Politics, Pollution, and Pandas: An Environmental Memoir [Hardcover]

Russell E. Train (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2003

Russell Train, chairman emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund, has led a long life in conservation and environmental politics. Though many of his contributions have been unsung, Train was a catalyst for many of America's most important environmental policies that remain in place in the 21st century. In the contemporary political climate, where party divisions are so sharp and environmental concerns are so often obscured by partisan politics, Train's journey as a life-long republican and an ardent conservationist is an inspiring story. Much of the important environmental policy Train helped to devise and implement occurred during two Republican administrations, those of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Train served as undersecretary of Interior early in Nixon's administration before becoming chair of the president's Council on environmental Quality (1970-1973) and then headed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 1973 until 1978. In the early years of the Carter administration, train left government to become president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), in the US, where, over more than 25 years, he has played a key role on developing that institution into the major conservation organization it is.

Editorial Reviews

Review

oTrainAEs memoir is illuminating and thoroughly useful.o --Gregory McNamee, Washington Post

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559632860
• ISBN-13: 978-1559632867
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #719,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exposing Bush's Fallacious Conservatism, January 30, 2004

By 

William Hare (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Politics, Pollution, and Pandas: An Environmental Memoir (Hardcover)

Russell Train is a life long Republican who headed the Environmental Protection Agency under presidents Nixon and Ford. He is a conservative with no record of radicalism who currently finds himself at odds with an administration that has declared war on the environment.

On a recent appearance with Bill Moyers on PBS, Stuart Udall, former Secretary of the Interior under John F. Kennedy, conceded that he was both sad and confounded by recent efforts to politicize the environment. He related that when he was in Congress as well as Interior Secretary that preserving the environment was an issue on which Democrats and Republicans agreed. There might have been partisan debate in other areas, but the need to preserve a healthy and scenic environment was an area where the parties closed ranks.

Under Bush a reckless policy of greed has been followed. By advocating Alaskan wild life oil drilling, cutting back on poisonous emissions, and abrogating the Kyoto accord, which was an integral part of the fight against global warming, the gauntlet has been hurled down by corporate special interest profiteers, led by big oil advocates Bush and Cheney.

Train points out that Richard Nixon did not favor a strong environmental policy due to a compelling belief in preserving the environment per se. As a weather vane politician he saw the wisdom in taking a position that would benefit and protect millions of Americans, and so he created the Environmental Protection Agency. He believed his pro-environment posture would enhance his presidential credentials and magnify his chances of securing reelection in 1972.

The current anti-environment brigade does more than oppose efforts to maintain clean air and water; an antagonistic approach has been adopted wherein environmentalists are attacked as dangerous radicals with an anti-business agenda who will cost millions of jobs if their agenda is advanced. These scare tactics have worked with many, and Train advocates the necessity of returning to more traditional ground.

Train is joined in his criticism of the Bush record by the likes of Paul O'Neill and Clyde Prestowitz, who have their own books available examining the Bush record. Their works demarcate a distinction between traditional conservatism as advanced by earlier Republican presidents and the radical neoconservative agenda advanced by Bush, Cheney and Ashcroft.