A Map of Davis Environmental Politics 7/99
It is possible that Davis has the highest concentration of environmentalists on the planet. Obviously, it is because Davis is the home of the agricultural campus of the mighty University of California.
With increasing population has come diversity and differentiation. As UCD has grown, the city population has seen more variety, particularly in terms of how individuals act out their environmental values in their personal politics.
Before UCD became a general purpose campus in 1959, most of the faculty were involved in agricultural production, and the community voted at least as conservative Republican as other small farm towns in the California Central Valley.
Since 1959, the influx of faculty and students in the liberal arts as well as the impact of the environmental movement on biological scientists has brought in people with more untraditional ideas. By 1972, the concern for the environment and quality of life had grown to dominate the community’s political dialogue.
The other major influence on Davis’ political consciousness is the proximity of the state government, which offers career jobs that tend to discourage unconventional approaches to social and environmental problems.
So Davis has several distinct categories of politically-oriented environmentalists who often disagree with each other. Clarifying these somewhat exclusive groups can help understand why some things become so confusing when the city’s populace is not of one mind about what a particular environmental policy should be. The main groups are:
Traditionalist: usually votes fiscal and social conservative, usually Republican. Trained in a biological specialty, usually at UCD, this group includes one-third of the current UCD faculty, many in the community who work in agricultural management in the surrounding area, and many state bureaucrats who work within the Natural Resources Agency, or the state Department of Food and Agriculture. Davis School Board Trustee John Munn is an example. Munn is the recovery ecologist for the State Department of Forestry; during a fire, he advises management on how to guide the fire to minimize long term damage, and then develops a recovery plan. [Traditionalists make up one-fifth of the Davis populace, 60 percent of whom vote in national/city elections = 12% of total Davis voters turn out, 8% do not.]
Liberal: votes Democrat, wants to find practical solutions to environmental problems, but sees it as necessary to make some compromises over economic issues, especially on a philosophical level. Yolo County Supervisor Lois Wolk and her work to protect open space in Davis and county water is an example. [Liberals make up forty percent of the Davis populace, 40 percent vote = 16% turn out, 24% don’t.]
Radical: drawn to Davis by UCD, in hopes that it is at least as environmentally oriented as its reputation, and deeply disappointed to discover it is really a suburban city with too many cars and only a few parks. They are deeply concerned about issues like ozone depletion of the atmosphere resulting in global warming, forest clearcutting, river damming, over-fishing and other acts of species degradation towards extinction, as well as excessive waste, increasing overcrowdedness, and general car traffic. They dedicate their lives to saving the planet and ecological diversity. Friends of the River founder Kevin Wolf is one example. [Radicals make up ten percent of the populace, 60 percent vote = 6% vote, 4% don’t]
Indifferent (about the natural environment). [10 percent; 10 percent vote = 1% vote, 9% don’t.]
Symbolist: yearns for the days when Davis was still a sleepy little town. While some are biological scientists, most are not. They love the environment, and nature, and they care about where they live. They know the environment is not as healthy as it was, less streams for fish, species being killed off, and air pollution. What more proof do you need? They are well-intentioned but often un-scientific. So their solutions are quick superficial fixes to symptoms of the problem, but not based on a comprehensive, scientific analysis like the radical. They are true believers who resent the radical who will change based on newer scientific information. Davis Mayor Julie Partansky is their poster child. [Symbolists make up 20 percent of the population, 20 percent vote = 4% vote, 16% don’t]
The most obvious local example is that the freeways and development are destroying the natural environment around rivers, or riparian habitat. With their home area shrinking, threatened species overflow into the human dominated boundaries, so amphibians were found in parking lots near fields within Davis. Then-Councilmember Partansky convinced the city to build a small metal tunnel under the Poleline Road overpass, as though some toad or frog would actually discover how to use the tunnel.
In England a decade ago, a town had so many male newts (lizards) following the scent of female newts on the other side of a popular auto road that thousands were smashed, forcing the cars to skid dangerously. The humans built a large underpass so newts could follow nature and no longer create havoc for the car drivers, so there is precedent for this strategy for intra-species adaptation.
When told that a UCD expert on amphibians reported that the proposed tunnel would have no beneficial effect on the potential survival of toads and frogs, Partansky rejected the information out of hand and pushed for completion of her monument. No amphibians have been seen to date.
Given the choice between humans and nature, the mayor has tried to build a case for nature, even when she has no idea what is happening. When Con-Agra announced that they were planning to close the local Hunts tomato processing plant, the mayor’s reaction was not concern for the loss of jobs, or an opportunity, or even that it meant more work on the General Plan revision. No, her only response was unfounded speculation that toxic waste might be a problem, and once again using her position to build paranoia and distrust.
The ideas of ecology and biological science are too sophisticated in this city to be dominated by inaccurate symbols. But then, our logo is something that you never see in real life, and is so un-useful that it is obsolete. What kind of image should Davis project ?
Jon Li believes that wholistic health and environmental awareness are one layer apart in one’s consciousness. Jon can be reached at jli@yolo.com.
