Positive Thinking for the Environment

"There is a lot of bad news. I would love to pretend otherwise, but I can’t, and sometimes it feels so bad that it’s paralyzing," writes Outside magazine columnist and author Heather Hansman.

For a little light in the depths of winter, Hansman looks for good news, and finds plenty of reason for hope, finding wins, ongoing fights, and more challenges to be overcome in the future.

Among the wins, Hansman notes that the United States in 2019 approved conservation legislation on issues ranging from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Colorado River, and a new national park in White Sands. New bipartisan legislation called the Recreation Not Red Tape Act is currently under consideration that could continue the trend in conservation if approved.

Among the ongoing challenges that allow advocates and citizens a chance to make an impact, Hansman flips the script on the ongoing assault on environmental regulation by the Trump administration. The election year offers a chance to "keep every branch of government accountable," writes Hansman, who also says that people have a chance, right now, to support journalism working to "uncover corruption, oversights, and wrongdoing."