Every week there seems to be fresh news of the Trump Administration's full reverse on the environment. Most recently, it was the announcement of the intention to repeal Obama's Clean Power Plan: another retreat on global climate action.
So it's interesting to see how environmental organizations continue to emphasize progress and positive change. Here's two recent examples, from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and from Environmental Defence. As I've noted before, I think this approach reflects the political economy of environmentalism today, in which organizations need to show that they are having an impact, by demonstrating their success, if they are to remain viable. In other words, they have to act somewhat more like businesses.
Proclaiming success can be risky, especially if it encourages activists to focus on goals achievable in short timeframes (contradicting the need to think long-term), or only on activities for which success can be measured by numbers. But there's always room for careful and realistic optimism -- if for no other reason than to provide a guide to what has worked before.
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