A couple Minnesota brothers were “discovered” by Garrison Keillor and invited to his Prairie Home Companion radio show a few years ago. With a retro-country and early rock sound, the “Cactus Blossoms” have now released five albums, toured extensively, and become YouTube sensations. Deservedly so – they are great. One of their biggest hits is a catchy tune called “A Sad Day to be You.” It’s a sour grapes spoof in which the guy who lost the girl pretends to feel sorry for her. “I loved you only; but now you’re lonely; and today is a sad day to be you.”
Politico columnist Robin Bravender wrote an analysis of the “rough year” experienced by major environmental industry groups in 2023, with declining revenues, staff, and budgets. She detailed layoffs, funding crunches, management-union clashes, and low morale. A similar Greenwire story chronicled layoffs and budget cuts at the Environmental Defense Fund. Indeed, there have been numerous introspectives trying to determine what has gone wrong for some of the world’s largest and most influential organizations. Another writer suggests that today is “a sad day to be green.”
None of these analysts, though, have identified the cause of the precipitous decline. Most have not attempted to do so, beyond interviewing a couple environmental officials explaining the need to reorganize and “rethink the mission.” None of them appear to have a very good handle on a fascinating albeit disturbing trend in American culture.
Financial Times’ chief data reporter John Burn-Murdoch has published a cutting-edge study about a dramatic cultural shift. He input language from millions of English, French, and German books and articles into computer data analyzers. Using key words, he tracked the frequency of themes related to progress, advance, improvement, rise, and future. And he tracked themes related to threat, worry, warning, caution, and risk. He concluded, “…the west has begun to shift away from the culture of progress, and towards one of caution, worry and risk-aversion…”
Millions of people are less optimistic, more worried than ever. A global study of 10,000 young people found 39 per cent are hesitant to have children because they fear climate change. Dozens of polls show Americans’ trust in their own government, news media, advertisers, schools, corporations, and large environmental groups is at an all-time low.
Recent revenue declines betray that reality. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Sierra Club, and Defenders of Wildlife all laid off employees in 2023 and began “restructuring.” Union contract disputes impacted budgets at the Audubon Society, Public Interest Network, and others. Environmental Defense Fund, whose revenue plummeted by $70 million while salaries increased $17 million, offered buyouts to employees and threatened layoffs. But its PR chief seemed in denial. “This is a challenge, but we are still moving ambitiously on climate action.” NRDC’s director echoed, “We have to be as coordinated internally and as united in our purpose as we’ve ever been.” That is not rethinking the mission. It’s doubling down on a mission that may be at least part of the problem.
These organizations were founded to protect great places, or save declining wildlife, or clean up pollution – causes the vast majority of Americans still support. But polls suggest a growing disconnect between support for the environment and unquestioning fealty to the climate-change agenda. Put simply, Americans are decreasingly convinced that their use of cars and appliances are killing the earth. And they are becoming less certain of the relationship between local environmental concerns and a massive worldwide climate industry they’re not sure cares about them.
Some environmental leaders blame their success, claiming donations declined because they don’t have to fight a friendly Administration. But their revenues did not similarly decline under Presidents Clinton or Obama, so there is something else going on that they are missing, or reluctant to acknowledge.
Several have expressed concern that their donors don’t see the work as directly tied to climate. I wonder if it’s more likely donors don’t see the climate agenda as directly tied to the environment. Perhaps donors fear these groups have lost sight of their original and still important conservation missions, while chasing federal dollars tied to climate change, diversity, woke purity, and political correctness.
People care as much about the environment as ever. There is as much need as ever for genuine conservationists, activists, and organizers to make their voices heard. But for national leaders who have hijacked the environmental movement for money, power, and control – and who refuse even to consider whether they’re on the right track – it is a sad day to be you.
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