Opinions & Editorials
DELIVERING THE MESSAGE: ENVIRONMENT HELPS ECONOMY Authors:
Richard Morrison,
Senior Vice President,
Environmental Policies and Programs
Bank of America
William Dempsey,
Field Representative
The Nature Conservancy
It was right in the midst of the election-year frenzy, that the message was delivered, calling for a greater and reliable flow of public and private investment in California's land, air, water and ecosystems. It might have gone almost unnoticed, were it not for the authors of the message.
Signing the paper, "Habitat and Prosperity: Protecting California's Future," were the usual suspects: Trust for Public Land, Nature Conservancy, Planning and Conservation League, Sierra Club, Audubon Society, and Earth Island Institute. But also on board was an impressive array of corporate America: ARCO, Northrop Grumman, Chevron, Lockheed Martin, Sustainable Conservation, Walt Disney Company, Waste Management, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric, Bank of America and Hewlett Packard, among others. Further, the paper was also signed by Union of Concerned Scientists, California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance, State and Federal EPA's and the California Resources Agency.
Over a two-year period, corporate representatives, government agencies and environmental advocates have been meeting quietly as the California Environmental Dialogue, exploring whether beneath old rivalries and antagonisms might lie deeper agreements, common ground on issues which affected all the participants.
It wasn't always an easy process, laying aside mistrust and learning to speak and listen openly and honestly to traditional opponents. But gradually, out of the dialogue process, grew new alliances and relationships that focused on common problems and, sometimes, uncommon solutions.
One such innovative approach is the consensus statement "Habitat and Prosperity," pointing out that protecting and preserving the environment made great economic sense for California, noting that "California's habitats and natural communities are an integral part of the economic foundation upon which future prosperity depends."
But to California lawmakers and other government officials who received the statement, it may have been a surprising document. Often in the middle of a perpetual tug of war between competing business and environmental forces, it must have seemed as if both sides had suddenly combined to pull on one end of the rope.
Our call to action is clear and unambiguous: "Join us as we support a greater and reliable flow of public and private investment in California's natural capital -- the land, air, water and ecosystems. Our economy and lives depend on it."
Now, as newly-elected and returning legislators and statewide officials prepare for their new challenges, we are serving notice that protection of our natural resources deserves a high and continuing priority... even as we point out that government should not be called upon to bear the burden alone, unaided by the private sector which has been the recipients of California's rich natural bounty.
If environmentalists and corporations can unite behind a common message, there must be real hope for California's future. We hear predictions that by the year 2020, our population could increase monumentally -- perhaps by as much as the population of New York State. But the public and private commitment necessary to keep our future in line with our dreams is within our reach -- if we, and you, will simply stretch a little to make it happen.