Tucson, Arizona seems to be the chosen home of many well-known environmentalists. The most famous of them all is probably the late Edward Abbey (the author of “The Monkey Wrench Gang” and many other books), but he is by no means alone. Among the other current or former residents are “eco-warrior” Dave Foreman, cofounder of the Earth First! movement and the Rewilding Institute; Barbara Kingsolver, author of many successful books including a recent one about eating locally-grown food; Pulitzer Prize-winning nature photographer Jack Dykinga; and nature writer/journalist Charles Bowden, who was apparently a good friend of Abbey.
Many environmental organizations seem to favor Tucson for their headquarters as well. They include the Center for Biological Diversity, the Wildlands Network (formerly the Wildlands Project) cofounded by Michael Soulé and Dave Foreman, and The Earth First! Journal. And then there’s the scientific research project Biosphere II, “the largest closed (ecological) system ever created”.
Why has Tucson become one of the “environmental capitals” of the U.S.? Well, I have a few theories:
- We have a large university that breeds a lot of highly educated people who are well-informed on environmental issues.
- There are a plethora of outdoor opportunities around Tucson, and many environmentalists are nature-lovers to begin with.
- Tucson tends to be fairly culturally diverse, arts-friendly, and laid back, and it seems that many environmentalists prefer to live in this type of atmosphere.
- Tucson isn’t so big that groups get lost in the shuffle, yet it isn’t so small that group members don’t have access to the many amenities of city life.
- The climate is mild in the winter, whereas in many other cities with the characteristics mentioned above, in winter it can be hard to conduct business and hold meetings.
I feel fortunate to live in this hotbed of environmentalism, among so many environmental activists.
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