As an environmental scientist who has been working on
related issues for 30 years, I’ve never felt myself a member
of any “movement,” and I would surmise that few of my practicing
colleagues do either. On Earth Day, we’re generally out doing
something besides marching in parades and selling T-shirts. If the
“movement” as it is were to die, those of us persevering in the
netherworld of environmental protection and remediation would
probably do just fine.
I agree with Carl Pope of the
Sierra Club that “environmentalism is a broad, diverse and robust
movement” (HCN, 2/21/05: Where were the environmentalists when
Libby needed them most?). It is also largely an underground
movement, which, if you think about it, both literally and
figuratively, is where it should start. Working within the system
— as I have for most of my life — is hardly selling out
on my principles: I’ve always felt that if you’re on
the outside of the door, you have to move a lot to make even the
smallest of difference on the hinge side. I have always chosen the
hinge, where a proper leverage on the inside makes the door swing
wider.
Mike Harding, Flight of
Discovery
San Diego, California
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Outside the movement — and inside the system.
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