After seven years of environmental advocacy, I’ve learned that honest communication and collaboration must be a central part of the work we do if we are going to be successful. By at least one metric, the protection of our environment was a huge success both locally and nationally.

A larger and more diverse mix of environmentally-minded citizens made a difference through their advocacy and in exercising their right to vote in 2012. This happened because environmentalists are expanding our community and learning to work with new constituencies. Although we may not have achieved progress on every issue we care about, we are at least holding the line and educating more people and more decision-makers about protecting our communities from pollution and environmental degradation.

“Green” may have become an annoying buzzword to most of us, but one would be hard pressed not to see the benefits of a more educated electorate, and by extension, greater consumer awareness. To be successful in 2013, environmentalists must continue to collaborate with diverse and non-traditional allies. We must continue to invest in people, not just ideas.  We must talk about our values, not issues.  And most importantly, we must be better at communicating our vision for a sustainable Nevada.

Scot Rutledge
Executive Director