Environmentalism isn't restricted to one political ideology

by James Simpson
Potomac News
Friday, April 23, 2004

The Prince William Conservation Alliance is holding a "Community Conservation Awards Reception" on April 29 at 8 p.m. in the Prince William Hospital Conference Center. This event is open to the public.One of the unusual things about this award ceremony, and a reason I support it and the PWCA, is that it is not designed to honor only the "usual suspects," but a broad range of folks from the private, government and business sectors.

I joined the Conservation Alliance because I was interested in participating in an organization that is focused on keeping our water supply clean as well as informing and educating citizens about potential hazards to our health through environmental damage and pollution. I have been very concerned about the protection of our critical natural resources, such as drinking water and air, for many years.

The problem that I have most often with "environmental groups" is that they tend to be made up of extreme left-wing individuals who are not interested in hearing other sides of the argument.

While I disagree with Kim Hosen (PWCA executive director) on some positions taken by the Conservation Alliance, we have many common interests. Kim, as well as others in the PWCA, is interested in hearing views and ideas from everyone, regardless of their political leanings. They believe the best solutions are developed by a diverse range of minds.

This awards reception is a prime example of where I agree with the goals and methods of the Conservation Alliance. Instead of constantly fighting with businesses, as many environmental organizations do, the PWCA is cosponsoring an awards ceremony with Wachovia Bank, and one of its honorees is a developer. Not something you often see from many environmental or conservation organizations.

My environmental positions and concerns have been a source of curiosity for many friends over the years who were baffled that I could hold so many conservative views, yet support organizations such as the Sierra Club and Greenpeace. The reason, of course, is that what happens in one part of the world has consequences in other parts of our world.

Every time I drive by the dump on Dumfries Road, I can't help but wonder when the liner is going to break and let out leachate, contaminating the Occoquan watershed thereby causing our drinking water and fishing grounds to be contaminated.

On a side note... isn't it interesting how politically correct terms make their way into our speech without anyone giving them a second thought? What use to be called a dump is now referred to as the sanitary landfill. Of course there is nothing "sanitary" about it, and the "landfill" part almost sounds like there was a big gaping hole in the earth that was really in need of being filled. This is very similar to the politically correct name for jungles, which are now almost exclusively referred to as rain forests.

I think that our growing garbage problem is a result of the same denial we suffer when dealing with the less fortunate in our culture.

Anything you can keep out of sight will also be out of mind. We put our elderly in retirement homes, the mentally ill in institutions, the indigent in shelters and the terminally ill in hospitals instead of caring for them within the family, church and community as was done for centuries.

And those who promote these alternatives continue to ask for the government to take our money in order for this to be done by the faceless entity of the state. That way we don't need to think about it, or them.

One of the unfortunate consequences of having such a consumer-driven society is the amount of waste that is a byproduct of all the goods we purchase.

I have a lot more to say about environmental issues, but I will end this column with a few recent observations.

This year is turning out to be rather unusual one from my perspective, not only are we due for the cicada invasion, but I have noticed a number of other peculiarities in nature.

There are more frogs chirping at night than I have heard in almost 20 years. And it seems (or smells) as though there have been more skunks hit on the road than all other woodland creatures combined. Frankly, I didn't even know we still had skunks in Virginia until they started getting hit by cars last fall.

And I have noticed a growing bird-of-prey population. There are quite a few hawks sitting atop trees, signs and cell towers along Virginia highways - more so than ever before.

Things are really looking better environmentally in Virginia than they have in years.

James Simpson lives in Lake Ridge.