)
– systematic
– precise (of known precision)
– creative
– insightful
– rational
Science
• “scientific method”
– no single method
– a pattern for how to examine things
– unassailable proof and truth are very rare
(if they exist at all)
– must document
Scientific Uncertainty
• always present
• goal: known range
– < 1%: extremely unlikely
– 1-10%: little chance, very unlikely
– 10-33%: some chance, unlikely
– 33-66%: medium likelihood
– 66-90%: likely, probable
– 90-99%: very likely, very probable
– > 99%: virtual certainty
(from: “Uncertain Science…Uncertain World,” Pollack, 2003)
Environmental Science
• Systematic study of the environment
and our place in it
• Characteristics
– scientific
– interdisciplinary
– mission-oriented
• explain the importance of the findings
• apply the science as a solution
Environmental Ethics
• Can the environment (or part of it) be treated
rightly or wrongly?
• Value: intrinsic vs. instumental
• Some Worldviews
–
–
–
–
–
–
domination
stewardship
ecocentric
animal rights
biocentric
ecofeminism
Roots of Environmentalism
• recognition of human impact
– deforestation
– soil erosion
– climate change
• characterization of Earth as a living
planet
Types of Environmentalism
• pragmatic resource conservation
– protect supplies of resources
– “for the greatest good, for the greatest
number for the longest time”
– develop and use
– utilitarian conservation
– US Forest Service
Types of Environmentalism
• moral and aesthetic nature
preservation
– nature for nature’s sake
– altruistic preservation
– US Park Service
Types of Environmentalism
• modern environmentalism
– concern for effects of pollution
• on humans
• on the environment
– activism
– research
– focus on local issues
– Earth Day - March 22, 1970
Types of Environmentalism
• global environmentalism
– “global village”
– concern for effects of
• population growth
• economic globalization
– global changes
• climate change
• biodiversity
• toxic colonialism
Environmental Economics
• The development cycle
– with decreasing availability, the cost
increases
– responses
• use declines
• money available for:
–
–
–
–
extraction of marginal resources
new types of extraction (technological response)
exploration for new deposits
importation
• more efficient use
• substitution of/replacement with another
resource
Environmental Economics
• Cost-benefit analysis
– compares
• costs and benefits of plan
• alternative plans (including doing nothing)
– provides hard numbers for a project
– difficulties
•
•
•
•
•
unforeseen costs & benefits
non-economic costs & benefits
indirect costs & benefits
intangibles
external costs
Environmental Issues
• Science
– indicates problems
• resource loss
• pollution
• global change
– indicates solutions
• technology
• best practices
– never 100% certain
– always need more research
Environmental Issues
• Environmental Ethics
– the role & responsibility of humans
• dominator
• caretaker
• partner
• Economics
– decision-making tool
– role of “invisible hand”
Environmental Issues
• Government
– roles
• responsible
caretaker
– trust doctrine
• arbiter between
– public
– science
– ethics
– economics
– business
– property owners
– methods
• “hands-on”
• “hands-off”
– models
• “power
politics”
• “rational
choice”
Federal Process
(U.S. Constitution)
• Article 1, section 8 (Congressional
powers):
– “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and
excises, to pay the debts and provide for the
common defense and general welfare of the U.S.;
but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be
uniform throughout the United States;”
– “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and
among the several states, and with the Indian
tribes;”
– “To make all laws which shall be necessary and
proper for the carrying into execution the
foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by
this constitution in the government of the United
States, or in any department of officer thereof.”
Federal Process
(U.S. Constitution)
• 5th amendment: “No person shall
be...deprived of life, liberty, or property
without due process of law; nor shall
private property be taken for public use
without just compensation”
– (14th amendment, section 1: extends 5th
amend. to states)
Federal Process
(U.S. Constitution)
• 9th amendment: “The enumeration in the
Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others
retained by the people”
• 10th amendment: “The powers not delegated
to the US by the constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the states are reserved to the states
respectively, or to the people.”
Government Actions
• Levels
– Federal
– State
– Local
• Branches
– Legislative
– Judicial
– Executive
Legislative (Statutory Law)
• process
– committee
• referrals
• hearings
– rules committee
• may refuse to schedule
vote
– floor debate
• limits (rules comm.)
• filibusters & cloture
– conference committee
• reconciliation
• details
– authorization vs.
appropriation
– amendments
– changing language
– riders
– committee revisions
Political Action: Legislative
• Campaigning
– financial support
– personal support
• Lobbying
– personal contact
– public pressure
• grass-roots
• astroturf
– other action
• demonstrations
• individual actions
Judicial (case law)
• starting point
– jurisdiction
– standing of plaintiff
– criminal vs. civil
• rulings
– constitutionality
– interpretation of intent
– responsibility &/or liability
– establish precedent
Political Action: Judicial
• Civil Action
– personal
– government
• Criminal Action
– government only
• Concerns
– expense: time & money
– public perception
• SLAPP
Executive (administrative law)
• Regulatory Agencies
–
–
–
–
rule making
standard setting
investigation
prosecution
• Policy Setting
–
–
–
–
budgetary
enforcement
veto power
treaties
Political Action: Executive
• Campaigning
– financial support
– personal support
• Lobbying
– personal contact
– public pressure
• grass-roots
• astroturf
– other action
• demonstrations
Policy Cycle
• identify problem
• set agenda
• develop proposals build support
• enact law
• create rules
• implement
• evaluate results
• suggest changes
science:
uncertain
Tree-Huggers
• Pejorative term used to describe
environmentally minded activists. It
originated from people who tried to
prevent logging by putting themselves
in danger such as chaining themselves
to threatened trees.
(Wikipedia, 2004)
Treehuggers
• Julia Butterfly & Luna
– two years in a California redwood
– http://www.ottermedia.com/LunaJulia.html
• Wangari Maathai
– 2004 Nobel Peace Prize
– Green Belt Movement
• 20 million trees planted in central Africa
• http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/biographies.
htm
NIMBY
• NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) is an acronym
for the opposition by people living in
pleasant, affluent, or rural areas to local
construction of intrusive facilities, which are
often intended primarily to serve people
living far away .
• Generally people who express NIMBY
sentiments acknowledge the need for the
facilities, while arguing that they "just don't
want them nearby".
(Wikipedia, 2004)
NIMBYs
•
•
•
•
http://www.saveballona.org/
http://www.nobrantfill.freeservers.com/
http://www.no-more-landfill.com/
http://www.farmweb.org/
Astroturfing
• Used pejoratively to describe formal public relations
projects which deliberately give the impression of
spontaneous and populist reactions.
• The term is a play on "grassroots" efforts, which are
truly spontaneous undertakings started
spontaneously and largely sustained by private
persons, not politicians, corporations or public
relations firms. A "grassroots" campaign is
perceived to come from the popular feelings of some
mass of people and to not be a creation of the
powerful.
• "Astroturfing", by contrast, is a campaign crafted by
politicians or other professionals but carefully
designed to appear that it is the result of popular
feeling rather than manipulation.
(Wikipedia, 2004)
Astroturf organizations
• CALIFORNIA DESERT COALITION
• CITIZENS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
• NATIONAL WETLANDS COALITION
Greenwashing
• A term that environmentalists and other
critics give to the activity of giving a
positive public image to putatively
environmentally unsound practices.
(Wikipedia, 2004)
• Also refers to taking an
environmentally responsible stand in
public while actively promoting
environmentally unsound practices out
of public view.
Corporate Greenwashing
• Mobil Chemical added a small amount of
starch to the plastic in Hefty trash bags and
called them "biodegradable" (however, the
bags would not degrade if buried in landfills,
but only if left out in the sun; moreover, the
bags didn't degrade, but rather broke up into
smaller plastic pieces -- not the same thing!)
A Mobil Chemical pitch man said,
"degradability is just a marketing tool. We're
talking out of both sides of our mouth
because we want to sell our bags."
(source: http://a4a.mahost.org/fakes.html)
Political Greenwashing
• President Bush
– “I've got a plan to increase the wetlands by
3 million.” (protection has been removed
from 20 million acres)
– “We've got an aggressive brown field
program to refurbish inner-city sore spots
to useful pieces of property.” (benefits
businesses who want to locate on cheap
land)
Political Greenwashing
• President Bush
– “I proposed to the United States Congress a Clear
Skies Initiative to reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
oxide and mercury by 70 percent.” (establishes
new targets that are weaker than the existing
targets)
– “We proposed and passed a healthy forest bill
which was essential to working with -- particularly
in Western states -- to make sure that our forests
were protected.” (plan would promote logging of
large, commercially valuable trees miles from atrisk communities )