Environmental Justice for All

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The May NRDC benefit is one example of Kennedy’s influence with celebrities, including Ed Begley Jr., Ted Danson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meg Ryan and Laurie David, who is married to “Seinfeld” creator Larry David, who drives a gas/electric hybrid Toyota Prius on his current TV show, “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

“My husband and I sat down for breakfast with Bobby Kennedy, and we have not been the same since,” says Laurie David. After meeting Kennedy, she left her job as a Hollywood producer to become an environmental fundraiser. “When Bobby talks about the environment, he frames it as a civil-rights issue, a human issue, an ethical and spiritual issue. And whether he’s speaking to one individual or to an audience of thousands, he gives it the same amount of emotional intensity. You get the feeling you’re listening to a prophet.”

Beyond Partisan Politics

Part of Kennedy’s widespread appeal is his ability to position environmental issues outside the fray of partisan politics. “When Bobby talks about how bad President Bush is [on the environment], he makes a point that it is not about bashing Republicans,” says Steve Fleischli, executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance. “I’ve seen many Republicans come up to him and say they really appreciate that he recognizes that this is not a partisan issue. It’s really about people wanting what’s best for their communities, and people expecting the best from corporate America.”

At the core of Kennedy’s message during most speeches is the idea that corporate money and influence sully politics. “The most important environmental bill of all time is Campaign Finance Reform,” he says.

Among his earlier books is The Riverkeepers, co-written with John Cronin, about the struggle to protect the Hudson River from polluters. His new Crimes Against Nature is a timely political treatise written to help foster a political awakening. “The mission of this book is to help the voting public recognize the truth,” he says. “Right now much of the public is unaware that the cornerstones of America’s environmental laws, which date back over 30 years, have been rewritten under the current administration. Simply put, today more than ever before the public interest has taken a back seat to corporate interests.”

This shift has taken a personal and professional toll, Kennedy says. “For decades, I’ve been fighting battles at a local level, protecting the interests of farmers, fishermen and their families, but in the past three years, industry has fixed those victories at the federal level. I can’t just sit by and watch this happen. It angers me to the marrow — as a lawyer, as a citizen and as a father.”

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