Earth Day: New and Improved Environmentalism Needed

It’s time to face an uncomfortable truth: American environmentalism is broken. Instead of delivering results, it fuels division. For decades, it has fallen increasingly out of step with our political and cultural realities. Instead of forging broad-based coalitions and seeking pragmatic solutions, it has become mired in ideological purity tests that alienate half the country. Americans want — and deserve — better. This Earth Day, let’s take a hard look in the mirror and rethink environmentalism as something that can be truly American: dynamic, innovative, and rooted in personal freedom and prosperity.

As President Donald Trump recently put it in his address to a joint session of Congress, “we will reclaim democracy from Washington bureaucrats and return it to the people.” That’s exactly what environmental policy needs — a shift from top-down control to solutions led by local leaders, landowners, and entrepreneurs who know how to deliver. If we want real outcomes, we need an environmental approach that fosters abundance and respects the American way of life — one that sees human flourishing and a thriving natural world as complementary, not conflicting.

DF

About the Author

Danielle B. Franz

Danielle B. Franz is the chief executive officer of the American Conservation Coalition.

Featured Tags

It’s time to face an uncomfortable truth: American environmentalism is broken. Instead of delivering results, it fuels division. For decades, it has fallen increasingly out of step with our political and cultural realities. Instead of forging broad-based coalitions and seeking pragmatic solutions, it has become mired in ideological purity tests that alienate half the country. Americans want — and deserve — better. This Earth Day, let’s take a hard look in the mirror and rethink environmentalism as something that can be truly American: dynamic, innovative, and rooted in personal freedom and prosperity.

As President Donald Trump recently put it in his address to a joint session of Congress, “we will reclaim democracy from Washington bureaucrats and return it to the people.” That’s exactly what environmental policy needs — a shift from top-down control to solutions led by local leaders, landowners, and entrepreneurs who know how to deliver. If we want real outcomes, we need an environmental approach that fosters abundance and respects the American way of life — one that sees human flourishing and a thriving natural world as complementary, not conflicting.