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There are some encouraging signs of life on environmental awareness I've been observing over the past year or so. Unfortunately, I spend most of my time between San Francisco, Sonoma County, and Santa Cruz. This is where hybrids rule the road, houses are equipped with recycling stations, and cities are actively engaged in promoting eco-friendly policy. Drive south on Van Ness through San Francisco and you'll see "The Greening of Van Ness: Gavin Newsome, Mayor" placards at each intersection. While it may not be clear what exactly this means, the more significant point is that the Mayor's office recognizes people are positively responding to messages of environmental responsibility. Either that or the mayor's hoping to one day drive down "Van Newsome Avenue". But what about the rest of the country? The rest of the world? Environmentalism seems to hold weight here in my community, but I don't know that it enjoys such support elsewhere. One of the barriers I see for the environmental movement is appropriately identifying its role within the realm of economics. Critics of a 'greenerAmerica' cite costly upgrades, research and development expenditures, and increased costs associated with proper disposal of byproducts, among other things, as undue economic burdens for a problem they may or may not even believe exists. This criticism, however, focuses exclusively on the short-term costs rather than looking at a longer-term analysis. It also takes a very narrow approach in looking at the benefits of increased environmental responsibility. It does not factor in health costs linked to environmental problems, the myriad of costs related to natural disastors as a result of a changing climate, and even the costs of implementing and maintaining a foreign policy that privileges anti-progressive measures in the environmental arena. I propose we would not be in Iraq now if it were not for our dependence on Iraqi petroleum. While on a national level, the current administration has not exhibited a predilection for supporting a broad environmental agenda, fortunately there seems to be a lot of progress being made on a local scale. Green thinking has even begun to infiltrate corporate America. While there is certainly much room for improvement, both on the commitment and level of innovation, the idea that companies are beginning to appreciate the market value of greener products and processes is significant. Following a path of ignorance and resistance to the potentially devastating effects of climate change has important long-term implications here in the US and abroad. In a highly globalized world, we will suffer economically from instability in other parts of the world. The challenge for environmentalists at this point will be to continue making the connections between the environment, the economy, and stability, and hope that an era of innovation and forward-thinking at the private and public sector levels is quickly approaching.
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