Ahhhh.  It is August, and in Washington, that means that you can literally see stress roll off of people as they decompress from the marathon that is the 110th Congress.  People smile more, they forgo power lunches in favor of sitting with an old friend to catch up, and Washingtonians even go so far as to try to meet with their usual enemies to find common ground (or at least find some good coffee). 

I pride myself in being one of those lobbyists who likes to work with unlikely allies, hence forward know as the “black hats”.  During my time on Capitol Hill and now at NRDC, my greatest successes have come by looking for situations where everyone wins and sitting down with those people who I wonder how they sleep at night. During the last days before August recess, one such victory came with the Senate passage of the Pesticides Registration Improvement Act reauthorization.  Negotiated by those who manufacture pesticides and NRDC, this bill will help protect public health and the environment, is taxpayer friendly, and even benefits the industry by helping them get safe products to market in a more predictable timeframe.  I am sure I will write more about this bill when it goes to the President for his signature but for now, I would say that we are in a great place with this bill and the reason we are in such a good place is because of the cooperation of our coalition of strange bedfellows.

So, I was feeling positive about our work with the black hats…. that is until I went to lunch with one of my industry “allies” to talk about other areas where we might work together.  I expected a nice meeting where we discussed our vacations and our elation that Congress was gone for a few weeks.  Unfortunately, when the topic turned to business, my lunch companion explained how many in the industry think of the “young environmental movement.”

He said – and I am paraphrasing here – “you have to understand, Heather, we are like the parents and as parents, we usually have to say no to our children for their own good and the environmentalists are the children.”  He kept talking after this comment, but I was so astonished by his statement that I admittedly didn’t hear much else. 

After my blood pressure normalized and I got over being offended by his patronizing explanation, I realized that if we are to build on the success of the environmental movement, we have to look at this analogy and reflect.     

So, I now reflect –

Are we children?  No.  Although the youth of America and beyond do tend to be more environmentally aware and enthusiastic about protecting the world around them, our movement is diverse in age, race and culture.  Furthermore, our objective is anything but childish. What could be more adult than sacrifice and trying to get business to operate in a responsible manner that helps sustain and lift up communities and special places.  It is, in fact, childish to think that one’s bad actions should be blanketly excused because of the almighty dollar.  Jobs and development are important, but we can achieve those goals while protecting public health and the environment.  Children are short-sighted as they fail to look beyond the next holiday or play date.  As adults we must have a long-term vision that considers more than just our pocketbooks. 

Next question - are they the proverbial parent?  No.  This particular organization represents America’s original businesses so that does make them old – but does that age make them responsible enough to be a parent?  As Moms and Dads, we have to make hard decisions.  Just the other day, my 4 year old son asked to stay in the hot car as I ran into a store.  I told him no.  I could’ve gotten my errands done in a faster and easier manner if I had said yes, but in the long run it would have put him in danger.  Now, this wasn’t a tough decision for me but it does illustrate that as parents, it isn’t always about us or about right now.  We have to consider what is best for all.  If this organization and the industries they represent are really the parents, they are neglectful at best and I personally would like to ask for emancipation. 

So, I think his analogy was off base but it does give us a look into the mind of our opponents.  If we want to become more efficient and effective, we must remind the black hats that the story always ends with the person in the WHITE hat riding off into the sunset.   

Have a great day!

Heather