Strategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental ProgressHe’s now the principal adviser at Inside Straight Strategies, looking for the underlying economics that links sustainability and economic development. He also serves as apublished by St. Martin’s Press in April 2017.
In this revealing interview, Pope shares details about his career path and where he sees the environmental sector heading.Carl Pope: I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s before environmental awareness. I knew there was air pollution in Los Angeles and London and that the rivers and creeks around Washington DC, where I lived, were polluted, but that was my awareness of environmental pollution.
"It's a very exciting time to be in this field, because the opportunity -- to build a new global community and economy based on inclusivity and sustainability -- is even bigger than the threat."Late in the 1980s, when I was first alerted that the greenhouse effect was already kicking in and would be serious in a few decades, I remember thinking that this would potentially create public panic and we would do the wrong things in our haste.
It's a very exciting time to be in this field because the opportunity -- to build a new global community and economy based on inclusivity and sustainability -- is even bigger than the threat. This is not only the biggest environmental challenge humanity has ever faced; it's the biggest social and economic opportunity.