about what's going on in the legislature in order for them to 

 participate." 



He believes in what he calls "the heat and light theory." 



"I provide information as "light" to the legislators," he says. 

 "But there must be some heat with the light. You see, if they don't 

 get the heat, they won't see the light. 



"The information by itself won't convince them. They have to 

 hear from their constituents. The letters people write, the phone 

 calls they make, the public hearings they attend. All of it matters." 



Walter Clark, Sea Grant's ocean and coastal law specialist 

 agrees. 



"I've seen citizens turn things around," Clark says. "And the 

 more people you have, the better chance you have of being 

 listened to." 



Clark says not enough people know about the Administrative 

 Procedures Act, a law that requires public hearings when regula- 

 tions are being considered for change and that allows citizens to 

 present petitions to amend, adopt or repeal any regulation. 



"It is used by some groups, but it could be used more," he 

 says. (For more about Clark's role in coastal environmental issues, 

 see story on page 10. 



Holman often urges his clients and fellow environmentalists to 

 use every weapon at their disposal in what he calls "the fight." 



Most legislators want to "do the right thing," Holman says. 

 "When a politician is convinced that the majority of his or her 

 constituents really care, he or she will be moved. 



"We don't give up. The environmental community is persis- 



tent. We win a lot of battles, but sometimes it seems we're losing 

 the war. We need to win over the legislators. That's the only way 

 to win in the long run." 



While Holman and others like him can take sides in the war 

 over the environment, there are others who can't plant their flags 

 in either camp. Their jobs depend on being as neutral as possible. 



Such is George Everett, director of the state's Division of 

 Environmental Management. His branch of government adminis- 

 ters and oversees the laws and regulations affecting the state's 

 environmental well-being. 



"People can come to us if they see something they don't like 

 going on," Everett says. "For example, if someone sees an industry 

 discharging an unusual amount of waste into waterways, we're the 

 ones to call." 



Environmental Management has offices in Wilmington, 

 Morehead City, Washington and Elizabeth City. "So there's always 

 someone from our department nearby," Everett says. 



But calling on state-level government isn't always the most 

 effective way to change things for the better on the coast, Everett 

 says. Sometimes action has to be taken before the state gets 

 involved. 



"The best tool I've seen is the Division of Coastal 

 Management's land-use planning statute," he says. "This allows 

 local governments to determine zoning and other land-use 

 practices. So, when the development is first proposed, private 

 citizens can get involved in what will happen. 



Continued on the next page 



COASTWATCH 9 



