Published on Tuesday, October 23, 2001 
Out of Desolation Comes A Drumbeat of Hope
Post 9/11, opinion leaders see environmental promise
 
by Keith Schneider
 
It is impossible to conceive of a human act as wholly desolate and sadistic
as the terror attack on New York and Washington. The nation is reeling,
emotionally stranded by the confusion, shared suffering, and a stunningly new
sense of danger.
But if something good has come out of this paroxysm of grief and alarm it is
this: Americans are reconsidering what's really relevant, and what is less
so, in our national life. Professional sports stadiums, for instance, were
empty for a week. Vapid advertising disappeared from television news
programs. The Emmy Awards were cancelled. In this unusual moment of national
introspection, the progressive political community has a remarkable
opportunity to press for a new agenda.

In interviews this week, environmental activists, writers, and leaders from
around the nation cautiously shared a common thought: That despite all the
horror of September 11, and all the hardship the attack and our own military
response will likely produce, there is nevertheless cause for considered
optimism.

Indeed these opinion leaders argued that the civic will to build a more just
and environmentally safer future never disappeared after the attack, and in
fact may well have been strengthened. Consider, for instance, that before
Sept. 11 President George W. Bush defended what he called "our economy and
the American way of life" by giving foreign nations the back of his hand.
Most Americans rejected the president's view that when it came to global
warming, arms control, racism, and a host of other issues, the United States
had nothing to gain from cooperating with other nations of the world.

After Sept. 11, of course, the president called on those same countries for
support and spoke of the importance of global unity, an approach that was
applauded in the United States and admired around the world.

"On balance this [call for unity] ought to be an improvement in terms of
global environmental issues," said Denis Hayes, the co-founder of Earth Day
and now president and chief executive officer of the Bullitt Foundation, an
environmental philanthropy in Seattle. "An administration that decided to go
it alone on climate change, biological weapons, racism and Star Wars
discovered it needs to function as part of the international community."

How, for instance, can the United States now turn its back on invitations
from its allies to participate in international environmental treaties? "If
one wanted to be optimistic, it would be because America is clearly more open
to the need for coalitions than it was a month ago," said Bill McKibben,
author of The End of Nature and a visiting scholar at Middlebury College in
Vermont. "We have a powerful cause the fight against terror that we need the
world to rally behind. It will be morally harder for us to dismiss other
countries' vital priorities the next time around."

Other environmental leaders noted that in the weeks after Sept. 11, the
national political debate, while dominated by the attack and its aftermath,
nevertheless still included issues critical to communities and the land. In
Washington, a bid by Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to use the attack to
justify opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for new energy
development was criticized as opportunistic.

"It could be that this fall's tragic events will produce a benefit for land
conservation efforts," said Ben Beach, a senior editor at the Wilderness
Society in Washington. "As the nation grapples with its dependence on oil, we
think there's a good chance that we'll see a new national resolve to use
energy more efficiently and to develop sources that are not vulnerable to mad
acts of terrorists. Americans do not want terrorists to force us to turn our
most special places into oil fields and other industrial sites, especially
when there are more sensible options."

Meanwhile an unconventional coalition of environmentalists, transit unions,
public transportation agencies, and others is close to convincing Congress to
invest billions in new spending for Amtrak and high speed rail lines to
improve the efficiency of the nation's transportation system, reduce energy
consumption, and relieve congestion.

And although the conservative House voted 226 to 200 against a measure that
would have sharply increased investments in land conservation and other
environmental programs in the new agriculture spending bill, those same
programs are being advanced in the Senate by another unlikely alliance of
environmental, farm, and local government organizations.

Bill Roberts, the former communications and legislative director for
Environmental Defense and now the executive director of the Beldon Fund, a
New York-based environmental foundation, said such actions point to a clear
conclusion. "One thing the attack did not do was alter the persistent
importance of environmental issues to people and the planet," Mr. Roberts
said "Global warming, toxic pollution, lost biodiversity, and a long list of
other environmental threats did not go away on Sept. 11. Indeed, it is really
incumbent on the environmental community to make sure that these critical
issues are not ignored, or worse, aggravated by policies emerging from our
nation's response. Now more than ever the environmental movement must
demonstrate its vigilance and doggedness."

To be sure, said those interviewed, there's plenty to worry about. The worst
is that the methodical bombing now under way in Afghanistan and the surgical,
commando-style strikes being discussed in Washington could metastasize into a
much larger conflict.

James Kunstler, the author of Geography of Nowhere and a noted lecturer,
foresees a period of intense hardship followed by a restructuring of the
American lifestyle. "The economic effects are liable to be severe over time
and are apt to produce political mischief here in the U.S. Eighty percent of
the world's remaining oil reserves will now be controlled by people who hate
America." Mr. Kunstler said. "These new circumstances ought to compel us to
live more locally, to depend on cars much less than we do now, to begin
immediately to reconstruct a meaningful intercity rail network, and to
prepare ourselves to reorganize both commerce and agriculture on a smaller
and far more local or at least regional basis. The American Dream of a
permanent drive-in utopia died on Sept. 11."

As this new order of things takes shape, environmental organizations and
those that support them will struggle like everybody else with how to
position themselves, how to keep a firm grip on their own relevance, and how
to finance their programs.

Mr. Roberts described the economic effects of the attacks as "a second shock
wave ... hitting the movement. New projects will be shelved for a while and
organizations will be struggling to keep things afloat. In addition, the
downturn has hit state and local governments as tax revenues decline and
budget cuts loom larger."

"Government-funded environmental programs, especially enforcement, are
especially vulnerable right now," Mr. Roberts said. "This economic shock will
push industry to argue more vigorously against tighter environmental
controls."

Strategists counsel environmentalists and their organizations not to lose
focus.

"There's so much uncertainty about what will happen next that it would be a
wild guess to even try to predict the likely trends for six weeks, let alone
years," said Bob Schaeffer, a Florida-based media and strategic planning
consultant to national environmental and civil rights organizations. "In
general I'm pessimistic about the short-term impact on environmental causes,
if only because they are being pushed off center stage. But I'm optimistic
about the longer run since the terror attacks have been a grim reminder of
the importance of the public sector in preserving the services the nation
most values."

"In volatile and uncharted times like this," added Mr. Beach of the
Wilderness Society, "it is tougher than ever to predict the public mood. Our
public lands will always face threats from those who think commercial
development is the way to go. But put me down as an optimist on Americans and
the environment. I don't think the people of this country can be convinced
that we have to resign ourselves to dirtier water and air and the
industrialization of our prized natural areas in order to combat terrorism."

Keith Schneider is a nationally-known environmental journalist and program
director of the Michigan Land Use Institute. Reach him at keith@mlui.org. For
other examples of the Institute's first rate journalism and commentary see
www.mlui.org. A version of this article was published October 11, 2001 by
www.gristmagazine.com.

###
 
 
 

 Nike agrees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across its operations
worldwide

Tuesday, October 23, 2001
By GreenBiz.com

WASHINGTON-- Through a new Climate Savers memorandum of understanding with
World Wildlife Fund and the Center for Energy & Climate Solutions, Nike Inc.
has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across its operations
worldwide.

Nike also said it would measure greenhouse gas emissions from contracted
manufacturing and shipping operations with an eye toward reducing those
emissions.

In the Climate Savers program, World Wildlife Fund and the Center for Energy
& Climate Solutions work with companies to pursue practical activities that
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and achieve energy efficiency goals.
Emissions of greenhouse gases cause the climate change that threatens the
survival of many plants and animals as well as the well-being of people
around the world.

"Nike is making great strides in its effort to help save the planet," said
David B. Sandalow, executive vice president of World Wildlife Fund. "Like
many other businesses, Nike is moving ahead to improve energy efficiency and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It's simply good, smart corporate
citizenship."

Under the new agreement, World Wildlife Fund and the Center for Energy &
Climate Solutions will work with Nike to achieve the following climate-saving
targets:

Reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from business travel and Nike owned
facilities and services 13% below 1998 levels by the end of 2005. Nike
intends to achieve this goal by pursuing energy conservation projects,
purchasing green power and investing in community energy efficiency projects.
As the earliest year for which reliable data and information exists regarding
Nike's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 1998 will serve as the baseline for
reductions.

Create baselines for Nike's major subcontracted footwear and apparel
manufacturing facilities by year-end 2003. Extending reduction efforts to its
global network of business partners, Nike will investigate, evaluate and
distribute best practices to its major subcontracted manufacturing
facilities. A GHG emissions reduction strategy for these facilities will be
determined in 2005.

Examine Nike's supply chain, from packaging to mode of transportation, for
opportunities to improve logistics efficiency and reduce GHG from supply
chain activities. By 2005, Nike will determine how to proceed with a GHG
reduction strategy for logistics.

In addition, Nike said it would continue its progress to eliminate sulfur
hexafluoride (SF6), and has committed to complete elimination of SF6 by June,
2003.

Nike's partnership with World Wildlife Fund and the Center for Energy &
Climate Solutions demonstrates the company's belief and support for
responsible environmental action, said Sarah Severn, director of corporate
responsibility development at Nike.

"We take very seriously the effects of climate change on our planet. Nike's
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will illustrate how environmental
strategies can align with business goals and will hopefully inspire more
businesses to address climate change," Severn said.

With approximately 750 contract factories worldwide manufacturing its
products and employing some 500,000 people, Nike's commitment to measure and
reduce greenhouse gases is significant, said Joseph Romm, director of the
Center for Energy and Climate Solutions.

"The Climate Savers program has tremendous potential to mitigate climate
change through the combined efforts of its present participants, including
IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Polaroid, as well as future participants," Romm
said.

Copyright 2001, Green Business Network.
All Rights Reserved
 
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