As our dedicated readers know, the American Mustache Institute (NYSE: AMI) continues to campaign against a world that, beginning at the end of the 1970s, has shut the mustache out of popular culture and entertained a climate of lip fur intolerance.

Indeed, the beginning of the 1980s saw AMI film critic Walter Cronkite leave the air, people began to eschew the disco era with all of its mustached glory, and few of our celebrities remained mustached beyond that point. Where was Robert Redford in “Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid” when you needed him?

No newsmen, celebrities, and certainly, few corporate executives were brave enough to sport the cookie duster in all of its glory. However, according to Fortune magazine scribe Marc Gunther, a terrific writer on environmental issues and mustached American himself as you can see here, there is some hope.

Gunther sites two leading executives: Dow Chemicals CEO Andrew Liveris, who’s “chevron” style mustache certainly qualifies; as well as Chase Carey (pictured left), chief executive of DirecTV, who Gunther appropriately notes has a “major league” mustache. And of course, for clarity’s sake we cannot forget Mexican telecommunications magnet Carlos Slim, nor freaky media pioneer Ted Turner who is worth noting simply for his conquest of his ex, Jane Fonda.

And while we have unearthed four leading soup-straining executives, that is four out of how many? And as AMI posed to Gunther, "when was the last time any of these executives graced the front cover of his magazine?"

We asked the same question of Forbes magazine writer Stephane Fitch, an all-around swell guy. His answer: "You know, you bring up a good point. I can't recall the last time we had someone on the front with a 'stache. But please, don't ever call me again, at least not at home at 3 in the morning." 

The reality is the percentages in all walks of life continue to dwindle, as Dr. Daniel T. Callahan, AMI’s research director, recently noted during a U.S. Senate hearing on the over-criminality of mustaches.

“Mr. McCain, it is clear that here in our nation’s capitol and in corporate boardrooms across these great United States, the mustache is being filtered out of our lives much like the baby chinchilla coats we once wore proudly to boxing matches in the 1970s,” noted Dr. Callahan. “I suggest that you and your peers work your darnedest to help bring it back. Because just like being black, or Jewish, be it a dwarf, or even a male waiter at Hooters – we all should have the opportunity to be what we want to be, to wear what we want to, to grow hair the way we wish, and to smoke on as many school properties as we wish.”

In closing, a few suggestions:

1. if you care about the state of mustaches, write your congressman and tell him or her about your dissatisfaction with the state of mustached America;
2. if you have voting shares of publicly trades companies, e-mail their investor relations staff encouraging them to have their leaders wear mustaches;
3. if you have an interest in the environment and the business climate’s relationship to such, be sure to regularly read Marc Gunther’s or subscribe to an e-mail feed here;
4. continue to hate Dave Navarro. He is worthless.