The Right and Wrong of Environmental Politics

Manweller—October 31^st, 2007

Environmentalism and politics can be a combustible combination. The states are always high. On one side we have those who argue the fate of the planet lies in the balance. On the other side, we have people whose entire livelihood can be put at stake. No one enters into such debates lightly.

In the past few months, I have seen, and been a part of, two “environmental movements” right here in Kittitas County. In observing the different ways these movements conducted themselves I am convinced that there is a right and wrong way to protect the environment. While just about everyone agrees on the goals of the environmental movement, what pushes us apart is the methods different groups use.

Let’s start with the right way. The Cascade Land Conservancy (CLC) is a local group that endeavors to protect open spaces, stream beds, and wetlands. They do this by bringing people from all walks of life together. They bring farmers, ranchers, environmentalist, bureaucrats, and academics to the table. They never take anyone’s land or property. They never use the power of eminent domain. They never sue anyone. Instead of threatening to punish someone who opposes them, they seek to reward people who help them. By offering tax breaks and easements to land owners, instead of bullying them, the CLC has learned that we can protect open spaces and still respect human liberty. The CLC knows that the carrot can be more effective than the stick.

Last month I spoke at the CLC banquet. It was a who’s who of Kittitas County. What struck me was the diversity in the room. There were passionate conservatives in the room. There were well known Democrats in the room. It didn’t matter. The CLC found a way to bring us together. Protecting the environment brought the liberals to the table. Doing it in a way the respects private property rights and individual liberty brought the conservatives in too. We all always agreed on the goal. The CLC found a method that didn’t alienate anyone.

Now let’s look at the wrong way to do it. Aqua Permanente, a group of two angry women with an ax to grind, have taken the politics of “shoot first ask questions later” to a whole new level. In filing a petition with the Department of Ecology to shut down all new exempt water wells in Kittitas County, they have, without any data or facts, threatened thousands of families in this valley. People’s jobs are at risk, retirements are thrown into jeopardy, and our entire economy put in peril. It is bad politics when an entire county can be held hostage to one ex-county employee who wants to lash out at her old employer. It’s worse when that person has no concern for all collateral damage she will cause in the process. Unlike the CLC, Aqua Permanente is all stick and no carrot. Like most autocrats, they pursue their goals with no respect for the liberty of others.

Also, unlike the CLC, they bring no one to the table. Aqua Permanente can only find two people in the entire county to join them and those two are unwilling to compromise with anyone. It’s their way or the highway. They can’t win elections so they end run the process and go to unelected bureaucrats to do their dirty work. In the end, instead of bringing people together, they alienate everyone they encounter and set the environmental movement back decades. Now people who were already distrustful of environmentalist can point to Aqua Permanente and say “I told you so.”

The actions of Aqua Permanente have also shown us that it matters who sits in the governor’s mansion. Gov. Gregoire seems willing to let the Department of Ecology, EFSEC, and all of her other unelected bureaucrats step all over the rights of Kittitas County. I hope that as Dino Rossi begins to travel the state again, he will hear the voices from our valley and offer us some hope that if he is re-elected, he will appoint someone new to head the Department of Ecology—someone who understands that you can protect the environment while still respecting individual rights.