Russell E. Train: The Man Behind Nixon’s Environmental Diplomacy

Abstract

Russell Train is currently regarded as the pioneer of American environmental diplomacy. He contributed, as Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and first special presidential envoy for the environment, to putting environmental protection at the core of the American political agenda, giving adequate attention to the weight of public opinion and the claims of the increasingly influential environmental movement. He harnessed the environment primarily as a concrete tool for détente, raising awareness about the issue and encouraging effective countermeasures to start dealing with the adverse effects of human-induced pollution.