Governance and Nature: Tulsa Eco-Politics

By Tony Boese

The environment is a vast and multifaceted concept that, in reality, can have no single definition. Yet, questions like ‘do you support protecting the environment’ are met with ready answers usually heartily given. There is a social meeting of the minds. However, there is not a united zeitgeist. Why and how is this? A massive question, but one I have tried to tackle in the smaller scale of Tulsa, and to a lesser extent Oklahoma, politics.

I interviewed three individuals who shall remain anonymous. One is a former state senator with a respectably inactive filter, who I shall call Athos. One is an up and comer in the Democratic Party of Tulsa, who I shall call Aramis. One is a knight of the right, who I shall call Porthos. Below is an exploration of the issue through their answers.

Fight with Your Dime - Lifestyle Eco-Activism: Teaching Conservative Family Values

Farmer and sons walking in the face of a dust storm.
Dust Bowl, Cimarron County, Oklahoma

By: Shannon Stark Guss

My efforts at sustainability have waxed and waned over the years.  I admit that I have even found myself at times falling ungraciously into habits of super-consumerism that have no part in the lifestyle of someone who claims to be an environmentally-minded citizen of the world.  I have had to forgive myself for these failings and do my best to return to some reasonable habits.  While my habits as a crazy liberal, wannabe hippy, eco-activist have mixed with my habits of a buy-stuff-for-emotional-comfort, drive-like-there’s-no-tomorrow, eat-as-much-as-possible-and-don’t-worry-where-it-came-from kind of American, the fact remains that I continue to value this beautiful planet we call home.  When I had children, it became important to me to consider ways to teach those values to them.  As they have grown older, it has also become increasingly apparent that my husband and I must consistently model actions that match these values.