Alex Sagady of East Lansing is remembered as a skillful and effective advocate who helped to shape generations of environmentalists with his passion and knowledge for training and education. Alex took on challenging fights to stop air and water pollution and protect public health that led to improvements in the quality of life for many communities. Alex passed away at 74 years old on May 19. Read the tributes from his colleagues, reporters and friends who knew and worked with Alex for five decades.
Read Alex Sagady’s obituary here.
From Environmental Attorney Mark Richardson:
I'd like to take a moment to remember my friend Alex Sagady, who died Monday.
Alex, who I knew for over 40 years, had a significant influence on my career. He and I were the same age, but he had experience I lacked when we met. So he became a mentor who opened many doors for me. He made it possible for me to serve on the Board of Directors of the American Lung Association of Michigan and to chair the ALAM Environmental and Occupational Health Committee. I met many public officials, lobbyists and other prominent people, and eventually got to play a modest role in the environmental policy-making process myself. He also referred law clients to me, which enabled me to broaden my environmental expertise. I owe those opportunities to Alex, who always supported my efforts.
I used to say that Alex knew more about regulating air pollution than anybody in the State of Michigan. He would scoff, but I stand by that statement. He was extremely intelligent and his knowledge was comprehensive. He put this knowledge in service to his core values. Alex believed in the power of ordinary citizens to protect their health and their communities. He did everything he could, in many communities, to help them do just that.
I think what I admired most about Alex was his fierce intellectual integrity. Once he arrived at a conclusion, using facts and logic, he would not back off. This trait sometimes put him at odds with the Michigan environmental community, most recently in regard to the Line 5 controversy at the Straits of Mackinac. Alex regarded the challenges to the proposed line as legally weak and environmentally suspect. I agreed with the former (years earlier we'd had similar legal issues arise in the Detroit Incinerator case we worked on) but drew the line on the latter, not because Alex was wrong in his analysis of relative risk but because the long range implications of building new fossil fuel infrastructure really bother me.
Alex wasn't the most diplomatic person around. He could be gruff with critics. But, with maybe one exception I can think of, he never personalized any disputes. As long as you were willing to stick to facts he would engage you.
Alex was a kind and generous person at heart. I think he was probably happier backpacking solo in the wilderness, which once included a week-long hike along the north shore of Lake Superior which he enthusiastically described for me, than clashing with business lobbyists or sometimes with his allies. But he never shirked from what he saw as his duty to help protect public health and environmental quality.
He was a kindred spirit. I will miss him.
Thoughts from environmental colleagues and reporters who worked with Alex over the decades:
Alex always made me think better and was always patient with my science acumen deficits. Most respected his willingness to speak truth to power. RIP good man.
I knew Alex. So sorry to hear this. Enviro Mich. was/is a Godsend
Sad news indeed. Alex was a champ, stirred it all up but Enviro-Mich. is an important legacy. It was clear he cared.
Alex was a consummate environmentalist. I got to work with him extensively on clean air, no nukes, and conservation issues. With his facts and figures, Alex drove Consumers Power and Detroit Edison crazy.
Michigan's environment, waterways, and air are cleaner because of him.
I learned a lot about effective environmental advocacy from Alex early in my career. Once we shared a hotel room at a conference where he was a keynote speaker. He was like a caged lion as he prepared for what was a tenacious performance.
Alex, thank you for your advocacy. Your work lives on…
Alex, through his words and deeds, was a font of information for so many who never met him.
I worked with Alex on dozens of conservation and environmental issues starting with my time on Senate Democratic Staff and through the rest of my career. Incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable, he was a ferocious advocate for the woods, waters and wildlife and the wise application of statutes, rules and regulations governing our environment. Rest in Peace, my friend.
Enviro-Mich was required reading for me when I was trying to learn my way around the state’s environmental landscape. Alex’s posts were always informative — and often provocative. An important and knowledgeable voice.
I spent time on the phone with him more than once going over complicated documents. Air quality reports and such. Very knowledgeable and helpful guy. RIP.