Peter EspeutAT TIME of writing the final result of the US Presidential election is not known, and I have been disappointed at the level of analysis in our local media. All sorts of reasons for the close race have been put forward except the fundamental one in my view: the environment.
Yes, Gore ran as an environmentalist. He has written a popular book on the subject entitled Earth in the Balance, and as a Senator and as Vice-President he openly supported many environmental causes. But hard-core environmentalists consider him too close for their liking to environmentally damaging corporate special interests (especially in the oil industry), and so Ralph Nader of the Green (Environment) Party put himself forward and won enough of the vote in some states to spoil Gore's chance of an overwhelming victory, and maybe will have cost him the election.
As the environmental consciences of increasing numbers of US citizens become more sensitive, more US elections will be decided on the environmental record of the candidates, and this is what is happening in this US Presidential election. In fact, in the US those for whom the environment is a keystone issue have diverged into 'left' and 'right', a sure sign that environmentalism is becoming part of the establishment.
There are those who want to tinker with this environmental regulation or that protected area, but who are not prepared to forego economic benefits even if the environment is seriously damaged in the process. And there are those who place environmental concerns at the centre of national development policy and programmes, and who are not prepared to easily compromise nature for corporate profits.
The transition from politics dominated by corporate interests to one dominated by environmentalism and concern for sustainable development is much further advanced in Europe than in the US, where green parties are winning seats, and in at least one country (Germany) have won enough seats in a split result to form part of a coalition government. We are yet to begin that transition.
Typically, green parties stand not only for conservation of the environment and sustainable development but also for an end to corruption. Do we need a green party in Jamaica (and I don't mean a party whose flag is the colour green)? Certainly one of the victims of corruption in Jamaica is the environment, which is deteriorating at a rapid rate. Jamaica has the highest rate of deforestation in the world, the most overfished waters in CARICOM, and the second highest number of plant species in danger of extinction in the world. Our coral reefs, on which our tourism industry depends, are dying. The connection between political corruption and environmental degradation is not hard to make.
None of our present political parties have really excelled when it comes to the environment. Neither the PNP nor the JLP in power have enforced environmental laws, and the 'New and Different' NDM has not given us any indication from its pronouncements or press releases that it would be better.
Either our present parties must re-invent themselves into purveyors of true sustainable development, or political space will open up for a Jamaican 'green' party. Slowly, the Jamaican electorate is waking up to environmental issues; a comparison of attitude surveys conducted in 1991 and 1998 show that environmental awareness has substantially increased, which will ultimately translate into political capital. Environmentalists may not determine the results of Jamaica's next General Elections (as they may have done in the US) but one day!
Talk-shows
There is still a far way to go. As elections overseas are won or lost on environmental issues, we here in Jamaica remain ambivalent, especially the media who still have not taken on the environment as a mainstream issue. Jamaica has more talk-shows for longer than anywhere else in the world, I would imagine; but I hardly hear anything about the environment raised by the hosts, who regularly raise 'pure' economic and political issues.
Worldwide, the economic and political implications of the environment are more deeply appreciated than in Jamaica, and the foreign policies and aid policies of other countries will impact on us whether we like it or not. The climate change conference now taking place in The Hague to discuss the Kyoto Protocol is a case in point.
Wake-up and smell the coffee! Conserving the environment is the only way to ensure a sustainable future for our great-grandchildren; and if we here in Jamaica aren't 'conscious' enough to want it for ours, those elsewhere who want it for their descendants will overtake us.
Peter Espeut is a sociologist and executive director of an environment and development NGO.
