It's Not Easy Being Green

It's Not Easy Being Green

Kermit the frog, of Muppet fame, didn't have the environment in mind when the he sang of the difficulties of being green. But the phrase certainly seems appropriate. Extension has a history of encouraging careful stewardship of the land and its resources. We like to think we were environmentalists before being "green" became popular. At the same time, many people see agriculture (and hence Extension) as part of the problem rather than the solution. To address public environmental concerns, we wind up in the middle of controversial issues having no easy answers.

This issue's special section is devoted to Extension environmental and natural resource education. The problem of how Extension faculty can educate when public attitudes are polarized is addressed in two articles. One is a case study of landfill siting that describes an educational strategy resting on techniques borrowed from group therapeutic processes. The other offers strategies for dealing with the divergent perceptions about pesticides among agricultural and nonagricultural audiences. Enhancing agents' ability and willingness to be active partners in local waste management solutions is the subject of the third article. The section closes with a feature on involving private fisheries owners in long-term research and learning to improve resource management. In Ideas at Work, readers will also find an article on working with consumers to have an impact on environmental marketing. Taken together, these articles indicate not only the range of interest about the environment in Extension, but also how Extension faculty are changing roles and approaches to be more effective environmental educators.

Changing roles for Extension faculty seems to be the case in almost every state and program area. One sign of change is that Extension professionals are now as likely to carry the title of faculty, adviser, or Extension educator, as that of county agent. Regardless of the name, however, we're united by many common interests as professionals. So in a departure from the regular To the Point format, we asked the presidents of the three agents' associations and Epsilon Sigma Phi to tell us what they see as the role of Extension professionals today and in the future.

Nine members of the Journal Editorial Committee completed their terms December 1992. They are: Patricia Day, Wisconsin; Marilyn Grantham, Minnesota; Mable Grimes, Missouri; Beth Walter Honadle, Minnesota; Howard Ladewig, Texas; Susan Laughlin, California; Barbara Sawer, Oregon; Jane Schuchardt, Washington, D.C.; and Valya Telep, Virginia. The careful reading and evaluation of submitted manuscripts is the backbone of the peer review process. Our thanks to these dedicated people who so ably performed that task.

EMR