Greenwashing for politics and profits

"We need to do a better job of educating the public about why it's important to do these," he says.

Good intentions and after-the-fact education programs don't guarantee salutatory results, however.

After the county spent half its $50 million conservation bond fund to buy development rights on two local ranches, there's a nagging sense that taxpayers aren't getting what they bargained for.

At Padgett Branch, officials laid out $11.2 million or $7,000 an acre to let land barons Ray Smith and Bill Becker continue to run their ranch in the far western reaches of the county. Today, other parcels in that region are selling outright for $6,500 an acre.

Same goes for Sexton Ranch. Receiving $26,000 an acre for their "conservation easements," the Sexton family turned around and purchased adjacent property for $25,000 an acre. The Sextons expand their holdings and a small group of taxpayers gets the privilege to tour the ranch and view their "rights" twice a year.

The latest insult some might say irony is called Wild Turkey. An out-of-town consortium by that name has applied to mine on 820 acres immediately north and west of the Sextons. The same County Commission that laid out $12 million to protect the ranch from development now faces the prospect of an industrial-sized mine and hundreds of thousands of truck trips running around or through the property.

Indian River County's citizens apparently aren't the only ones who need "educating." Their big-spending elected representatives don't know the meaning of conservation.

While good ol' boys and corporate moguls work the commissioners, another group is proving equally pernicious: environmentalists.

Yes, you read that right.

With the public and private sectors in a green lather these days, a process called "greenwashing" is in full swing. And Florida's Audubon entrepreneurs are trying to scrub both sides of the street.

This summer, the state's largest developer, the St. Joe Company, broke ground for a 75,000-acre airport to serve its emerging megaburb in the Panhandle. After years of controversy and criticism, Audubon signed off on the deal or at least went mum in exchange for a new Audubon Center in the area. Poof! Long-standing environmental concerns were greenwashed away.

Another variation of greenwashing surfaced in the Everglades. The Washington Post's Michael Grunwald, author of "The Swamp," described it this way:

"Tensions within Florida's environmental movement exploded after Audubon helped engineer a bill ensuring state bonds for Everglades restoration. The problem was that GOP legislators had tacked on language limiting the ability of citizen groups to block development permits.

"Audubon cut a deal to water down the permit language which will not affect Audubon but supported the overall bill. Many environmentalists blame Audubon."

Compromise is part of the political game, of course. But what game is Audubon playing here?

When Baker, who chairs this county's Land Acquisition Committee, talks about "educating" the public on the wonders of conservation easements, is this a form of greenwashing the masses?

Under a "green" cloak, politicians have expended nearly three-quarters of this county's environmental bond. Soon, they will be looking to replenish the fund by plugging more crypto-conservation.

That's an increasingly tough sell when taxpayers see where their good-faith financial sacrifice has gone. To many, public dollars for private profit is not a winning parlay. The new call to "educate" the public, which implies that voting citizens are ignorant, doesn't sound all that persuasive.

The time for honest education was three years ago during the bond campaign. But the ballot question contained no reference to "development rights" or "conservation easements." Since then, the state refused to recognize these green schemes, so no matching money has been forthcoming from Tallahassee.

Interestingly, the "education" spiel also is being pushed by the purveyors of growth-inducing gimmicks like "smart growth," "new urbanism" and "clustering." Such developer-friendly strategies have been embraced by 1000 Friends of Florida, which touts itself as the state's "premier environmental organization."

By the way, one of 1000 Friends' biggest benefactors is you guessed it St. Joe. The "Friends" are chaired by a lobbyist and executive with a real-estate consulting and development firm; their vice chairman is president of Glatting Jackson, a vertically integrated architectural, planning and engineering concern. So that thin green line is looking awfully pale.

Is it coincidence that environmentalists and developers are parroting each other's elitist pedagogy? See who's doing deals with whom. See who benefits. Look who's getting greenwashed.

Ken.Ward@scripps.com
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2007/nov/26/kenric-ward-greenwashing-politics-and-profits/

Good Neighbor Committee
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