A series of quotes relevant to the environment and/or campaigning.
This week’s quote is from Ansell Adams (died 1984).
Ansell Adams. Photo: J. Malcolm Greany [Public domain]
It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment. Our worst enemy is the person the President designated with the responsibility of managing the country’s environment.
https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Sandy-Galef/story/83430
This quote, and its second sentence which is often missing in sources, has popped into my mind a few times this week, in relation to Natural England’s dire performance on environmental protection.
More on Adams, photographer and environmental campaigner (an American Chris Packham?), here.
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I don’t imagine there’ll be an enquiry into NE’s failings – but if there was I don’t suppose Minister’s will be too worried as there’ll be no smoking gun and with NE’s spectacular record for sacking its Directors I’m sure they’ll find a suitable fall guy who will quietly move on to another equally well paid civil service position.
Be in no doubt where the responsibility lies: with Therese Coffey (who’ll go if it gets nasty) and Michael Gove (who won’t – he’s far too big a beast, and that’s what junior Minister are for anyway). It is crystal clear that NE has been worked over to reflect Government priorities without the need for instructions – and nowhere is this Government’s priorities clearer than ensuring the rich get richer, and Grouse Moor owners are a slice off the very top of that pile.
Here’s an idea to mull over: Civil Service bodies undertake confidential staff surveys every now and then. Wouldn’t a staff survey of NE be quite something ? Perhaps we should suggest to Marian she might like to launch one ?! I suspect it would tell you that most NE employees are pretty much where the rest of us are over its leadership & direction – despairing and struggling to go on doing their best for their corner of our natural environment.
How ironic is that quote from from the Late Great Ansell Adams ! Here we are in 2019 and never was this quote more appropriate and true !
Yes, the qote is right.
However looking through this sham it seems to me that Natural England have become a puppet of this Government and have been deliberately starved of resources and finance Thus the real people we are having to fight to protect our wildlife and environment are the politicians. This especially applies to the current politicians in power at Defra.