In Memoriam: Phil Clapp, Environmental Champion and Climate Leader

Phil Clapp, 54, deputy managing director of the Pew Environment Group, died yesterday in Amsterdam of complications from pneumonia, which he contracted while on vacation. Obituaries of this gentle, humorous man who was one of the environmental movement's most effective Washington insiders are running today in both the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Mr. Clapp devoted his 32-year career in Washington to fighting global warming, preserving the world's oceans and reducing air and water pollution. A practicing Buddhist who was also a workaholic and a chain smoker, he focused much of his work on trying to fashion an international pact that would make significant cuts in greenhouse gases.

I had the good fortune over the last few years to attend a number of retreats at which climate leaders gathered to compare notes, and invariably, Phil's presentation was the main event. With a dry ink marker in hand, he'd talk and write and sketch out the political reality inside Washington, and school his audience in the fine art of counting votes and how to sway them. The white boards he filled were little masterpieces. He pursued his environmental ideals while grounded in hard realities and patience and sheer endurance.

At once didactic and inspiring, he had a gift for perceiving himself within the larger human drama in which he was compelled to act, and for staying true to his chosen role as an environmental advocate, no matter who else was sharing the stage. He told the story once of the final days of the UN meeting in Kyoto, from which the Protocol would emerge. Gore was still a no-show, and they needed him there to succeed. So they created a media event in the capital around a gigantic replica of an airline ticket for the Vice President -- departing DC, arriving Kyoto -- to make sure he got on a plane, which he did.

Once I went to visit him at his office at the National Environmental Trust, and he took me downstairs to the bar and grill. We sat talking for a couple of hours, during which time we were constantly interrupted by so many people he knew, who came by to share the latest tidbit of political gossip or personal news. All of them clearly had great affection and admiration for him. I was at the center of his universe, watching it spin. At one point he said to me that progress on climate policy would be the work of a generation of effort. He understood and accepted the painful reality of how slow progress can be, and when he saw the look of disappointment on my face, he just smiled very large.

I remember he also told me that day about a Zen initiation he had achieved with prolonged preparation and effort: "sitting" for 24 hours without interruption. He conquered sleep with conscious practice and watched the world -- both inner and outer -- go round in one full cycle of day and night.

I knew the man for only a short time, really, but am left with such rich impressions nevertheless, and my heart goes out to those that are close to him. I called on him many times for insight -- "we should ask Phil" was often the best course of action. And now, that reflex has suddenly to be tamed, as we sit and watch and grieve for the world going round without him.

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