<< Back 5/1/02 The troops are massing SMN Anti-environmentalists, beware. There is an army coming after you. I met the foot soldiers during an interview process and deliberations that are to be kept confidential, so I won’t even say what college we were at or what organization was handing out the environmental scholarships and fellowships. But I came away feeling good about the chances that the environmental problems that are facing Western North Carolina and this country in general are not going to wash over us without a fight. There is a crop of young, intelligent and curious students out there who are studying science and who feel it is their life’s mission to combat the air, water and soil problems caused by pollution and benign neglect. And damn, they are fanatical in their zeal and determined in their cause. A statewide environmental organization that awards money to the best and brightest students in our colleges filtered through a list of applicants and selected a few for our group to interview. The interviewers were a diverse group, but for the most part we shared an interest in environmental issues and an awareness of some of the current issues. I won’t do anything else to reveal the who and where, but that’s not important anyway. It is what was said. Here are some of the highlights, and remember that this is from college students who in a few years will be community leaders. ° Most remarkable, perhaps, was the realization by these students that solving environmental problems will require a kind of cost-benefit approach. Sure, there are still the hard-core activists who sit in trees to stop logging, and in many cases they serve a needed purpose. But these students were ready to immerse themselves in science and use that knowledge to convince polluters that, in the long run, they and their businesses could benefit from developing environmentally friendly processes. They want to work in agriculture to reduce the need for chemicals that ultimately harm soils and water. In other words, they are fully comfortable working within the system. That seems a mature and pragmatic belief. ° Here’s a head-turner — one of students told us that undergraduate science curriculums needed more mandatory chemistry, physics and math courses. Having that kind of hard science background, said the student, will give graduates more clout when they go out there and try to change the world. Another of the students repeatedly said that a graduate degree would provide the “credentials” required to convince policymakers and others that certain changes needed to be made. Did I hear someone say today’s students are unmotivated slackers too full of angst to accomplish anything. ° Don’t develop wetlands, one student said, because they are supposed to be wetlands. That sounds simple enough, but the point was that to drain, bring in fill dirt, and divert water is likely more expensive — and certainly worse for the ecosystem — than finding another site that won’t require as much pre-development work. Some micro-habitats are more important than others, and we need to remember that when developing. Perhaps most reassuring was the passion, both for their future prospects and for Western North Carolina. Several of the students waxed eloquent about the momentum and critical mass that exists in this region for change. According to their perspective, so many in WNC are aware of environmental problems and want to see them addressed that this region could serve as a kind of catalyst for trying some of these measures. And since so many here do indeed embrace a belief in a less-invasive lifestyle, then aren’t our politicians thereby mandated to support legislation that will encourage this? If not, I suspect these young leaders will be among the voters who elected politicians who are committed to these ideals. Sure, these views could be considered radical by the people in WNC who go to work every day, raise their kids and are just trying to make a living. But these students, just about every one of them, plan to get their graduate degrees and flock back to these mountains to begin changing the way we do business. I left that interview room believing that some changes are out there on the horizon. (Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com)