CCE IN THE NEWS

Source: The Syracuse Post-Standard

Warming Up to 'Green' Issues

April 24, 2008

Dick Drosse remembers the first time he took an interest in the environment. It was in Mr. Lesser's earth science class, circa 1964, when he learned the basics about ecology and biological diversity.

"It just stuck with me as a starter a kindling," he said. "That was many moons ago, believe me."

Drosse never forgot.

About 28 years ago, he built parts of his house using recycled supplies from nearby commercial projects. And when it came time to renovate five years ago, he installed water-saving toilets and showerheads, along with low-energy fluorescent lights and extra insulation.

This week, as the Earth Week coordinator for the Oswego County Environmental Management Council, he also helped plan cleanups and plantings, handing out clean gloves and garbage bags to participating groups.

Drosse, however, is not alone. He belongs to a group of local environmentalists who, after years of lobbying for change, now find a surge in public interest in "green" issues, with memberships and participation on the rise.

"I think I have seen an increase of groups this year," Drosse said. "I think there's a larger number of groups involved," all of which helped pick up plastic bottles and fast-food containers strewn across the county.

Jim Howe, the executive director of the Nature Conservancy's Central and Western New York, also reported a steady increase in the chapter's membership rolls, which currently hold around 16,000 people.

"We have seen a little surge this spring," he said, with about a 5 percent increase from normal additions.

Even elected officials have chimed in: Oswego County Legislature Chairman Barry Leemann, for instance, in his "State of the County" address, called for a "very green year for Oswego County."

Dereth Glance, the executive program director for the Syracuse office of Citizens Campaign for Environment, ascribed the trend to a changed national mood on the environment.

"I think there's greater public awareness and the urgency is stronger," she said, noting that Onondaga County had one of the highest recycling rates in the state.

Experts have cited a range of factors for the changing attitudes, from former Vice President Al Gore's publicity efforts to higher gas prices. It hasn't hurt, however, that local environmentalists also have couched their agenda in economic-friendly ways.

Diane Brandli, an interior designer who handles communications for GreeningUSA, a Syracuse-based environment group, said the green movement had changed its pitch since its early days.

"I was around in the 1970s, when the first movement got rolling, and I was a believer," she said. "The reason it failed is because it did not take a holistic look at the issues. In those days, they considered corporate America to be the enemy."

Now, her group emphasizes the economic benefits of going green the saved energy costs, the lower health care bills, more jobs from the industry.

The move reflects a wider shift in the environmental movement.

Steven Brechin, a sociology professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said that the current generation of environmental activists grew up with a different ideology that did not mistrust markets and profit-making.

Still, he warned that not all products labeled as "green" deserved the tag, noting that independent reviewers must go down a long checklist before giving the nod. Consumers, he said, needed to be wary of the marketing.

"Some of it is real and some of it is greenwashing," he said.

Regardless of the week, however, the local green groups agree that they have miles to go, with bills in front of the government to push and consumer education campaigns to organize.

"It's kind of Earth Day every day for us. We're here five days, 52 weeks," said Virginia Fugman, another staff member at Citizens Campaign for Environment.