IF YOU HAVE AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE YOU'RE CONCERNED WITH
AND WONDER WHAT YOU CAN DO, you've come to the right place!
The following story was written by Elizabeth May, Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada. It is posted here with permission. For more good advice from the Sierra Club of Canada, one of our country's premier environmental organizations, please visit their website: www.sierraclub.ca/national
How to be an activist 
Written by Elizabeth May,
Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada
The author, who has no academic credentials for activism, has based the following on 30 years of campaigning. She is currently Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada.
THERE IS NO FORMAL SCHOOL FOR ACTIVISTS. No university degree qualifies the graduate to practice grassroots organizing. Environmental activists, like many other practitioners of social change, come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life, and even from all political parties. And all of us learn from experience. On the other hand, we should be able to benefit from the experience of others.
Unfortunately, more often than not, people suddenly find themselves in a situation that requires a certain moral heroism. They had not planned to become activists.
Environmental problems themselves create activists.
When a toxic landfill threatens the neighbourhood, local lawyers may volunteer to do some legal work, scientists may offer volunteer help and the community of concerned parents suddenly find themselves wondering how to write a press release, circulate petitions, and, even conduct a sit-in in a
politician's office. By the time they are in the thick of a campaign, it is hard to know where to turn for help and advice.
The reality of ordinary people picking up the gauntlet and becoming politically active is
largely unknown to the as-yet-uninitiated public. By the time the small neighbourhood citizens group gets its issue before the public, its members are already being labeled as "environmentalists." From that point on, their true identity is lost as surely as Clark Kent's when he emerges as Superman.
The media labeling process does society a disservice. It cuts off "activists" and "environmentalists" from "normal" people. The general public, as demonstrated by numerous polls, supports the principles of environmental protection and restoration, but usually they believe it is for some other category of people, called "environmentalists," to do the work they support.
When an environmental group is described as a "special interest" group, there is a blurring between those who protect "special" interests, usually of a financial nature, and those who work on a volunteer basis, usually at personal sacrifice and expense, to pursue a cause in the public good.
The reality of activism, for the environment or any other cause, is that democracy is at work. Citizens are exercising democratic rights. Rather than being the exception to the rule, for democracy to thrive, all
citizens should be activists.
A Few Rules of Thumb
Recognizing that environmental activism is a democratic right, it is important to have a few rules of thumb to encourage the neophyte.
1) Refuse to be intimidated. If you are told that a subject is too technical or scientific for you to
understand, don't believe it. Elected politicians make these decisions all the time based on general knowledge and their sense of public opinion. The claim of "expert" versus average concerned citizen is inherently anti-democratic and elitist. You may not be an expert. But you can read and understand what experts have to say. Make a note of good quotes (including the source) of expert views concerned with the environment. Start your own card file of references to unleash if someone tries to suggest you don't know enough to be involved.
2) Be creative! Every campaign and issue has its own dynamic. Let your creative juices flow. Maybe satire will work for you. Maybe so. Even conventional campaigns can attract more people if you have an optimistic, innovative approach.
3) Don't take no for an answer. If you want to meet an elected official, call every day. Drop by the office and get to know the staff. Be persistent. The squeaky wheel. . . .
4) Ask lots of questions. Get to the bottom of issues. Do your homework.
5) Use the telephone. It is a great research tool. Ten times better than writing and asking for information is phoning until you find the person who knows the answer and will immediately send you
information. In addition to getting what you want, you may have uncovered a good source for future information - and maybe even an ally in the bureaucracy.
6) Be unfailingly polite. Being persistent is not the same thing as being rude. You may be in this for the long haul, so don't burn any bridges.
7) Leave no stone unturned. Think about who knows who. How can you expand your network? Your allies may come from unexpected places, so do not make assumptions. Ask people for help.
8) When someone in government does something good for the environment, be sure to give public credit and thanks.
9) You can accomplish anything, if you don't care who gets the credit.
10) Remember that politics is also personal. Watch out for burnout. You'll need the support of friends and family. Build love into your campaigns.
Some Starting Points
In local organizing, one of the first things you'll probably want to do is form a group.
Don't re-invent the wheel. Look around. Is there an existing group, with goals similar to your own, that would accept your group as a working committee, or affiliated chapter? If you can avoid going through the incorporation process and the charitable number ordeal by joining an existing group (and co-opting
them to your issue in the process), why not try?
If you are organizing your own group, try not to get bogged down in by-laws. Stick to the essentials. If you want to change a decision at City Council in three months, you won't have time for Robert's Rules of Order. In order not to lose momentum, and volunteers, make the meetings fun by including some social activity. Plan a pot luck supper first and then work through the agenda efficiently. Folk singer and environmental activist Pete Seeger organized a very successful campaign to clean up the Hudson River.
He advised, "Don't have meetings that only attract the kind of people who like going to meetings."
Be sure to assign tasks as you make decisions. If someone suggests something new, don't reject it just because everyone who is heavily involved is already too busy. Say "What a great idea! Will you take that
on?" Delegate!
Pick achievable goals. Positive reinforcement is important. So deciding to make your goal "achieving world peace" or "ending hunger" will likely result in burn-out and disillusionment. On the other hand, making your goal to get 10,000 names on a petition to do either of the above is doable and will have a positive reinforcing impact - you'll gain strength and enthusiasm for the next goal.
How to get your message in the news media
It is a fact of life that environmental groups don't have money. Some projects may qualify for government grants, but they are usually the "safe" kind. Planting trees. Picking up litter. While such projects are undoubtedly worthwhile, they are not going to change the world. Trying to reduce dependency on environmentally damaging and non-sustainable energy sources (like fossil fuels, large-scale hydro and nuclear power) fundamentally challenges the status quo. So does trying to end the use of toxic pesticides for cosmetic purposes. If you are working on issues like these, it is hard to obtain the kind of money it takes to gain public (and political) attention through advertising.
The mainstay of your information and awareness campaign is going to be the news media. Hence, the environmental movement and the news media have an awkward and symbiotic relationship: they need us for stories, and the environmental movement certainly needs them.
But environmentalists get frustrated with the superficiality of news coverage of issues that threaten planetary survival, and the news media get sick of hearing what they often regard as predictable whining from the greens. So how can you, with little or no media experience, be expected to break through to reasonably accurate coverage of your concerns? First, you should understand a things about the news media. Noam Chomsky's analysis ("Manufacturing Consent") notwithstanding, you can get your issue in the public eye.
It helps if you are able to see the story from the reporter's point of view. There are very few newspapers or electronic networks with a full-time environmental reporter. You are trying to get a reporter, who has to cover everything from tax hikes to crime on the street, interested in your story.
There are no Woodwards and Bernsteins. Calling and telling them there's a big story out there if they do some really good investigative reporting will get your message consigned to the waste basket, (or, in an environmentally aware newsroom, the recycling bin.)
If you want a reporter to cover your story, you have to do all their work for them. Think it through. Where's the angle? "A local group of environmentalists are organizing to save the environment" is hardly an earth-shattering story. Remember the old adage, "Dog bites man" is not a story. "Man bites dog" is.
Tie your issue to other political events, like elections or previous campaign promises. What are the financial issues? Is taxpayers' money being wasted? Are jobs being lost? Are the environmental\ alternatives better for the economy? (They usually are.)
Make it interesting to someone who doesn't give a hydroelectric dam. Fill in the "5 Ws": Who,
What, When, Where and Why. Make sure all your facts are absolutely accurate.
Write your own press release. It should read like a news story, not like your group's manifesto. Put in quotes from group representatives. Be sure to include phone numbers so that reporters can call you to get more details and re-work your press release into their own story
SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE
Your logo appears here
PRESS RELEASE
Group's mailing address
DATE : Put the date on which you want the story to be released, or put the words "For
immediate release:" at the beginning of your release.
TEXT : The first sentence should be clear, factual and grab the attention of the reader. It
should tell the press what the story is about.
TEXT EXAMPLE
Citizens Organized to Save Wetlands today announced the results of their audit of the
costs of the proposed Department of Boondoggles development.
"By our calculations, reviewed by the firm of Somebody Credible Ltd., the Department of
Boondoggles will be increasing the provincial deficit by $300 million by choosing this
environmentally sensitive site, instead of merely recycling their existing building," said group
chair, J. Q. Public.
Citizens Organized to Save Wetlands are considering legal action if their current petition
campaign is unsuccessful in persuading the Department to re-consider its plans. They are also
planning a demonstration in front of Department headquarters to take place next Wednesday,
the xth of xx, at 12 noon.
"We are confident that good sense will prevail," said group researcher I. M. Green. "With the
provincial election in the offing, and so many environmentally concerned statements coming
from the Premier's Office, we simply cannot believe that this deliberately wrong-headed policy
will prevail.
- 30 -
(It is a convention of news releases that they end with "- 30 -". It tells reporters that the text
has ended.)
Contact information: (Don't forget to include the name and phone number where people
quoted in the release can be reached for comment.)
Send your release to ensure it reaches the media before or on your release date. If you are far from a media centre, you can e-mail, fax your release, or phone it in to the closest office of the Canadian Press (CP). CP is a wire service. If it puts your story on their service, it will automatically reach television, radio and newspaper newsrooms (generally daily newspapers, not community newspapers like the Haliburton County Echo or the Minden Times). It is then the decision of the news director in each outlet whether to use your story.
I used to send releases from a town of 45 people in Cape Breton Island down to CP in Halifax, phoning it in right before I went to sleep to get low phone rates. I can remember how astonishing it was to wake up in the morning and hear my release on the radio.
Beyond press releases, you may want to hold a press conference. Don't do it unless
you have a really good story, or can bring in an acknowledged expert who won't be available
as a matter of course. Hold press conferences somewhere familiar to the media. Make it convenient. Try to avoid having to spend money to rent space. Is there a good community centre close to the downtown? Can you get the help of someone in City Council to use City Hall or the Regional Government Centre?
A SHOPPING LIST OF CAMPAIGN TACTICS
The following are tried and true. It is a good idea to try something fairly straightforward initially, with minimum risk of failure.
1) Letter writing campaigns
Politicians really do pay attention to their mail! Especially the volume of mail. As letters mount up on an issue, it will achieve greater importance. At the national level, one letter is considered to represent thousands of people's opinions. The ratio declines as you move down the government hierarchy, but at the municipal level, fewer people write, so the letters still have clout. Your letter does not have to be typed. Handwriting is fine. So is word processing. The key is that your letter is original and not recognizable as a preprinted message. ALWAYS SIGN YOUR LETTERS. Include your address for their response.
Your letter does not have to be technical. You do not have to know everything about an issue to write and express your opinion. It does have to be clear. State explicitly what you want the politician to do. Include a specific question requesting his or her response. If the response misses the point or is inadequate, write again. Remember, at the level of federal and provincial ministers, a staff person in the bureaucracy writes the response.
The minister may not even see your letter. Why persist? Because as the number of letters add up, the issue is given greater importance. Sometimes you are even able to educate the bureaucracy, or alert the minister to the fact that the staff has him or her signing inaccurate letters. (My brother in Nova Scotia actually called a Minister at home once to say that he didn't want to attack the Minister in the press over a particularly lame response to a letter. He gave the Minister a chance by asking him if he knew that the letter prepared by his bureaucrats included misleading information. The Minister didn't know and was
grateful for the call.)
2) Letters to the Editor
Did you know that the letters section is the most read section of any newspaper? Not only do people in your community read the letters, government officials have clipping services that reprint the ones dealing with their area. The federal minister of the environment sees clippings from coast to coast, including letters to the editor, every day.
Letters should be short, direct and well written. Of course, they should be accurate and educate readers about your issue. Watch for opportunities to respond to articles that have been in the paper.
3) Call-in radio & TV shows
There are opportunities for free access to the airwaves. Listen to a show a few times before you call in. Get a sense of the host so you won't be surprised if they disagree with you. It is easy, anonymous and can get your message to lots of people.
4) Petition campaigns
The U.S. Declaration of Independence was sort-of a petition. Less than fifty people signed it and the rest is history. Petitions are an excellent first step for new groups. They are tools for public education. The preamble should set out clearly what the issue is and all the reasons for your concern. (Do remember the "WHEREAS"s!) They also force you to know clearly what you want from the government. If you want the municipal council to ban pesticide spraying on all public and private lands, say so. If you want them to maintain a handful of pesticide-free parks, say so. But don't leave a petition hanging with just a general, "we are against pesticides" statement.
Petitions can be circulated door to door, left with sympathetic local merchants, or you can set up a table in the local mall (although this usually has to be arranged fairly far ahead.) If you are trying to solicit support in a public venue like a mall, don't be shy! Smile and ask people as they come by if they are interested in the environment. If they avert their eyes and walk away, so be it. Leave them alone and KEEP SMILING!
Set a goal. Know when you are presenting the petition. Get a sympathetic politician to accept it from you and alert the media.
5) Fundraising
Wait a minute. Isn't this a shopping list of campaig tools? Well, yes. But good grassroots fundraising is not only a way of raising money; it is a way of raising awareness. (And it also deals with that unspoken question of the uninitiated public, "where do those people get their donations?")
Grassroots fundraising should involve lots of people as volunteers. Try to get local donations of supplies, advertising, prizes or whatever from local merchants (and of course give them public credit and thanks). What kinds of things are grassroots fund-raisers? Here's a sample list. But it's not exhaustive. You can build on these ideas, but better still, come up with your own.
Potluck suppers with an entrance fee. Fun. Great food. Cheap and you'll have something for the campaign pot when the dishes are done.
Bake sales. You can get lots of people involved. Hold it at the local mall, or after church. Raffles. Go for donated prizes or make your own. In Cape Breton we raised thousands of dollars with quilt raffles to stop the spraying of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T.
Hold a community fair! Have clowns. Kids' events. Sell baked goods, homegrown organic veggies, preserves, handicrafts. Include an auction.
Ask a local bar if you can have an evening of entertainment for a cause. This will appeal to lots of young people. Musicians are notoriously generous in their support of environmental causes. God bless them.
Hold an auction. It could be an art auction. Or hold a flea market of odd junk items. Donate services -- a deluxe brunch in someone's home, or catered to your place, a sailboat outing, baby-sitting, carpentry, barter for cash for the cause!
Hold a massive yard sale. Recycle all your stuff and raise funds. Sometimes in our community environmental struggles in Cape Breton, I was convinced we just kept selling our old plates and hand-me-downs to each other. But it worked.
Hold a church supper. Church halls can be rented for not too much, and they are perfect: big kitchens, well equipped for a crowd and they feel great for community events.
Order t-shirts or mugs with your message. Sell them at all your events.
You can order great posters from a lot of environmental groups, as well as calendars, T-shirts, postcards and other merchandise. Contact Sierra Club or Western Canada Wilderness Committee for great items.
How to lobby
Whether you're working to change a policy at City Hall or the federal cabinet, you'll probably want to sit down and meet with a few of the people who'll be making that decision.
The rules of thumb are the same, regardless of how bureaucratic the bureaucrat is. (And, yes, you do have to lobby bureaucrats). As recommended in the "Rules of Thumb" at the beginning of this document: Be unfailingly polite, persistent, network, leave no stone unturned. Experienced fund-raisers say you can reach anyone in the world with only two phone calls. Considering that a radio station in Montreal got through to the Queen of England, who can doubt this is true?! So remember, you may not know the Minister or Mayor now, but there is no reason you can't get to know them. Don't be intimidated. Once you have a thorough knowledge of your issue and have done your homework, there's no reason you can't go to meet key people and put forward your case in person.
Preparing for the meeting
It is an excellent idea to reduce your key points to a one-page document that you can leave with the decision-maker. It's always easier to write a long document than a short concise one, but the effort to boil down your case is well worth it. Busy people (and the more powerful they are, the busier they are) will never read more than a page.
Think through ahead of time what it is you want the decision-maker to do. I know of environmentalists who've gone to see very powerful politicians, laid out their case, and prepared for questions on the merits of their argument, only to be completely unprepared for the person agreeing with them and asking the obvious question: "What do you want me to do about this?"
If the person you're seeing is in Cabinet, for example, but not the Minister who actually makes the decision, think through exactly what you want. What is the most strategic thing this person can do to advance your case? Is it to speak quietly to someone, to issue a public statement or to introduce you to someone else so you can explain the issue to them? Your one page note should end with a very specific request.
You should also prepare for the personal side of the visit. If nothing else, you will have advanced your cause if the politician is left with a favourable impression - if you've started the process of building a relationship. So, do a little research about the person you'll be meeting. When was she elected to government? Where did she go to university? If hunting and fishing are known to be favourite pasttimes, build on that to create environmental awareness. Ideally, you'll find you know someone in common, or that you've gone to the same school, or that she was in school with your dad.
Be especially sure to research any previous good deeds for the environment. The best way to start any meeting is to thank the politician for something they accomplished in the past. Even if it was twenty years ago, they'll feel great to know someone still remembers. And you'll have them remembering that these issues are (or were) important to them. Don't ignore the small talk. It may be the best part of your meeting.
If you are going as part of a group, think through how many of you should go. As a general rule, it is a poor idea to have more than three or four people go in to meet with politicians. It is increasingly intimidating for them, and unwieldy as the meeting size grows. Be strategic. If possible do not go to a meeting in a group larger than two or three. Be sure to tell the scheduling person you are dealing with the size of your delegation and the names of the people coming with you. Plan ahead who will cover which points.
The Meeting
Dressing for the meeting is unfortunately something that should be mentioned. Although there is no question that your value as an individual has nothing to do with how you look, you'll be more likely to reach a decision-maker if you are dressed in a way to which they are accustomed. Business suits go over better
than jeans and sandals. I only wear make-up for media and lobbying. I call it war paint. (As my sister-in-law says, "A girl's gotta do, what a girl's gotta do.")
If you haven't had time to research this person's background, you can still look for clues around their office. Diplomas, photos, plaques. Find some way to have a more personal chat at some point in the meeting. Most people love talking about themselves. It puts them at ease. A nervous and impatient person is not easy to influence. And, of course, you may find something that creates some common denominators in your lives. Many people have a one-dimensional image of environmentalists. Somehow they don't think we have real lives, children, jobs, other interests. Breaking down the stereotypes is a significant part of your task. Once you've had a bit of small talk, move quickly into the main agenda. Be courteous. Show an awareness that this person is probably very busy. Ask at the outset how much time the person has until their next appointment, bearing in mind that meetings often start late and keep backing up. Do not take up more time than has been allotted.
Present your case clearly and calmly. Give the decision-maker your one-page note so they can follow along. Provide any more detailed papers you would like to leave as well. If your issue has a visual element, bring photos. Be sure to ask if the person has any questions. If you don't know the answer to something, don't bluff! Make a note and promise to get the information. And, then, remember to get it and send it
to the decision-maker quickly, the next day if possible.
Remember to ask clearly for what you want. And thank them, first, verbally, and then after with a thank-you letter that reminds them graciously of any follow-up they offered to do. "
First published in 1996; Revised 2003
"Politicians are still just people.
They are mostly honest, mostly over-worked and often wrong.
If you can help them to do the right thing, why not try?"
--Elizabeth May
The Sierra Club of Canada is dedicated to developing a diverse, well-trained grassroots network working
to protect the integrity of our global ecosystems. In pursuit of this goal, the Sierra Club of Canada holds
Activist Training Workshops. If you, or your local group would like to attend or arrange such a
workshop, contact the National Office.
For more information on Sierra Club of Canada Programs and Campaigns, please contact:
To volunteer or participate in your local Group, please contact your chapter or visit SCC's website.
SIERRA CLUB OF CANADA
NATIONAL OFFICE
412-1 Nicholas Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 7B7
Phone: (613) 241-4611
Fax: (613) 241-2292
Toll free: 1-888-810-4204
EASTERN CANADA CHAPTER
Ontario, Quebec
102-24 Mercer Street
Toronto, ON M5V 1H3
Phone: (416) 960-9606
Fax: (416) 960-0020
SIERRA YOUTH COALITION
(Students and youth 26 years of age and under are
members of the Sierra Youth Coalition)
412-1 Nicholas Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 7B7
Phone: (613) 241-1615
Fax: (613) 241-2292
Toll free: 1-888-790-7393
Local lessons learned
Written by Cathy Olliffe
DEFINE WHAT YOU'RE UPSET ABOUT. Really examine your motives -- sometimes people complain about development simply because they don't want something in their backyard (the dreaded NIMBY syndrome). Be honest with yourself -- if you're a NIMBY, admit it. Sometimes people fight battles that are slightly dishonest, quoting other reasons for fighting development when, in fact, they don't care about the development as long as it's not next door to them. In the long run, it pays to be upfront about why you're concerned. Defining your reasons also allows you to figure out how you can fight back. (For example, if you're worried about traffic, you can contact the Ministry of Transportation or the local municipality. If you're worried about water quality, you can contact lake associations, the municipality, Ministry of the Environment.)CHECK THE ENVIRONMENTAL BILL OF RIGHTS (EBR) website daily. (http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/ebr/english/index.htm) Most applications that affect the environment have to be posted on this website. Usually you have 30 days after something is posted to file your complaint. The more people who complain, the better.
GET OTHER PEOPLE INVOLVED. Contact other people you think might be concerned (neighbours, lake associations).
HAVE A MEETING. Appoint a chairman. Assign tasks. Don't take everything on yourself. Collect money from everyone to buy an ad.
START A PETITION. Have everyone you meet sign it. Set up a booth on the main street or at a local store (with permission!) on a busy Saturday and ask people to sign it.
WRITE A LETTER. Actual letters are better than e-mail or phone calls. Write letters to local newspapers and politicians at all levels of government: local, county, provincial and federal. Write letters to all government agencies you think might be involved: Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources, etc.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Research plays a big part in every battle. Find out everything you can about the issue. This is usually the most overwhelming aspect of your battle. The more homework you do, the more likely you are to win your case.
BOOK A COMMUNITY HALL or other large space in order to accommodate a larger meeting.
PLACE AN AD in the local newspaper (or radio station). Make it as big as you can afford (full page is best although it may cost $500 or more -- and that's for a LOCAL ad. A full page ad in a daily paper may cost thousands.). Briefly outline your concern and announce when and where your public meeting is going to be held. Make sure to include a contact name and phone number so people can get in touch with you. If it's a big issue that concerns a lot of people, your phone will ring off the hook!
CALL A REPORTER and ask if the paper is interested in doing a story about the issue.
SET UP AN EMAIL address and a website.
HOST A PUBLIC MEETING. Invite the local media to cover it. Invite local politicians or others (Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources etc.) you think should be involved. Have someone moderate the event. Have someone else make an introductory speech to explain what the issue is all about. Make sure you allow plenty of time for questions. Pass the hat around to collect money because fighting any battle generally costs plenty. (Appoint someone trustworthy to look after that money.) Give people jobs to do.
ATTEND LOCAL COUNCIL meetings, if your issue involves the local municipality. Ask to be put on the council agenda -- usually you have to be on the agenda in order to make a formal presentation. When you make your presentation, make sure the room is packed with ratepayers.
PHONE YOUR ELECTED representatives regularly to see if there's anything new.
GET LEGAL and/or planning advice.
DON'T GIVE UP. These things take time.
And if, per chance, you lose this particular battle, TAKE HEART because you have likely raised public awareness about the issue and the results might be different the next time around.
==================================================================
RACHEL'S ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH NEWS #782
January 8, 2004
(Published Jan. 29, 2004)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION -- Part 1
by Maria B. Pellerano*
Every environmental justice and toxics activist has experienced
something like this:
A member of your group finds a public notice in the local
paper, on page 11 in tiny print, announcing a meeting about a
recycling facility (or some similar proposal).
So you go to the meeting and learn that the Green Hero
Corporation is planning to "recycle" sewage sludge by bagging
it and selling it as fertilizer -- and they're planning to do
this in your neighborhood.
Your neighborhood already has its share of smelly projects and
diesel trucks, and now you are supposed to welcome this new
neighbor.
Of course, it's already a done deal. The zoning has been
changed, permits issued, financing arranged, and the city
council has voted yes. You ask, "Why wasn't the community
informed?" and some slick guy in a three piece suit and a bad
tie says, "Well your city council knew and we are informing you
tonight. Besides, this proposal will bring jobs to your
neighborhood and it will meet all state and federal laws so I
don't see the problem." Then he gets in his helicopter and
flies back home to his nice clean neighborhood never to be seen
again.
In too many communities, this scenario accurately reflects what
"community participation" means these days: informing the
community after all the permits have been given, just as the
operation is about to begin.
But true "community participation" does not have to be like
this. First let's consider why community participation is
important. And then we'll look at some better ways of engaging
communities in making decisions that affect their quality of
life.
Community participation is important for many reasons:
** So we are more likely to get the kind of neighborhood we
want.
** To reduce conflict and legitimize government decisions
because everyone has had their "say" in the decisions.
** To create the "social glue" that turns a group of strangers
into a neighborhood, with all the other benefits that
neighborhood life brings (less crime, more pairs of eyes
watching out for the children, people helping each other solve
problems, etc.)
** To honor and fulfill the most basic political idea that led
to the Revolutionary War in 1776 -- self-governance.
** So we don't have to spend our lives defending our families,
time after time, against toxic assault.
** To gain the self-respect and self-assurance and sense of
well-being that comes with the power to control what's going on
in your life, especially the power to protect your family.
The environmental movement has not always held community
participation as a high priority. In earlier days, many
environmental groups were content with "dueling experts" where
their experts went head-to-head with their adversaries' experts
while the public stayed home and perhaps read about it in the
newspaper.
The environmental justice movement changed all that.
In October 1991, over a thousand people of color came together
at "The First National People of Color Environmental Leadership
Summit" in Washington, D.C. and drafted the Principles of
Environmental Justice.[1]
Two of the Principles are about community participation:
Principle 5 says, "Environmental justice affirms the
fundamental right to political, economic, cultural and
environmental self-determination of all peoples." In other
words we have the right to speak for ourselves and determine
our own destiny. And Principle 7 says, "Environmental justice
demands the right to participate as equal partners at every
level of decision-making including needs assessment, planning,
implementation, enforcement and evaluation." In other words we
should be equal partners in all decisions that affect our
community, starting early in the process.
The concept of community participation is also embedded in the
precautionary principle as defined by environmental justice
activists, academics, scientists, labor activists, and staff of
environmental organizations at a meeting held at the Wingspread
Center in Racine, Wisconsin in January 1998. At that meeting
participants drafted the Wingspread Statement on the
Precautionary Principle, which includes as its very last
sentences, "The process of applying the Precautionary Principle
must be open, informed and democratic and must include
potentially affected parties. It must also involve an
examination of the full range of alternatives, including no
action."[2]
In other words the precautionary principle says all affected
parties must be included in decisions and they must have the
opportunity to examine all reasonable alternatives including
the alternative of doing nothing.
How Can Communities Participate in Decisions?
Three recent reports have addressed public participation and
have suggested how it should work.
1) In May 2003, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
released Public Involvement Policy of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency[3].
This policy creates a standard for judging EPA's success (or
failure) in involving the public in its regulatory programs
(for example, enforcing the Clean Water Act) and nonregulatory
programs (for example, providing information on pollution
prevention).
2) In July 2003, the National Academy of Public Administration
(NAPA) released Addressing Community Concerns: How
Environmental Justice Relates to Land Use Planning and Zoning
[4]. This document offers advice to local, state, and federal
agencies about involving the public in decisions about land
use, including planning and zoning. NAPA is like the National
Academy of Sciences -- it was created by Congress to provide
advice on important public issues, but it is not funded by
Congress (it has to raise its own research funds).
3) In October 2003 the California Environmental Protection
Agency's (Cal/EPA) Advisory Committee on Environmental Justice
released its report, Recommendations of the California
Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) Advisory Committee on
Environmental Justice to the Cal/EPA Interagency Working Group
on Environmental Justice, Final Report[5]. The report
recommends ways that Cal/EPA can promote environmental justice
(and precaution) in all its programs, regulations, and
policies.
>From these three documents we learn, first, that the agencies
empowered to protect our resources and our health are not doing
such a great job. Then we learn how they could do better.
** Today people want more input into the decisions that affect
their communities, and governments are not responding, say both
the Cal/EPA report [5, pg. 12], and the NAPA report [4].
** Environmental and land use planning and zoning agencies have
largely failed to solicit input from those most affected by the
decisions and often the result is incompatible land uses. For
example, residential neighborhoods have toxic, polluting
facilities in their midst. [5, pg. 11; 4, pg. 71]
** When community residents try to remedy bad planning and
zoning decisions or get a facility moved or cleaned up, they
find it hard to know who they need to talk to because often
several different agencies give permits and enforce regulations
within their town, and sometimes the agencies themselves cannot
say who is responsible for which decision. [5, pg. 11]
** In some cases, agencies lack processes for tracking or
addressing citizen concerns and have no staff to oversee the
environmental health of the community or track pollution
control efforts, which leads to serious environmental
injustices in low-income and people-of-color communities [4,
pg. 117].
** Impacted communities are then required to line up the dead
bodies (have to prove they have been harmed) before they can
get any help. [4, pg. 157]
** When agencies speak to communities they often use technical
language or speak in a legalistic, bureaucratic way, and treat
residents as if they couldn't possibly understand the problem.
[4, pg. 158]
And so governments and the corporate sector continue the cycle
of bad decision-making. But this can change.
EPA acknowledges that when citizens participate in decisions,
better decisions result. Often it is citizens who goad
governments into action, leading to better decisions.[3, pg. 1]
According to the U.S. Constitution, the main role of government
is to promote the "general welfare." Obviously this includes
protecting public health and the environment. [4, pg. 1, and
see Rachel's #775 on the public trust doctrine.]
The National Academy of Public Administration noted many times
in its report[4] that citizens have become the primary catalyst
for change. Communities initially identify problems, then
suggest more effective solutions, and finally hold the
government accountable to make things right. [4, pgs. 1, 11,
59, 89 and 117.]
So how would true community participation work? Each of these
reports makes numerous recommendations but here are a few
highlights:
** Agencies need to plan and budget for public participation
for all programs. This includes, but is not limited to, hiring
staff to coordinate public involvement, providing financial
resources for extensive outreach and communications programs,
and training agency personnel to understand environmental
justice issues and work with the public. [3, pg. 7 and 5, pg.
18]
It is also extremely important that agencies give money to
communities or community groups so that local residents can get
technical assistance and participate in meetings. This
"no-strings-attached" money would allow groups to hire their
own experts, make photocopies, and make it possible for
residents to attend meetings (money for transportation, child
care and even compensation for meeting time). [3, pgs. 9-10,
13; and 5, pg. 19]
Agencies need to widely distribute a publication explaining
citizens' rights and opportunities to participate in decisions.
[5, pg. 19]
** It is important for agencies to solicit community input
before any decisions are made and this is particularly
important in land use planning and zoning decisions. [5, pg.
18; and 4, pg. 22] Often bad planning and zoning decisions are
the first step in creating contaminated sites.
Agencies can identify interested and affected parties and
solicit community input by contacting existing community-based
groups, non-governmental organizations, and churches, as well
as advertising in local newspapers and on radio and cable
television. [3, pg. 8; and 5, pg. 19]
** All community outreach materials need to be clearly written
in easy-to-understand language. Outreach materials should be
published in a number of formats (for example fliers
distributed at community centers, churches, schools and other
community-gathering places; electronic postings on web sites;
and announcements in local newspapers), widely available and
published in languages besides English if the affected parties
do not read English easily. Agencies should consider
communicating in non-traditional ways, using pictures to convey
complex ideas. [5, pg. 18; and 3, pgs. 11-12] For example, a
drawing of a bathtub in the ground is a good way to explain how
landfills work and why they eventually always leak. (For
** Hold meetings and workshops at times and locations that are
convenient for community members rather than times that are
convenient for agency staff. [5, pg. 18 and 4, pg. 22] This is
one of the greatest impediments to community participation
because most meetings are held between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday
through Friday, making it impossible for any working person to
attend. Also meetings are often held at Agency headquarters,
making it hard for local people because they have to travel
great distances to attend. Meetings should be held in the
community that will be affected by the decision.
** It is particularly important for local agencies to help
low-income and people-of-color communities participate in
planning and zoning decisions, ensuring that residents'
concerns are integrated into planning and zoning documents.
Local governments should also appoint people representing the
local community to land use planning and zoning boards. At
present, zoning boards tend to be dominated by middle-aged
white males. [4, pg. 22]
Cal/EPA reiterates these ideas and says that local governments
and communities should provide special tools for already
disproportionately impacted communities, including the
authority to deny permits. [6;7] As you can imagine, this idea
does not sit well with the polluters. Attached to the Cal/EPA
document is a dissenting opinion written by one of Cal/EPA's
Advisory Committee members, Cindy Tuck, General Counsel for
California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (see
http://www.cceeb.org/ to learn about this organization). In her
dissent, Tuck says no one besides government should have the
authority to deny permits or make land use decisions. [5, pg.
41 and see note 7]
So we have a distance to go. More next time.
==============
* Maria B. Pellerano is associate director of Environmental
Research Foundation.
[1] Charles Lee, Editor, Proceedings [of] The First National
People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit (New York:
United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice, 1992),
page xiii. The Principles of Environmental Justice are
[2] Nicholas Ashford and others Wingspread Statement on the
Precautionary Principle (Racine, Wisc.: Wingspread Center,
January 1998). The statement is available at
[3] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Public Involvement
Policy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [document
number EPA 233-B-03-002] (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, May 2003). Available at
[4] Philip Rutledge and others, Addressing Community Concerns:
How Environmental Justice Relates to Land Use Planning and
Zoning (Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Public
Administration, July 2003). Available at
long document and takes several minutes to retrieve).
[5] Cal/EPA Advisory Committee on Environmental Justice
released Recommendations of the California Environmental
Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) Advisory Committee on Environmental
Justice to the Cal/EPA Interagency Working Group on
Environmental Justice (Sacramento, Calif.: California
Environmental Protection Agency, October 2003). Available at
[6] The Cal/EPA report says [5, pg. 22], "Develop tools for
communities and local governments to use for evaluating the
siting of facilities that significantly increase pollution in
disproportionately impacted communities, including the
authority for denial of permits, and increase the weight of
community involvement in those decisions;"
[7] Cindy Tuck writes in the Cal/EPA report[5, pgs. 41-42],
"Certainly it is appropriate for local governments to have
tools to use in making land use planning decisions. Communities
and other stakeholders need to be able to understand what those
tools are and how they work. However, no interest group,
including communities, should have the authority for the denial
of permits or to make the land use decision. Only government
should have the authority to approve or deny a permit or make
the land use decision. Communities and other stakeholders need
to be able to participate in a meaningful way in the public
process, but communities and other stakeholders do NOT make the
decisions." [Emphasis in the original.]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
LOOK HERE!
This list includes contact information for Ontario's new
-Premier
-Minister of the Environment
-Minister of Natural Resources
-and Haliburton's new MPP
HOW TO REACH Dalton McGuinty, Ontario's new PREMIER:
Queen's Park
99 Wellesley St. W., Whitney Block,
6th Floor
Toronto ON
M7A 1W3
or
Room 281, Main Legislative Building
Toronto ON
M7A 1A4
Constituency Office
1795 Kilborn Ave.
Ottawa ON K1H 6N1
Fax 613-736-9573
email
HOW TO REACH Leona Dombrowsky, Ontario's new MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT:
Queen's Park
Ministry of the Environment
135 St. Clair Ave. W., 12th Floor
Toronto ON
M4V 1P5
Fax 416-314-6748
Tel 416-314-6750
Constituency Office
4 Market Square
Napanee ON
K7R 1J3
Fax 613-354-0232
Tel 613-354-6630
Toll Free
1-877-356-6248
HOW TO REACH David Ramsay, Ontario's new MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES:
Queen's Park
Ministry of Natural Resources
6630-99 Wellesley St W, 6th Floor, Whitney Block
Toronto ON
M7A 1W3
Constituency Office
29 Duncan Ave.
Kirkland Lake ON P2N 1X5
Fax 705-567-4208
Toll Free
1-800-461-2186
or
524 Ferguson St., Box 429
Haileybury ON
P0J 1K0
Fax 705-672-3241
Toll Free:1-888-701-1105
email
HOW TO REACH Laurie Scott
MPP for Haliburton-
Victoria-Brock:
Queen's Park
Room 159, Main Legislative Building
Toronto ON
M7A 1A8
Fax:416-325-3562
Tel:416-325-9910
Constituency Office
14 Lindsay St N
Lindsay ON K9V 1T4
Fax 705-324-6938
Tel 705-324-6654
Contact information for Federal Members of Parliament
Parliamentary Address
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone: (613) 992-2474
Fax: (613) 992-6582
Constituency Address
2 King Street West
Lindsay, Ontario
K9V 1C5
Telephone: 705-324-2400
1-866-688-9881
Fax: 705-324-0880
