Russell Train

Mr. Train, generally considered to be the father of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, died last week.  Mr. Train was Richard Nixon’s first chair of the White House Council on Environmental Policy, and he later served as head of the EPA under President Ford.  

While he was in charge, the EPA banned four chemicals used on farms--aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, and chlordane.  I know my dad used at least three of those on our farm.  Mr. Train did so much more--opposing Miami’s proposed airport in the Everglades, using science to establish toxicity levels and risk analysis of chemicals, and, after he left the EPA, heading up the World Fund.

There was a time not that long ago when environmentalists like Mr. Train felt at home in the Republican Party.  I wonder if he felt despair in his later years.  I know I do.