By the 1980s, businesses had realized that environmental issues had a price tag. Increasingly, they balked. Reflexively, the anticorporate Left pivoted; Earth Day, erstwhile snow job, became an opportunity to denounce capitalist greed.

In this quote, Charles C. Mann reflects on the shift in the relationship between businesses and environmental issues during the 1980s. By that time, businesses had started to recognize that environmental concerns, such as pollution and resource depletion, came with a significant price tag. As a result, many companies became resistant to the idea of adopting costly environmental practices. Mann also notes how the anticorporate Left, a group that had historically criticized corporate behavior, began to pivot in their approach. The celebration of Earth Day, which initially aimed to raise awareness about environmental protection, became an opportunity for the Left to attack capitalist greed and highlight the negative impact of businesses on the environment.

Mann’s statement underscores the growing tension between economic interests and environmental responsibility. As businesses were confronted with the financial implications of addressing environmental concerns, many resisted taking action, seeing it as an obstacle to profit. This resistance led to a shift in the rhetoric of environmental movements, with the anticorporate Left focusing more on capitalism and its role in environmental degradation, rather than working with businesses to find mutually beneficial solutions.

The phrase "Earth Day, erstwhile snow job" suggests that Earth Day had initially been seen as a symbolic event, but by the 1980s, it had evolved into a political platform for criticism of the business sector. Mann's use of "snow job" implies that Earth Day’s original intention had been somewhat trivialized or co-opted, and it became a venue for more direct political attacks against capitalism and the corporate sector.

This quote is rooted in Mann’s broader analysis of the evolving environmental movement and its intersection with business and political ideologies. As a journalist and author, Mann has explored how environmental issues have been shaped by competing social and economic forces, particularly in the context of business interests and political activism.