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A report on the problems with the environmental movement by a couple of young green activists has the green advocacy groups all in a stir. "The Death of Environmentalism," by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhous  points out that, "Today environmentalism is just another special interest."

They also point out that the green advocacy groups are stuck in a negative thinking rut. The authors refer to the positive influence of Dr. Martin Luther King on the civil rights movement and his powerful "I have a dream" message. "In the absence of a bold vision …….environmental leaders are effectively giving the 'I have a nightmare' speech….."

Shellenberger and Nordhous reference a survey by the market research firm Environics. In this survey the number of Americans who agreed that, "Most of the people actively involved in environmental groups are extremists, not reasonable people," leapt from 32 percent in 1996 to 41 percent in 2000." Zeroing in on one of the reasons for this shift they say, "most people wake up in the morning trying to reduce what they have to worry about. Environmentalists wake up trying to increase it."

The authors continue, "Talking at the public about this laundry list of concerns is what environmentalists refer to as 'public education.' The assumption here is that the American electorate consists of 100 million policy wonks eager to digest the bleak news we have to deliver."

The main thrust for this report is that the authors feel that the environmental movement is losing the battle in the "Global Warming" debate. Some critics of the report are quick to point out that it wasn't long ago that the environmental groups were sounding the alarm on "the next Ice Age."

The recreation advocacy community can learn something from the advice these young activists give to their environmental special interest friends. They say that environmental initiatives "must be evaluated not only for whether they will get us the environmental protections we need but also whether they will define the debate, divide our opponents and build our political power over time."

The authors propose an initiative they believe will accomplish those objectives for environmental activists called the NEW APOLLO PROJECT.  I believe that our BACKCOUNTRY initiative has the potential for the recreation community to "define the debate, divide our opponents and build our political power over time." (for additional information on BACKCOUNTRY click on the "Backcountry" banner on our website at  www.sharetrails.org)

As interesting as this report was for a recreation activist like me, I found the reaction of the green advocacy group leaders to it even more revealing. Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope took great offense at the report. His "in-depth response" was addressed to "Dear Environmental Grant-Maker." Does that mean it's all about the money? Pope accuses the authors of just trying to shift the green money machine from support of the Sierra Club into support of the authors' initiatives.

I've often said that I believe that the BlueRibbon Coalition and our member groups are the real environmentalists. We are heavily involved in real, on the ground, environmental projects such as trail clearing and repairs. But, we are continually challenged to do more about irresponsible recreationists and excessively noisy off-highway-vehicles.

The authors of this report obviously intended it as constructive criticism even if it wasn't taken as such by the Sierra Club and other green advocacy groups. I've got a proposal of my own for these groups regarding their concern about irresponsible vehicle use. If you will quit characterizing vehicular recreation in our backcountry areas as inappropriate, on its face, I pledge that the BlueRibbon Coalition will be an enthusiastic partner in addressing the problem of "irresponsible" vehicle use. We would love to shift our major focus from continuing to have to defend our recreation access to a cooperative effort on irresponsible behavior and noise. How about it?

The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible use of public and private lands, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,100 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide. 1-800-258-3742.  www.sharetrails.org

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