Page 153 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

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Political Organizations
which espouse “deep ecology,”“radical environmentalism,” and the like.
Moderate and extreme groups differed on advocacy strategy, with the
more extreme groups less inclined to engage in traditional lobbying be-
cause it so often entailed negotiation and what they saw as policy com-
promises. On occasion, environmental groups differed visibly over na-
tional policy, as in the case of the North American Free Trade Agreement,
which was supported by the Environmental Defense Fund and opposed
by Greenpeace.
Some groups, especially the Sierra Club, experienced a good deal of
internal tension in the 1990s over their direction and ideological po-
sitioning. This tension reflects developments associated with the third
characteristic of environmental organizations: increasing bureaucratiza-
tion. 62 Most environmental organizations grew increasingly well insti-
tutionalized and professionalized by the late 1980s and 1990s. Changes
occurred in organizational leadership, as management of many groups
evolved from charismatic activists to more politically experienced, pro-
fessional managers. Budgets grew, the number of permanent staff ex-
panded,andlarger-scalemanagementtechniquescameintoplay.Political
experts became more important to many groups, and increasingly slick
techniques for mass mailing and marketing became common. In many
groups, the classic features of institutionalization became apparent, and
organizational preservation became increasingly important, alongside
policy advocacy. This bureaucratization phenomenon has been shown
63
inotherinterestgroupsinroughlythesameperiod. Withintheenviron-
mental organizations, these developments were not seen as universally
good, despite the apparently increased political capacity of the groups.
Some members accused the mainstream groups of losing the energy
and zeal of the 1970s as they grew more bureaucratic, risk-averse, and
“mainstream.” 64
The fourth organizational characteristic of these groups is an impe-
tus toward coordination and cooperation. This tradition extends back
as far as 1946, when the Natural Resources Defense Council of America
was formed by environmental and conservation organizations. Over the
years, coalitions of environmental groups have taken on many forms,
from information-sharing and technical working groups to strategic
councils designed to coordinate lobbying activities by the organizations’

62 See Bosso, “Seizing Back the Day,” for more on this topic.
63
Shaiko, Voices and Echoes for the Environment.
64
On this issue, see Walter A. Rosenbaum, Environmental Politics and Policy, 3rd ed.
(Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1995).
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