Climate and energy

by Nancy Jackson, CEP Executive Director

Last week, Governor Schwarzenegger (it’s still fun to say that out loud) said that environmentalism is getting a makeover, from guilt-powered to revolutionary, “from hand wringing and whining, to an image that is hip, that is cutting edge, forceful and self confident. Even sexy.”

CEP likes that idea – and proposes that one reason for the new image might be the new makeup of the group. Because yesterday’s “tree-hugging hand-wringers” have grown up into and recruited today’s Fortune 500 CEOs, evangelical Christians, hospital presidents, farmers, and soccer moms and dads.

“Environmentalist” today describes a huge number of quite diverse people. In fact, more than 85% of Americans say they are environmentalists to some degree. A recent Gallup poll showed that 28% of us have made “major changes” to live green, and a whopping 55% of us have made minor changes. We are solution-oriented, can-do folks.

These days, we realize that “environment” isn’t something “out there.” It’s something “right here,” too. We’re in it – part of it. When we care for the earth – for our life-support system of air, water, and soil – we take care of us in the bargain.

So. Maybe we need a new name for our hip, self-confident, sexy movement? Better-life-ism? Future-ism? Solution-ism? How about In-My-Back-Yard-ism? After all, in a global economy, everything is basically in our backyard. IMBYism will be about what we do want back there.

IMBY’s Earth Day will turn out young and old, rich and poor, conservative and liberal for a giant, jubilant celebration of our one excellent planet. This one day will be a huge party to recognize the miracle of life in conditions that don’t appear to exist anywhere else. (What better reason for a party?)

The rest of the year, we will talk about how to beautify and maintain the Earth, our communal back yard. For some, it will be a fun hobby, like gardening. For others, it will be a mild yet satisfying annoyance, like mowing the grass or recycling. For others still IMBYism will drive important policy discussions, as health care does today. In fact, IMBYists (which will be virtually all of us) will recognize that caring for our support system is the most basic form of health care.

Taking care of ourselves isn’t always fun (flossing, exercise) and it isn’t always cheap (root canal, bypass). It also isn’t much of an option, given the alternative. And taking care of ourselves all makes life longer and better, so at the end of the day, it does feel like a fair trade.

Thomas Jefferson said every generation needs a new revolution. IMBYism might just be ours. Focusing on what we do want in our global back yard, getting out and enjoying it together, creating an economy that improves our life support systems – those would be revolutionary acts.

Perhaps our new frontiers (another preoccupation of Jefferson’s) are no longer out there, but are right here. Perhaps our moon shot is improving our quality of life – and our longevity – down here.

Earth Day, in that context, takes on a whole new meaning. It becomes irresistible – the ideal embodiment of the hip, self-confident, sexy movement for our future.

Happy Earth Day from CEP.

— Nancy Jackson, www.climateandenergy.org

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