Somewhere there is a school that teaches those who
work for government agencies and environmental groups to write
press releases. The school’s core curriculum consists of courses in
Boasting in Print and Bad Writing; it also offers seminars in
Boring and Befuddling the Reader, Grazing the Truth, and Tunnel
Vision. Even in peacetime, those who must read the daily flood of
these sorry things deserve Purple Hearts.
So it’s
a shock to discover Earthlaw – a public interest law firm whose
press releases are well-written and concise 300- to 600-word
essays. They even contain humor.
And while the
press releases are not shy about describing the good work Earthlaw
does, they only become truly boastful when it comes to the students
who work for the University of Denver Law Clinic. And who can blame
Earthlaw head Mark Hughes? How often does a law student
successfully argue a case before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals?
Or become the first legal practitioner anywhere to haul the U.S.
government before the NAFTA environmental commission? Or do the
research that helps persuade U.S. Supreme Court J. Antonin Scalia
to let a logging ban stand on the national forests in the
Southwest?
But readers will most appreciate
Earthlaw’s ability to create a context before plunging into the
details of a lawsuit. Its press release on Preble’s meadow mouse,
for example, starts this way:
“When folks from
other parts of the country think of the Denver area, they envision
snow-capped mountains and green woodlands stretching from foothills
to plains. They may imagine themselves moving to Denver, spending
their days striding across high mountain ridges, the cool breeze
rustling their Gore-Tex parkas …
“A more
accurate picture of the area around Denver would show a sea of
bland suburban tract homes stretching from foothills to plains,
punctuated now and again by a clump of factory outlet stores …”
Having set the stage, Earthlaw can now talk
about the mouse, and its potential for preventing the Front Range
from becoming less livable. It’s no longer a technical case about
the Endangered Species Act – it’s about the impact development has
on human and non-human habitats and
lives.
Earthlaw also does something few other
groups and no agencies do: It mocks itself. When Earthlaw won a
case reducing the number of Atlantic sharks that fishermen could
catch, the group downplayed its victory. “We only took the case as
a professional courtesy.”
The press releases,
appeals for financial support, and a primer on filing your own
NAFTA-based appeal can be found on Earthlaw’s Website:
www.earthlaw.org. You can also reach the group at the University of
Denver-Forbes House, 1714 Poplar St., Denver, CO 80220-1878;
303/871-6996.
*Ed
Marston
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Not boring, not befuddling.
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