Politics, Pollution, and Pandas: An Environmental Memoir

Russell Train, chairman emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund, has led a long life in conservation and environmental politics. Though many of his contributions have been unsung, Train was a catalyst for many of America’s most important environmental policies that remain in place in the 21st century. In the contemporary political climate, where party divisions are so sharp and environmental concerns are so often obscured by partisan politics, Train’s journey as a life-long republican and an ardent conservationist is an inspiring story. Much of the important environmental policy Train helped to devise and implement occurred during two Republican administrations, those of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Train served as undersecretary of Interior early in Nixon’s administration before becoming chair of the president’s Council on environmental Quality (1970-1973) and then headed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 1973 until 1978. In the early years of the Carter administration, train left government to become president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), in the US, where, over more than 25 years, he has played a key role on developing that institution into the major conservation organization it is.