Norman Livermore Jr.

I've always been curious about what shapes peoples opinions. I remember going to college and being struck by, actually slammed head-on into, a wall of divergent points of view. One of the most perplexing was about the environment. The urban city types, with little access to open space were all for preserving as much as possible. The rural or country folks with access to loads of it, felt that the mere idea was in itself threatening. There were many ways to explain this but that's how it was.
I made this connection with then Governor Ronald Reagan. Besides coming from a rural background he wasn't shy about saying some very threatening things about the environment. One prime example was "A tree is a tree, how many more do you have to look at."
Being the idealistic young city dweller, I don't know what made me more uneasy, final exams or Ronald Reagan. Everything he said or did was an affront to my sensibilities. An interloper who had no right to call California home.
Somehow, Reagan selected Norman Livermore Jr, as head of what was the equivalent of the state Environmental Protection Agency. Mr.Livermore died this last week at the age of 95, he was a good man.
I'm sure Mr. Reagan knew he was an environmentalist in corporate clothing but to his credit picked him anyway. In short, although very different, these men through mutual respect and collaboration went on to achieve some great things together.
Often thought of as a poor environmental performer, Reagan with Livermore, in fact succeeded in what would become Redwoods National Parks and the vetoes of the Dos Rios Dam and a Tran-Sierra Highway.
In the case of the Dos Rios Dam, Livermore set up a meeting with Reagan and the Indian tribe who's spiritual grounds would have been flooded along with hundreds of farms and ranches. Reagan, moved to tears, turned against the project saying, "We've broken to many damn treaties."
Like I've said before, my disagreements with Reagan's policies outweigh my agreements but, as his political career progressed I had a sense that we'd be OK because inside he was a decent human being.
There is a big difference between Reagan and our current situation. He was big enough to allow to be led around by his nose for a while if needed to come to the right decision. This takes some intellectual depth and a personal constitution.
For the future, the members of his party can invoke his name all they want but without the equivalent they've got nothing. And for now it's clear that there are no Ronald Reagan's serving in this administration.