LECTURES : 1st EPA Chief to Discuss Environmental Issues : William Ruckelshaus, who headed the agency twice, will speak at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.

Perennial Republican insider William Ruckelshaus, the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency, will expound on “The Politics of Natural Resources” on Saturday afternoon at UC Santa Barbara.

Ruckelshaus headed the EPA from its inception in 1970, then led the FBI under President Nixon. The Harvard-trained lawyer began his second stint as head of the EPA in 1983 under President Reagan.

Ruckelshaus has served as director of several companies and currently is chief executive officer of Browning-Ferris Industries, one of the nation’s waste-disposal giants.

Ruckelshaus spoke by phone about his upcoming lecture.

How has something as seemingly innocuous as the Endangered Species Act become a political issue?

I don’t want to give (the lecture) all away, but first we need to decide how we define species. Is it the obvious organisms like fish and bears or does it include all the microorganisms as well? Do we treat all organisms the same and try to save them all? There’s not enough time and not enough money to save everything. What should we save? How should we decide? We need to change the laws so that they conform to reality. But right now, emotions are running high. These things go on circles. There was a big wave of emotion when Reagan appointed (James) Watt (as head of the Department of the Interior), and now it’s back as a result of the Republican Congress and the threats perceived by the environmental groups.

*

The fundamental question seems to be, how can economic growth be maintained while sustaining environmental quality?

I think that it’s possible to have both. In fact, that is the exact conclusion we came up with (President Clinton’s) Council on Sustainable Development. That economic growth and environmental concerns are antagonists puts them in a false context ending with endless fights. You can have both if you want both. The developed world understands that more than the Third World. We have enough wealth to do it right while the poor countries have never experienced an industrialization phase and just want to get rid of poverty at any cost through economic growth.

*

What was the original mission of the EPA, and the current focus as you see it?

The original mission of the EPA was mostly defined by me. I based it on two other agencies--NASA and OEO (Office of Economic Opportunity). NASA’s mission, more or less, was to get to the moon; and once they did that, then it was kind of ‘then what?’ OEO’s mission was to fight poverty, but it foundered due to a lack of clarity of mission. The EPA’s mission was to attack pollution. When I came back 10 years later, the agency still focused on pollution and managing risk in society, but the 10 statutes passed in the ‘70s, which created the EPA, basically need readjustment to focus on the agency’s current problems. Currently there’s a lot of emotional hype and not much rational debate.

*

Does the EPA do its job?

First of all, the environment is much better off than it was 25 years ago. The air has improved and the water has improved, but in the process, a new generation of pollutants has been uncovered, toxic pollutants. When I started 25 years ago, business leaders were resistant; they thought environmentalism was merely a fad. Their counterparts today are much different. For one thing, they’re much younger.

*

You once said working at the EPA was like “a self-inflicted Heimlich Maneuver.”

That was my wife who said that when I returned to the EPA the second time.

*

You’ve been head of the EPA, then an officer of Weyerhaeuser, then back to the EPA, now you work with Browning-Ferris--isn’t that slightly incongruous?

I don’t know whether it is or not, but it does show I can’t hold a job.

*

I think you’ve been the head of every government agency with three letters. Did you get to arrest anyone while you headed the FBI?

No, I didn’t. My job at that time was to conduct the Watergate Investigation. What I did was oversee Special Investigator Archibald Cox.

*

The other night on “Barney Miller,” this paranoid lunatic was raving about the Trilateral Commission, and how they were trying to take over the world. Are they or have they?

If they were going to take over the world, I think I’d start going to more meetings. The commission was formed during the Cold War and the idea was to encourage more cooperation among world leaders. It was hoped to better communications between the U.S., Europe and Japan, nothing more nefarious than that.

*

So the maniac on “Barney Miller” and the maniacs in the militia are wrong again?

That goes without saying.

*

Everyone wants to pick up trash but there’s nowhere to put it down. Isn’t that the fundamental problem in your current business?

Oh yeah, that’s exactly the problem. It’s not like there’s an open pit at the edge of town with a junkyard guard dog with a tin can tied around his neck. People tend to get emotional over these things, and when people get emotional, it’s hard to discuss things rationally.

*

Apart from picketing Trilateral Commission meetings, what can one do on an individual level?

In terms of where they live, there’s a lot that can be done. For example, do you recycle? There’s a lot they can do that’s helpful such as become knowledgeable on the issues and then support the appropriate candidates.

Details

* WHAT: William Ruckelshaus on “The Politics of Natural Resources.”

* WHEN: 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

* WHERE: Buchanan Hall, Room 1910, UC Santa Barbara.

* HOW MUCH: Free.

* CALL: 893-2080.