The outcry against high pressure hydraulic fracturing and the growing movement toward environmental protection in China are examples of the constant and growing force of environmental protection in politics. For decades there has been consistent pressure from shortsighted corporations and some right wing ideologues to reframe the environmental issue as one of over-regulation and define it as a trade-off between economic growth and environmental protection. There has been a concerted effort to portray environmentalists as effete, intellectual snobs who don’t care about jobs for average people.
Despite this relentless onslaught, environmental protection continues to enjoy deep political support in the United States. This can often be seen at the community level when homeowners are faced with specific, visible environmental damage that they believe will affect their family’s health or the economic value of their homes. Under those conditions, no amount of high priced PR can counter the political force of an enraged community that believes it has been damaged.
I frequently make the argument that a more profitable economy is one based on sustainability principles: Minimal use of finite resources, minimal environmental impact during consumption and production, and maximum use of renewable and recycled resources. A key difference between sustainability and traditional notions of environmental protection is a focus on the economic necessity and value of our planet’s natural systems. We don’t protect nature because we love it, but because we need it. Put simply, we are all biological creatures. While we could live without smartphones and the Internet, we cannot live without food, water and air.
Source: Huffington Post
By Steven Cohen