Brent Blackwelder, president of Friends of the Earth, criticized non-profit organizations for not playing a prominent enough role in shaping public policy during his Monday afternoon speech.
During the talk, he emphasized the need for non-profits, but explained that financial constraints often force these groups to avoid effective lobbying.
"There are injustices and problems of various kinds not being solved...," said Blackwelder, Trinity '64. "Government is not doing the job, powerful lobbies are doing the job. If [non-profits] don't exist, I don't see much hope."
Blackwelder lamented the influence that money has in shaping policy in Washington.
"It is very difficult to get [Congressional] members' attention...," he said to a group of more than 40 students and faculty members. "Non-profit organizations are needed now more than ever."
Specifically, he said, environmental non-profits are not matching big business' ability to get candidates' attention.
"Environmental non-profit organizations need to wake up and get going," said the five-year president of FOTE, a non-profit with roots in 63 countries. "[For example,] it is hard to get a rational transportation policy in the United States if lobbyists can outspend 100 to 1."
The reason that companies do abuse the environment, he argued, is that they are subservient to the pressures of the world economy. "It should be the other way around," he said.
Blackwelder added that, aside from spending money, agencies can gain effectiveness by attracting media attention, which "makes it more difficult for [policy makers] to step away from [the issues]."
He explained FOTE's recent surprising endorsement of presidential candidate Bill Bradley over Vice President Al Gore.
He said that after analyzing the candidates' records, FOTE found Bradley's voting record and legislative initiative more compelling.
"No other decision that comes to mind was that difficult to make," he said, noting that the decision came down to "rhetoric versus reality."
The reality, he said, was that for the past seven years, the Clinton/Gore administration has demonstrated "a pattern of real disappointments in one area after another."
If the Democratic candidate loses the overall election, he added, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would be the most promising Republican option.
"These issues are nonpartisan," he said, pointing out that some of the most important environmental policies came about during the Nixon administration.
Returning to his discussion of non-profit strategies, Blackwelder noted that the Bradley endorsement helped catapult environmental issues into the presidential election, elevating the level of debate: The decision received heavy media coverage and prompted both Gore and President Bill Clinton to push new environmental policy.
"We had an impact," he said.
Blackwelder ended his speech by urging the audience to realize the importance of influencing policy.
"Eighty percent of the American public are concerned [about the environment]. As we look to the year 2000 we need to hold politicians more accountable...," he said. "Don't ever lose the capacity to be outraged at injustices you see going on."
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