We’ll Miss You Russell Train

Over the past two days news agencies around the world have been celebrating the life and accomplishments of Russell Train, who passed away on September 17 at the age of 92.  Russell is best known for playing critical role in securing bipartisan support for such landmark environmental legislation as the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and Endangered Species Act.  As he wrote in his 2003 memoir Politics, Pollution, and Pandas, “That environmental agenda was so wide-ranging, and yet so comprehensive, as to be without precedent in the history of the United States.”  He was the second person to chair the Environmental Protection Agency, a position he held from September 1973 to January 1977.  After he left politics, Train oversaw the growth and development of the World Wildlife Fund, heading the American chapter of that organization from 1978-1985.  A staunch conservative, Train recognized that environmental protections trump partisan politics, a position that many media pundits say would simply be impossible in today’s toxic political culture. We do not often have time to take note of the many people from all walks of life who have dedicated their lives to securing a sustainable future but at this critical time in history, Train’s passing may serve as a gentle reminder that we are all in this together, regardless of our gender, ethnicity, or political affiliation.