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Show THE ZEPHYRSEPTEMBER 1990 PAGE 20 S&55S555E5S&ESS3ES555355!SE55SS52S55S from the sierra club environmental preservation and the human horde by Lance Christie Most people find It obvious that Increasing numbers of human beings place Increasing pressure on environmental resources. Where opinions diverge Is on what to do with this obvious fact There are two main avenues of approach to the problem. The first Is to reduce the of pressure human numbers. The second Is to reduce the environmental pressure produced by each human. On a policy level the Sierra Club has recognized the need for both approaches for thirty years, and lobbies accordingly. The Sierra Club differs from other environmental organizations In two major respects. First the Sierra Club Is the only national environmental organization that Is not its pt cannot lobby for or against a corporation. legislation and support or oppose political candidates. The Sierra Club, legally a "civic league, Is directly Involved In the political process at local, state, and national levels. Second, the Sierra Club Is the only national organization which Is organized on a democratic "bottom up principle, with local groups organized Into state chapters. The national organization's priorities result from what the local groups define as Issues and pursue with volunteer labor. The Sierra Club directors are elected by the membership, which also decides controversial policy issues by referendum. The Sierra Club Is designed to serve Its membership, not lead It On the question of population, the Sierra Club has advocated "Zero Population Growth since the 1960s. It was the Sierra Club that published Paul Erlichs book, The Population Bomb. In 1968, making the Impacts of population growth a public Issue. Each human being presents demands for food and energy. If these demands are met we have resource consumption. (If they aren't met we have starvation and a severe organic litter problem.) We can provide resources In a sustainable (renewable) or way. The Sierra Club has a large set of policy positions favoring sustainable resource management The Club advocates recycling, energy efficiency, and alternative energy resource development to wean us from fossil fuel dependence (Including nuclear). However, the Sierra Club Is not among the lead organizations developing these Initiatives. One exception may be found In the Clubs lobbying and litigation for energy efficient nonpolluting transportation. The Sierra Club's focus proceeds from Its origin a century ago. The Sierra Club was founded In 1891 by John Muhr, who was Involved In efforts to forestall destructive developments In the Sierra Nevada. Although the Sierra Club has expanded from California to national and International scope. It continues to emphasize preservation and enoyment of the natural world, opposing degradation and pollution. The Sierra Club attracts people who want to pursue these agendas, and the membership keeps the Club focused on them. Perhaps the members of the Sierra Club, and other environmental organizations, have their head In the sand on the human population Issue. With a population growth curve like that shown In the graph, efforts to protect and preserve our environment are ultimately futile. So are efforts to Increase resource use efficiency. No matter how small a slice of the natural resource pie each person gets, there will be more people than slices of pie before tax-exe- non-pro- fit Tax-exem- non-prof- non-sustalna- ble sustalnableorganlc agriculture and related environmental Issues. The Rocky Mountain Institute Is a world leader In the arena of energy efficiency. Among "environmental organizations, there are over a dozen national and hundreds of regional ones ranging from the conservative Nature Conservancy, which buys private land for use as wildlife habitat, to militant groups such as Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd Society, and Earth First! People are drawn to Join one or more of these depending on what seems right to the Individual. Groups which fall to express the values of their membership shrink, while those which succeed grow. The Sierra Club grew 15 In 1988 and 10 In 1989. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance has grown tenfold In membership In less than five years. In the natural course of events, people who think the priorities of Zero Population Growth are Important and those of the Sierra Club are not will support ZPG and drop the Sierra Club. I am emphasizing this organizational pluralism principle In order to address the Idea. In question of support for wilderness designation In Utah, a "preservationist discussions with WALU officers, I gather they agree that human population pressure Is the root cause of environmental problems. They appear to view the effort to preserve the small portion of remaining wilderness In Utah as romantically unrealistic, an effort to deny the appetite of the human horde for every last scrap of our natural resources. I have three problems with this viewpoint: (1) If the Sierra Club Is romantically In unrealistic pursuing environmental preservation, then WALU Is at least as romantically unrealistic In trying to maintain the 1876 Mining Law so that small prospectors and miners can acquire title to public lands. The Sierra Club Is doing more to oppose population expansion and encourage efficiency In resource uses than WALU Is, and Is doing It on the national and International scale where the pressure Is coming from that threatens our rural amenities and freedoms. (2) As long as resources are promoted as being cheap and plentiful, we are not motivated to behave wisely. WALU Invokes the Image of wilderness causing scarcity In raw materials available to the consumers of America. We are growing short of energy, but Is It because of wilderness, and would preventing wilderness designation actually make a noticeable difference? Isn't It energy efficiency - conservation - that Is feasible and would make a tremendous difference? (3) This leads us to the third problem: the premise that the 9.7 of Utahs lands proposed for wilderness In H.R. 1500 do In fact contain significant recoverable mineral resources, access to which Is shut off forever by wilderness designation. I can and do argue with this premise. I also place value on preservation of wilderness for a variety of reasons, which Is balanced against a value on mineral commodity extraction. For people who place no value on wilderness, any possible mineral commodity value dictates development Public opinion polls Indicate the bulk of the Utah public are not extremists. If an area has outstanding mineral values and modest values otherwise, they'd concede It to development If an area has outstanding multiple use values enhanced by wilderness protection, and modest to poor mineral values, theyd favor preservation. Accordingly, thats exactly how the Utah Wilderness Coalition put together Its 5.1 million acre proposal, since Introduced as H.R. 1500 by Rep. Owens. The UWC actually left out roadless areas with high mineral potential from Its proposal. If youd like to see an extremist wilderness proposal with contempt for economic considerations, take a look at the Earth Flrstl 12 million acre proposal. In the meanwhile, we each need to take responsibility to work on the Issues we feel called by. Joseph Campbell called this "following ones bliss. My main focus these days Is promoting organic agriculture. Bill Turk Is promoting solar energy applications. Usa Wolfs on Is heading the League of Women Voters recycling task force. What are you doing? long. So what do we do? The Sierra Club constantly lobbies for population control and family planning legislation and budgets, for national and International agencies. The Sierra Club also lobbies for environmental considerations to be Included In International aid and loan programs, such as those of the World Bank. But the main work of the Club Is towards Lance Cristie Is Chairman of the Canyonlands Group, Utah Chapter, of the Sierra Club, and Is Secretary of the Board of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. For Information, call 5, Lance at or Jack Campbell at 259-509- 259-51- 15. preserving nature and opposing pollution. Should the Clubs membership decide to abandon this work and focus on human population reduction? As a student of nature, I believe In pluralism. In nature, there Is no one organism that does one thing, much less everything. Instead, you have a multiplicity of different bacteria and worms and vertebrates which do similar things In different ways. Among them, they take care of business very effectively, and possess the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions. Similarly, one has a host of different kinds of organizations which deal with "environmental Issues." Each has different emphases, strengths and weaknesses. Planned Parenthood, Zero Population Growth, and the Alan Guttmacher Institute specialize In population Issues. The Rodale Institute, Organic Crop Improvement Association, Committee for Sustainable Agriculture, New Farm Institute, and dozens of others are working on PACK CREEK RANCH Restaurant Open Daily 6 PM - 10 PM BEAT THE WEEKEND CROWDS. TRY US DURING THE WEEK WHEN THE PACE IS SLOWER. Daily Horseback Rides At The Ranch For Information or Reservations Phone (801) 259-550- 5 |
