Spring Break
Alumni Connections: The Forgotten Issue
Theodore Roosevelt IV (HBS '72) Discusses the Environment
Rodney Reid (OH), Viewpoints Editor
Issue date: 10/18/04 Section: Viewpoints
Harbus: Why are environmentalists sometimes referred to as 'tree-hugging radicals'?
TR IV: When people accuse environmentalists of being tree-hugging radicals, I think their criticism misses the point. I think the more relevant point is that as a political movement, environmentalists have not reached out and made more allies. For instance, environmentalists have fallen short of understanding that humans are a part of the environment too. Sometimes we have not been as sensitive as we should be to rural Americans, farmers and ranchers who are clearly involved in the environment and whose interests are largely congruent with our interests. Moreover, the environmentalist movement has not been very good at reaching out to minorities to understand their interests. However, if calling environmentalists tree-hugging radicals implies that environmentalists are concerned about issues that are not real, then I think the accuser is simply not informed.
Harbus: What is the most serious environmental issue today?
TR IV: Barring a nuclear holocaust, I think global climate change is the most serious environmental issue we face. The climate is the envelope in which all environmental processes take place, so if we get this wrong the potential damage is immense.
Harbus: Are you a supporter of the Kyoto Protocol (an agreement to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases by developed nations)?
TR IV: I think that the Kyoto Protocol was sort of an idealistic approach and flawed in a number of ways. There was not really any agreement on how to measure greenhouse gas emissions or how to enforce the agreement. Additionally, it didn't offer a solution to the problem that Brazil, India, and China are going to be major contributors to global warming. I think a more enlightened approach to global climate change involves taking into consideration the environmental issues of countries like Brazil, India, and China, along with developed nations.
Harbus: What is business' responsibility to the environment?
TR IV: When people accuse environmentalists of being tree-hugging radicals, I think their criticism misses the point. I think the more relevant point is that as a political movement, environmentalists have not reached out and made more allies. For instance, environmentalists have fallen short of understanding that humans are a part of the environment too. Sometimes we have not been as sensitive as we should be to rural Americans, farmers and ranchers who are clearly involved in the environment and whose interests are largely congruent with our interests. Moreover, the environmentalist movement has not been very good at reaching out to minorities to understand their interests. However, if calling environmentalists tree-hugging radicals implies that environmentalists are concerned about issues that are not real, then I think the accuser is simply not informed.
Harbus: What is the most serious environmental issue today?
TR IV: Barring a nuclear holocaust, I think global climate change is the most serious environmental issue we face. The climate is the envelope in which all environmental processes take place, so if we get this wrong the potential damage is immense.
Harbus: Are you a supporter of the Kyoto Protocol (an agreement to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases by developed nations)?
TR IV: I think that the Kyoto Protocol was sort of an idealistic approach and flawed in a number of ways. There was not really any agreement on how to measure greenhouse gas emissions or how to enforce the agreement. Additionally, it didn't offer a solution to the problem that Brazil, India, and China are going to be major contributors to global warming. I think a more enlightened approach to global climate change involves taking into consideration the environmental issues of countries like Brazil, India, and China, along with developed nations.
Harbus: What is business' responsibility to the environment?
