GEORGE A. GONZALEZ - fieldi

DEMOCRATIC ETHICS 99mobiles and gasoline. Moreover, the Foundation’s list of contributors demonstratesthe broad support that it enjoyed throughout the corporate community.Throughout its seven-year existence (1954–1961) the Foundation hadmore than 200 donors, almost all of which were from corporate America.In order to formulate policy proposals and political strategies that relateto the environment, members of the contemporary California business communityhave organized and financed the California Council for Environmental& Economic Balance (CCEEB). 6 This organization was established in1973. One-third of its board of directors is drawn from business and industry.Some of the firms represented on CCEEB’s board are economically dependenton growth in the state. They are the Irvine Company (real estate andland development), Pacific Telesis (regional telephone service provider),Southern California Edison (utility firm), Bank of America, and Pacific Gas& Electric Company. Other firms represented on CCEEB’s board are directlyaffected by the state’s environmental regulations. These firms include Texaco,Chevron, and the Union Pacific Railroad. 7 The other two-thirds of itsboard is composed of labor union representatives and private citizens. 8 TheCCEEB’s finances are entirely provided by its corporate members (Weisser2000). Moreover, CCEEB disseminates its policy ideas throughout the Californiabusiness community through “presentations” to such organizations asthe Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Clara ManufacturersGroup, and the Orange County Industrial League (CCEEB 2000b).The CCEEB describes its work in terms that are consistent with the conceptof ecological modernization. Its president stated in our interview that a“‘healthy’ environment leads to a ‘good’ economy.” He claimed that all ofCCEEB’s members adhere to this belief. Moreover, he explained that, forexample, a clean environment plays a specific role in maintaining andattracting high-technology industries to California (Weisser 2000). Accordingto its mission statement, the CCEEB “is a coalition of California business,labor, and public leaders who work together to advance collaborative strategiesfor a sound economy and a healthy environment” (2000b). In its promotionalliterature, the CCEEB describes itself as a “powerful coalition thatcan move the California economy forward in an environmentally responsiblemanner.” Additionally, it claims to “understand the importance of the environmentto the California business climate” (CCEEB 2000b). Finally, interms wholly congruous with the notion of efficiency at the core of the discourseof ecological modernization (Weale 1992, 75–79; Hajer 1995, 31–36),CCEEB holds that its “work translates into ... job creation, efficient use oftax dollars, reduced compliance costs, consolidated reporting formats, eliminationof multiple agency oversight, more responsive public agencies andincreased certainty for conservation and development” (CCEEB 2000a).CCEEB’s commitment to environmental protection within the context ofunmitigated economic growth is reflected in its political activity. It supported