Two thoughts from my home town of Wayne, New Jersey
The town had an EPA Superfund site. Back in the 1980s no one knew how
dangerous the situation was, no one knew what kind of remediation was
being planned, why the soil spent several years sitting under a tarp,
and where it was going to be sent, that is when and if a decision about
the disposal would be made. Press reports about the site were filled
with speculation.
Today a community with a Superfund site has a dedicated contact person
at the EPA who will answer questions, talk to the press, and conduct
meeting with the CAG or Community Advisory Group. For someone who
remembers how the town stumbled around in the dark, the change is
nothing short of miraculous.
--
Back in the bad old days when I would point out that our township was
being developed faster than land could be preserved as parks and open
space, people would look at me with something like pity. They would then
begin explaining (slowly, as one would to a child) the importance of
rateables in municipal tax rates. A few people would shake their heads
sadly and agree with me but sighed in resignation.
Today there is widespread support for our local parks and even a very
strong volunteer group at township's arboretum.
We must be doing something right.....
Kevin
On 4/8/2019 9:54 AM, Aslaug Asgeirsdottir wrote:
This may be tangentially relevant, but this project from the 1970s EPA
could provide some clues:
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2009/spring/documerica.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/collections/72157620729903309/
https://www.citylab.com/environment/2017/03/five-reasons-to-love-the-epa-before-it-disappears/518199/
https://academic.oup.com/envhis/article/23/1/106/4626615
All the best,
Áslaug
--------------------------------------------------
Áslaug Ásgeirsdóttir
Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Politics
Pronouns: she, hers
120 Lane Hall
2 Andrews Road
Bates College
Lewiston, ME 04240
Phone: 207-786-6472
E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
On Mon, Apr 8, 2019 at 9:47 AM Michael Schoon
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Hi All,
In addition to Paul's list, there are a number of books that I use
to talk about optimism in my sustainability classes. As he notes
in the above examples, they are often Pollyannish. However,
others are reasonably clear-eyed. I use Gregg Easterbrook's "The
Progress Paradox" and Pinker's "Enlightenment Now". For
interesting reads that often frustrate, there is Ridley's
"Rational Optimist" and Diamandis's "Abundance".
Also, if you haven't seen the research program "Seeds of a Good
Anthropocene" from McGill University and Stockholm Resilience
Center, it's worth taking a look (https://goodanthropocenes.net/).
Hope that this is helpful.
Mike
Associate Professor
School of Sustainability
Arizona State University
https://michaelschoon.com/
On Sun, Apr 7, 2019 at 5:28 AM Paul Wapner <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Hi Beth,
Perhaps the challenge of finding such a list rests on
interpretation. Many thinkers see good news everywhere,
especially with environmental trends. Folks like Bjorn
Lomborg, Johan Norberg, Ronald Bailey, Deirdre McCloskey, and
Anders Bolling are always presenting ‘facts’ that demonstrate
environmental improvement. Their work is controversial but
persuasive to many. It is part of a broader orientation that
tends to be optimistic about humanity’s fate, seeing
‘progress’ everywhere. I would put people like Steven Pinker,
Hans Rosling, and the infamous Juliann Simon in this
category. The New York Times Book Review recently had a piece
on Pinker and Rosling
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/02/07/pinker-rosling-progress-accentuate-positive/.
Aside from thinkers, there are a number of outfits that
present ‘good’ environmental news, such as
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/category/news/environment/,
although I am unsure if they track broad trends.
All the best,
Paul
Paul Wapner
Professor, Global Environmental Politics
School of International Service
American University
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
--
*From: *Gepers <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> on behalf of
"[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>"
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
*Reply-To: *"[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>" <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>>
*Date: *Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 3:14 PM
*To: *Beth DeSombre <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>>, Gepers
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
*Subject: *RE: [gep-ed] Good environmental trends
Hi Beth,
I have seen, at some point in the past ten years, some sort of
good news list. I cannot remember the source though I suspect
it came over the Canadian Association of Geographers
discussion list (you could post a query here:
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> .
However, like one of your suggestions (better access to clean
water), I remember finding at the time that the list only
hailed purely anthropocentric improvements. As far as the
state of the non-human world is concerned, I have the
overwhelming sense that things are, across the board, going
from bad to worse.
I’d be happy to be proven wrong and look forward to your
sharing your findings.
Cheers,
Bill
*From:* [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> *On Behalf Of *Beth DeSombre
*Sent:* April 6, 2019 11:31 AM
*To:* GEP-Ed List <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>>
*Subject:* [gep-ed] Good environmental trends
Hi folks:
This seems like a no brainer, but I'm having a surprisingly
difficult time gathering a list of positive environmental
trends (worldwide and over history). Things that have --
because of human intervention -- unquestionably improved, with
some specific details to hang on them. Things like improved
access to clean water, better air quality (of various types)
in many parts of the world, etc.
I'd like to not reinvent the wheel -- I could easily come up
with a list of things I think are better now environmentally
than 50 (or 25) years ago and go fetch the details of each,
but I'm certain that one or more sources has already outlined
them, with specifics attached.
Can someone point me towards such
lists/overviews/compilations? (Happy to share suggestions with
the group afterwards).
Thanks,
Beth
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Act one, scene four
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