Lifelong Friend of the Environment, Russell Train,  Is Dead at Age 92

 

Mr. Russell E. Train, a respected conservationist and environmentalist, died September 17, 2012 at the age of 92.

 

Train was chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality under President Nixon and then served as EPA administrator under President Ford. He was, according to the New York Times,” among a select group of senior administration officials and Congressional leaders who shaped the world’s first comprehensive program for scrubbing the skies and waters of pollution, ensuring the survival of ecologically significant plants and animals, and safeguarding citizens from exposure to toxic chemicals.”

Train was also instrumental in the formation and administration of the influential environmental group the  World Wildlife Fund.  As a moderate Republican he is said to have had much influence on President Nixon and the development of much of the administration’s environmental policy.   Train is reported to have  explained to Nixon the power of environmental issues to galvanize voters.

Train became EPA administrator during the Watergate era.  He remained active in environmental causes even during his last years, becoming chairman emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund 12 years ago and serving an active role in the organization.

“Train came to symbolize the bipartisan nature of the environmental movement more than 40 years ago when many conservatives were enthusiastic advocates of environmentalism,”  according to the Associated Press.   His ability to put the needs of the environment above politics is in short supply today.

 

More information about Mr. Train from the New York Times.