The Real Captain Planet

The year was 1969, and everything seemed possible. Not anything…but everything.

As a husband and a new father living in New York City, John H. Adams was a believer in luck. He felt lucky to grow up on a farm, lucky enough to go to college, even luckier to go to law school and the luckiest to get a job with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

NRDC Founder John Adams works diligently from his home in Catskills, N.Y. Photo: Anthony Clark, NRDC

But despite his accomplishments, John felt something missing as he looked at the soot-covered windowsill of his apartment. At this time in America, there was no EPA, and environmental organizations were sparse, exclusive and, for the most part, non-influential.

For John, 1969 was a blank slate – one that would be carved by a man who would set into motion something that was unheard of: a connection between government, the people and the land they shared. They called it the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Over the next 40 years, John, alongside his wife Patricia and a team of passionate lawyers, would essentially become the concrete mold for the nation’s most pivotal laws and expand the NRDC into one of the largest and most successful environmental organizations in the world.

Fast forward to Oct. 14, 2010. When “John H. Adams” appears on my caller-id for this interview, I had just finished thumbing through his recently published memoir, “A Force For Nature.”

In 370 pages, John and Patricia tell the story of their “charmed” life together. But it doesn’t read like a cut-and-dry tell-all. It reads like a choose-your-own-adventure novel. But John and Patricia choose my adventure, and I happily explore without question.

EARTH911: While the NRDC has played a role in just about every significant legislation since the 1970s, is there a particular subject that you fought for the hardest and you think reaped the most rewards?

First NRDC staff photo, taken in 1975. Photo NRDC

JOHN ADAMS: On the one  hand, the answer is Clean Air and Clean Water Acts and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NRDC really built its reputation on those, and we established the fact that we were going to play a role of the rules and regulations of these laws of this country. We owned that game; we became the enforcers of these laws. We challenged them; we enhanced them, and we have continued to do so today.

A great example of this is David Hawkins, who joined the NRDC in 1971 from Columbia Law, and he still works for the NRDC today [...] He has continued to be the leader on the Clean Air Act. No one knows about that more that subject than David. And it’s that kind of expertise that we have tried to build upon. Government comes and goes. We’re permanent, and that’s the big picture.

But the most important part of the NRDC is that we have provided a way for citizens to get access to the government and give us all a voice – a real voice in the courts and administrative systems. We fought hard for that.

EARTH911: Earth911 is all about product stewardship, and we have seen recycling grow leaps and bounds over the last 20 years. From your perspective, how have you seen product stewardship change over the years?

JOHN ADAMS: I think it has been an unbelievably successful movement. From sustainable sourcing and getting FSC approvals for major forests, to going to the Home Depots and the like to buy these products that meet those standards [...] Look at what we’re doing with light bulbs today. I mean they are 10 times as efficient as they used to be. Isn’t that amazing? Especially when you think about the fact that it is producing 11 percent of our wasted electricity. You want to have an impact on global warming? Efficiency is what it’s all about. How can we not be efficient?

EARTH911: We’re in an interesting time when consumers have more influence and are demanding greener products and options. Where do you think manufacturer responsibility is heading over the next 10 years? Do you foresee tighter regulations that will push manufacturers to be more responsible?

PATRICIA ADAMS: To put it broadly, a lot of these issues become solvable once we realize that we are global in nature in everything we do. You can’t throw away some of your electronics here, ship it to a foreign country and it not affect the atmosphere and the world as a whole. So, I think as we move towards a realization of what globalization is all about, there will be a greater understanding and commitment to all of these waste products.

JOHN ADAMS: I agree with you. I think we’re seeing this happen very rapidly. Companies are targets because they are easier to pin this on rather than 6 billion people. But people move mountains, and you can’t ignore the impact that people have on requiring the companies to be responsible for what they make and picking it up after.

EARTH911: Now that NRDC has grown into one of the most largest nonprofits, are you specifically working on anything and getting your “hands dirty” with right now, so to speak?

JOHN ADAMS: One is helping to raise money for NRDC, which is very important to me. The second is working with the Global Leadership Group, a network of NRDC friends and donors. We work on legislation like climate change, and we regularly go to Washington and talk to the political leaders and elected officials to let them know that we are thinking about what they’re doing. This also includes business people who are great supporters of the environment as well. I keep politically active, and I think that’s a good thing to do.

John with his wife of 46 years, Patricia. Photo: Anthony Clark, NRDC

We are also working with the Center for Discovery, which is a leading facility [in the New York area] that is helping children born with serious problems. One of the things they have learned is that healthy food, air and water are very important to children whose systems are compromised.

As a result, we are working to see that we can get educational facilities that can work with the Center for Discovery. We have been talking with the New School to bring a serious education component to Sullivan County.

PATRICIA ADAMS: I think one of the greatest challenges that we can all agree on is climate change. The only way to turn the tide is to get off the dependence on fossil fuels.

John has made the comment that to get any of the fuels, we really are going to extremes to the ends of the earth. [...] What we need to do is leave these fossil fuels and work together to bring about alternative energy sources. This is a big thing, not something that I, Patricia Adams, can personally do alone. But I think keeping this as a long-term goal is a really important thing we need to do.

EARTH911: How can our readers get involved with the NRDC?

JOHN ADAMS: Become a member or an e-activist. That is very simple. Supporting the NRDC automatically makes you member. Joining in our legislative efforts is very important. You know I think the biggest impacts that we have ever had is when our members are active in the issues. It’s like hitting a home run [...] It’s all about the power of people. I don’t think we’ll stop global warming until it comes from the bottom up, to be frank [...] Citizens who can support an organization like the NRDC can move mountains, and I really think they do.

EARTH911: Circling back to that fresh-out-college John Adams of the 1960s, do you think that graduates of today have the same hopeful attitude? What would you say to those recent grads who want to make a difference, starting from scratch?

JOHN ADAMS: A day almost doesn’t go by that I don’t get a call asking for advice about finding work in the environmental field. I am meeting lots of young people who care about this issue passionately and want to work. The numbers are growing very fast because there are more opportunities and green jobs than ever. Even in the windmill industry, for example, there are more people working in the building, designing and maintaining of windmills than there are in the coal mines.

I think that people care so much about the environment that they won’t be discouraged if they think about what they can do. Anyone who really wants to work on something meaningful in life should find a way to participate in some aspect of the environment. Everybody has a community they live in. They should think about preserving that space. Local institutions are desperate for real workers who will go out and get something done. In local communities, that is really hard to find. There are a lot of things that people can do that has the impact of empowering us all because it raises the level of interest.

PATRICIA ADAMS: I think in some ways 2010 is similar to the 1960s because of the environmental disasters that are going on around us [...] However, there is one big difference. Today, young people don’t necessarily take to the streets. The methods of addressing these problems are different, but I have total faith in the new generation. I don’t think there’s any way that young people can ignore what is going on. I am sure that as they grow into the workforce, they will find a way to make a difference.

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