| In the late 1960s, the Ecology flag first appeared | | | | although belatedly, the need for action. Since |
| -- flying at gatherings in People's Park in Berkeley | | | | World War II we are becoming more and more |
| and on patches sewn onto the sleeves of | | | | aware of the deadly consequences of |
| army-surplus coats. It symbolized a movement | | | | environmental neglect and abuse. In 1954 the |
| called "ecology" and marked the beginnings of a | | | | crew of a Japanese fishing vessel was exposed |
| new wave of environmental activism. Air and | | | | to radioactive fallout from U.S. nuclear testing at |
| water pollution, depletion of the ozone layer, | | | | Bikini Atoll. In 1962, Silent Spring drew attention to |
| chemical contamination, toxic waste, endangered | | | | the impact of chemicals on the environment. In |
| species, and recycling to spare scarce resources | | | | 1967 and 1969 major oil spills occurred from |
| were rallying cries of this exciting time. | | | | tankers at sea. (and again, in 1989: the Exxon |
| The roots of this movement go deeper into | | | | Valdez oil spill was one of the worst U.S. |
| American history, however. The writings of | | | | environmental disasters) In 1971 a lawsuit in Japan |
| Thoreau (1817-1862) are the anthem. The | | | | drew international attention to the effects of |
| dreamy amateur naturalist who was not honored | | | | mercury poisoning. |
| during his lifetime has provided inspiration to | | | | In 1978 the Love Canal catastrophe exposed the |
| generations of environmentalists. | | | | hazards of improperly stored toxic waste. Ozone |
| Many others have provided leadership, written | | | | depletion, acid rain, air and water pollution, the |
| compelling books, or labored on the ground to | | | | Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the Three Mile Island |
| carry out important efforts to further the | | | | incident, global warming -- each of these terrible |
| protection of the environment in this country. | | | | disasters and looming catastrophes has heightened |
| Late 19th century reformers decried the depletion | | | | awareness of the fragility of the environment and |
| of the nation's resources and the costs of | | | | our vulnerability to its despoilation. |
| environmental negligence, particularly disease. | | | | Through all this -- and despite the Bush II |
| George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882) wrote Man and | | | | administration's efforts to turn back the clock on |
| Nature, perhaps the first truly American work of | | | | environmental protections -- the environmental |
| ecology. Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946) was an | | | | movement has only grown stronger. Former Vice |
| ardent conservationist and first chief of the U.S. | | | | President Al Gore made it his business after the |
| Forest Service. John Muir (1838-1914) wrote | | | | 1996 election debacle to focus on his passion of |
| eloquently of wilderness and helped found the | | | | protecting the environment. The homegrown slide |
| Sierra Club, the foremost American environmental | | | | show that he presented to audiences around the |
| organization. John Burroughs (1837-1921) was the | | | | world grew into a documentary, which won an |
| most important practitioner (after Thoreau) of | | | | Academy Award; his TV work earned him |
| the nature essay. The John Burroughs Medal is | | | | several Emmys; and in 2007, he was the |
| awarded annually for distinguished nature writing. | | | | co-recipient (with the Intergovernmental Panel on |
| In the twentieth century Rachel Carson | | | | Climate Change) of the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| (1907-1964) awoke the nation with her book | | | | Paul Hawken's book Blessed Unrest: How the |
| Silent Spring showing the dangerous effects of | | | | Largest Movement in the World Came into Being |
| insecticides upon the environment. Aldo Leopold | | | | and Why No One Saw It Comingcelebrates the |
| (1887-1948), the father of U.S. wildlife | | | | power and potential of the worldwide |
| management and co-founder of The Wilderness | | | | environmental movement, a loose and growing |
| Society has impacted generations with his | | | | coalition of groups, organizations and individuals |
| bookSand County Almanac, a lyrical description of | | | | worldwide who are devoted to improving our |
| the ecology of a small landscape he loved. The | | | | natural environment. The authors of Break |
| Nature Conservancy has grown to be the largest | | | | Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to |
| environmental organization in the world, preserving | | | | the Politics of Possibility call for big thinking and big |
| millions of acres of unique ecosystems worldwide. | | | | action to address our current ecological crisis -- |
| Look to a well-stocked bookstore for a full | | | | thinking and mobilization of effort on the same |
| bookshelf of the best of American nature and | | | | order of magnitude as the efforts that produced |
| environmental writing. Peter Matthiesson, Wallace | | | | the microchip and the Internet; that built the |
| Stegner, Rockwell Kent, Barry Lopez, Richard | | | | atomic bomb and put a man on the moon; or |
| Nelson, Rick Bass, Loren Eiseley, Edward Abbey, | | | | that pulled together the economic powerhouse of |
| E. O. Wilson, Stephen Jay Gould, Annie Dillard, | | | | the European Union out of a mixture of twenty |
| Gary Snyder, Mary Oliver, Colin Fletcher, John | | | | different countries, each with their own culture, |
| Steinbeck, Carl Safina, John McPhee: America is | | | | language and thousand-year history of fighting |
| blessed with compassionate, articulate and learned | | | | each other. |
| writers who sharpen our senses and deepen our | | | | These are dangerous, exciting and challenging |
| knowledge of the natural world. These writers | | | | times as we race to address the global |
| have provided substance and sustenance for the | | | | environmental issues that place at risk life on |
| U.S. environmental movement. | | | | Earth. We have the knowledge to begin to |
| Tragic events have galvanized the environmental | | | | address the important environmental issues. Let's |
| movement, stirring the nation to recognize, | | | | do it. |