The Passing of Sierra Club Giant Edgar Wayburn is a reminder of how much has changed in ecological politics -- and that prosperity and conservation go hand in hand.
By Michael and Ted
He helped saved America's last giant ancient redwoods, build the Sierra Club and hiked among grizzlies. It must have been great for his health, because Edgar Wayburn, medical doctor and a great conservationist, passed away yesterday at 103.
Given his long life, this famous quote of his rings true:
In destroying wilderness we deny ourselves the full extent of what it means to be alive.
Wayburn was still active when the two of us were working to save Headwaters Forest, which was truly the last great ancient redwood grove in private hands, in the late 1990s. He helped create some of the most important parks nationally like Redwood National and Alaska, as well as ones closer to home: Golden Gate, Mt. Tamalpais, and Pt. Reyes -- achievements that helped keep the Bay Area (and Marin in particular) one of the most ecologically pleasing urban environments in the world.
The passing of an environmentalist giant like Wayburn is a reminder of how much things have changed. In remembering Wayburn and his achievements we should not lapse into nostalgia. The two greatest ecological issues of today are the far more complicated problems of global warming and global habitat destruction, both of which involve not just us, wealthy Americans, but also the world's poorest needing more energy and food to live like we live.
What we should carry on from Wayburn was his fierce love of nature and of the Bay Area. And from that love for the Bay Area, one of the most economically vibrant areas in the world, we should learn a vital lesson for our politics: prosperity goes well with conservation.
