There was no mention of the environment four years ago when President George W. Bush stood before Congress to speak, with the world watching in rapt attention.

In the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, Bush recounted imagery of the tragedy and promised action on the part of the United States.

‘In the normal course of events, presidents come to this chamber to report on the state of the union,’ he said to the world on Sept. 21, 2001. ‘Tonight, no such report is needed; it has already been delivered by the American people.’

Just as it was omitted from that address, discussion of the environment has often taken on a different character in a world dominated by issues of national security, according to Steve Brechin, professor of environmental sociology at Syracuse University.

‘Terrorism and Iraq have consumed Americans’ attention on issues, and lessened the salience on environmental issues,’ Brechin said. ‘Some people have even gone so far as to say the environmental movement is dead.’

However, with states and activist groups supporting an environmental agenda and Bush’s urge to Congress to pass green legislation in Wednesday’s address, the battle over sustainable growth and cleaner, more efficient energy continues to hold political sway, and has gained some unlikely allies.

A WITHERED ISSUE

Despite over 30 years as a prominent issue on the national agenda, the influence of environmental considerations has declined, Brechin said.

‘To some extent, we’ve all been educated in ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ ideas throughout middle school and high school,’ said Waverly deBruijn, a member of the Student Environmental action coalition. ‘It is very low on people’s priorities because it’s not an immediate threat to them. People can’t see the problem in front of them, and that’s one of the hardest things to overcome.’

While Americans rank the issue of the environment high, it is often seen as conflicting with other values, according to polls. A 2001 Gallup poll concluded that 65 percent of the American people cared too little about the environment, yet a similar poll a year earlier found that 69 percent of those surveyed said there wasn’t a tradeoff between economic growth and green issues.

When the Reagan Administration took steps to cut protection and spending on the environment in the 1980s, Brechin said a public outcry reinforced the green position. When Bush put forth similar policies, such as the Healthy Forests and Clear Skies Acts, there was little national outrage.

‘Environmental groups say Bush is undertaking a massive attempt to rewrite the laws and water them down,’ Brechin said. ‘Why the Bush administration has been able to get away with this is a really important question.’

Reduced support by the media for the environment, the dominance of national security on the public agenda and similar and declining interest by the public in a seemingly repetitive set of worries has resulted in less attention, Brechin said.

‘There’s a sense that people are playing a little bit of Chicken Little,’ Brechin said. ‘Folks are beginning to see we’re still here, and the environmental problems haven’t gone away.’

Robert Moore, of the Environmental Advocates of New York, said the public often expresses interest in fighting to affect legislation but loses interest once the debate over how to implement policy begins.

‘The environmental community’s successes come particularly when we’re able to bring a grassroots effort together,’ Moore said. ‘But it doesn’t always diligently follow through on making sure those laws are enforced as we intended.’

THE STATES TAKE THE LEAD

While the national debate can be difficult to decipher, some states have pushed their own agendas forward.

Notably California and New York, both led by Republican governors, recently passed budgets boosting spending to environmental departments and initiatives that go beyond federal efforts.

‘From providing record support for our natural resources, to encouraging energy conservation, to increasing protection of critical wetlands,’ Gov. George Pataki said after the New York State Budget was proposed, ‘My budget will take important steps to ensure that our state’s cherished natural resources are preserved for future generations of New Yorkers to enjoy.’

Pataki’s budget included increasing the Environmental Protection Fund $150 billion, which funds open space conservation and other projects, as well as re-staffing many positions in the Department of Environmental Conservation, which was previously heavily understaffed, Moore said.

The proposed budget, in total, committed $1.4 billion to environmental spending.

‘As the national government – especially under this administration – seems to be backing away from the environment, some states seem to be stepping forward,’ Brechin said. ‘(New York and California), even though they both had Republican governors, tend to realize that most citizens are concerned about the environment.’

However, the movement of the issue from a federal level to a regional or state one is limiting. Without inter-state enforcement, some problems – such as pollution – can jump state lines.

Without participation by the federal government, Brechin said, achieving national policy will be challenging.

‘Most environmentalists taken an ecological point of view, and our political boundaries aren’t ecological,’ Brechin said. ‘While it does suggest some environmental problems are local, they’re all part of a whole.’

A PERSONAL ISSUE

The American people, likewise, together form the whole of a nation struggling with solving the ongoing tension between green issues and business, and conservation with what many consider an energy-hungry lifestyle.

Staking out a position on complicated environmental issues can also be daunting, with the wide spectrum of opinions – scientific and moral – to navigate.

‘If enough citizens and students get active and are concerned about it, we can make a lot of change,’ deBruijn said. ‘Ultimately, it’s going to have to come from the bottom layers and work its way up into the political machine.’

SEAC is currently working on three campaigns to promote the environment, including Sustainable Solutions, a movement seeking that SU commit to purchasing renewable energy and invest in environmentally friendly construction.

‘I think the important point to be made about this campaign is that in some sense, it’s more traditional environmental work,’ deBruijn said. ‘There’s still a lot of political and social ties to the consumption of energy.’

In its other projects, SEAC advocates for the residents of the Midland neighborhood, where a proposed sewage treatment plant has lead to allegations of environmental racism. The third project seeks the removal of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs’ National Security Studies program from the campus, on the grounds that its ties to the military are inappropriate on a college campus.

‘For us as students, the place where we have the most power right now is in our university,’ deBruijn said, ‘and it’s time for the university to step up and recognize that we’re in deep in terms of environmental problems.’

Like at SU, the national spectrum ranges wildly from groups like the Earth Liberation Front, which has claimed responsibility for torching Hummer dealerships and other acts of ‘environmental terrorism,’ to Earth First, a more traditional advocacy and activism campaign.

While the presence of radical groups persists, Brechin said extremism has been on the decline, leading to a less vigorous bargaining process.

‘Moderate environmental organizations can negotiate from the middle,’ Brechin said. ‘But without a radical edge that seems to be missing, the compromise shifts.’

DeBruijn agreed, likening the existence of groups like ELF to Malcolm X’s role in the Civil Rights movement as the extreme that made Martin Luther King’s moderate and inclusive approach attractive.

Public interest and activism, however, remain the basis of the environmental movement, Moore said. The effect of grassroots efforts and public awareness figures large in politicians’ decisions.

‘There’s a strong worry, but you don’t hear anything about it; that’s sort of a funny anomaly,’ Brechin said. ‘It’s definitely an interesting time for reflection on these issues of the state of the environment.’

Published on February 3, 2005 at 12:00 pm