Week 6 Readings: Environmental Non-profits

I feel like environmental nonprofits generally suffer from the public's perception that they're only obstructive, job-hating hippies, and I really hate that this is the case. In some part, the activists are to blame for not doing a better job of portraying themselves as rational. A LOT of environmentalists can get preachy, like in any other field, but there's nothing people get so touchy about as cutting jobs for the environment, especially in Oregon where this is a huge issue. With only 2-3% of Oregon's land being developed land, it is hard for people to see that this is a benefit, not a curse.

I especially wonder why the environment became a "hippy thing" in the first place. What happened to responsible stewardship and the days of the environmental protections being seen for what they are--an asset to ALL OF US, man? (pic from smilingmom.com, I have no idea why)

A Guide to Environmental Nonprofits
The use of "good" names to dupe people is WIDELY used in the non-profit sector by unscrupulous folks, and it's no shock that anti-protection agencies have the same schtick. If The Heritage Foundation were called "The rascist shortsighted old assholes foundation," they wouldnt enjoy such popular support. A good resource, and I saved it to my desktop for later.

McKenzie River Watershed Council Home
Okay, this it the 21st century. NO EXCUSES FOR A POORLY DESIGNED SITE. If your sole purpose is to promote something, sell an idea, or garner support, YOU HAVE TO HIRE A GOOD WEB DESIGNER. No excuses. If the US government, notorious for clunky HTML is doing better, you're not doing well enough.

MWC Annual Report
Like we talked about in class, the MWC is one of the organizations doing REALLY critical work, and it's good to see how they diversify. The thing that I felt was the best about this is that they are sourcing help by working with Thurston to have high school students work on monitoring projects. This is a HUGE deal: 1) kids get excited about conservation and carry that excitement into their adult lives, 2) kids get REAL skills and training, something that is lacking severely in today's world, 3) MWC gets free laborers, and 4) data that is valuable can be collected and used in classrooms and reports. One of the cornerstones of any successful effort should be the community. Getting support for X means that there are ripple effect benefits Y and Z for the community and the non-profit, and it connects people to projects. It means that when the projects come up to get cut, there is a substantial community effect and support that can stop it, and important work can still be done.

Paul Hawken's Commencement Speech

This speech was really BEAUTIFUL. It makes me really happy ever time I get some message that makes me realize I am not the only one htat feels the way I do. One of the most beautiful things I see in the world is that everything is terrible, and out of that horrible loss, destruction, etc etc ALWAYS comes support, togetherness, aid, regeneration, progress, change, renewal, and learning. There is, in my mind, no problem that can't be solved, no situation that leads to nothing, not a single action that has a negative net benefit. Even out of the greatest tragedies and challenges we face, there is always a great awakening of spirit and a depth of knowledge we gain about ourselves and our world. That knowledge and growth and deep pain is amazing, because even at the lowest, we still can get back up. Even death and endings are not the end. A great talk. Also saved to my files. If you all haven't, and I know many have, so bear with me, watch Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. It's one of those things that really changes your life to see, maybe not about THE environment, but about YOUR environment and about not setting yourself up to fail. A great talk.

Why Mr. Gore Chose Venture Capital

Back to one of my overarching points this article points out the tremendous significance of for-profit endeavors in the environment, and it sort of hints at the monetary incentives that could be introduced in the industry. While philanthropy IS important, money just simply makes the world go round. Financial and economic incentive has a role in everything that we do, and by taking the issue of conservation and stewardship out of this hippies-and-granola space and launch it into a space of smart business. Tom McCall saw the benefit of environmental protections, Nixon knew and it's important that going forward we understand more thoroughly how the worldwe live in SHOULD shape the decisions we make. The last decade of "green-washing" is sort of like a Michael Moore documentary--even though we hate the delivery, an important message is being conveyed. Al Gore is choosing the way he can have the most REAL impact. As much as we like our non-profits, it's not the Sierra Club writing the rules of the industry, it's the industry itself. Right or wrong, that's how it really works.