The Future of Environmentalism: Sue And Adapt

It overstates the obvious to say or write that, with Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in power for the foreseeable future, we can't expect any serious public policy at the federal level on behalf of the air, water and earth that all of us share, regardless of our partisan orientation.  Not even when Trump's own Administration puts out a report like this.  Instead, what we are more likely than not to get is more nonsense like this.

So, since giving up altogether or moving to another planet aren't alternatives, what's left?  Well, it isn't much, but it is something.

First, there are the courts.  They have thus far been the first line of defense against Trump on the immigration front, and that may prove to be the case with protecting the environment.  In fact, the courts provide an avenue for bypassing the federal government altogether, and going after the main culprits:  the oil companies whose products produce the greenhouse gases that warm our planet and threaten the future of the human race.

This is the path that the San Francisco city government has decided to take, as outlined in this article from Mother Jones.  The article also points out that other local governments in California are considering the same tactic to address the costs of planning and preparing for rising sea levels.

Will it work?  It's admittedly a long shot at best.  The Mother Jones article compares suits like the one filed by San Francisco to lead-paint cases filed by local California governments along similar lines, but that have spent years already in the courts and appear ready to last for decades.  Simply put, the planet (and its inhabitants) really don't have that much time.  But it's clearly better than doing nothing and, if enough state and local governments band together in similar efforts, perhaps the timetable will not be nearly as long as in the lead-paint cases.

On the other hand, there's another strategy that could yield direct results faster, and that may even provide unexpected benefits in the process:  adaptation.

Consider the case of Tottenville, Staten Island, which is planning a project that involves creating a combination barrier/oyster reef that would protrude out of the water and reduce the amount of water coming in during a severe storm, but simultaneously create an ecosystem capable of further reducing the potential damage from such a storm.  Best of all, the funding for the project, as well as similar ones, has already been provided by the federal government.  You can read more about all of this here.

Adaptation, in the end, may be the wiser course of action, as opposed to confrontation in the courts.  But perhaps the best strategy, simply to make sure that good things happen on the scale at which they need to happen, is to go all-in with both.  It's better than waiting for Trump and his cronies to come to their senses.