In Defense of Environmentalists

So ever wonder why environmentalists are predominantly white middle class? There are a couple of reasons for this. First is that the environmental message is not promoted by mainstream media, and indoctrination is mostly through self-education. Sometimes you get exposure through college campuses. Sometimes, you’re just educated enough to smell a rat in the corporate message. The environmental movement has been anathema to business. Big business has run rampant lately, and they have been systematically eliminating their challengers- government regulations, unions. We’re the only ones left scoring any victories.

I was stunned to learn that 50% of Americans report an income of less than $30,000. Only 27.5% of people age 25 and older have finished four years of college. Middle class isn’t majority status anymore- it’s elite.

How can the majority of people with these demographics self-educate and buck the companies that write their paychecks? It’s back to Maslow’s Hierarchy. For most people, it’s just not possible to spontaneously reach the level of knowledge and awareness required to be a treehugger (so I apologize for my former 5-year old comment). Environmentalists cannot continue to think that they are functioning in a vacuum. Someone in my local Sierra Club said that we should keep our attention on environmental issues instead of being distracted by things like the war. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The good news is that there is a huge potential for change. You have your pick of reasons: global warming, pollution, skyrocketing energy prices, looming peak oil, the Middle East mess…. It doesn’t matter which one. We need to change a lot of things. A lot of new stuff has to be made. Manufacturing jobs can come back. Profitability is inextricably linked to environmental awareness now.

And how to increase this awareness? If it’s not on TV, it isn’t happening. We need a media champion. May I suggest Dave Matthews. That band manages to be mind-blowingly popular despite getting next to zero radio air play. They are already popular with the 30-something set, and still reach the upcoming generation. They can do for this energy thing what Bono did for Africa; what Coldplay is doing for fair trade.

The doomsday scenario isn’t working. All the people attracted to a cause by doomsday scenarios are already in the environmental movement. For most people, it just isn’t the best way to convince them. You know- you catch more flies with honey. It’s actually extremely counterproductive with the evangelicals because the potential massive destruction and the Middle East tie all smack of the rapture.

I propose instead a vision of prosperity, widespread education and clean environment. Picture any futuristic movie with sparkling blue skies and silent pollution-free transport and it’s not much of a reach. Here’s how it goes: There has been a flight of businesses and well-off property owners away from cities, to corporate parks and cul-de-sac developments built on what used to be farmland. Highways have been built around the cities so you can fly past at 65 mph. There’s no reason to be invested if you’re not immersed in it. Since education funding is based on property taxes, taking the wealth from cities also takes funding required for anyone to get ahead. (It’s funny- in thriving cities like New York and Chicago, residential costs are too high. In dying cities like Buffalo and Rochester, it’s not high enough.)

Combine that with the loss of blue collar manufacturing jobs (with decent pay and benefits), the upsurge in non-benefitted temporary positions and the active campaign against unions. So there’s no blue collar jobs and very poor quality education. What else are people going to do? Crime offers them a way to make a living. To reverse this trend, make cities thriving centers again. Use mass transit so people can go through the city instead of around it. They can check out all those neat little boutiques and coffee shops. Be metro-sexual or whatever. Catch the upcoming manufacturing wave for products that capture renewable energy, and hybrid and electric cars. Bring the jobs and the dollars back to the cities. The only reason why sprawl and McMansions are attractive is because there are few good residential options in the city. And crime makes it scary. And the school systems blow. It’s not location. I don’t know one person that loves their commute to work from a distant suburb.

The political climate is changing. People are fed up with big business running our government. This financially-managed approach to government is a failed experiment. Change is possible. Who would have thought 20 years ago that recycling would be second nature to even the most anti-environmental person? Five cents made all the difference. Who would have thought that the world would have been able to come to a consensus on banning CFCs?

Environmentalists need to come out of their box and take a look at the interplay between the economy, education, politics, wars and the environment. Am I unaffected by the doomsday scenarios? Not at all. I look at the blue skies and the trees, and I think about how much I want my kids, and their kids to be able to experience this too.