A Fierce Green Fire: The American Environmental Movement

As an environmental reporter for the New York Times , Shabecoff witnessed the movement's evolution into a crusade that has affected American politics, education, economics, law and culture. Here he provides an excellent survey of its progress to date. He begins his account with Man and Nature (1864), in which George Perkins Marsh called attention to human impact on the land, influencing Gilbert Pinchot and John Muir. He goes on to chronicle the rise of interest in conservation from the late 19th century to the activist-friendly 1960s and '70s. He reviews setbacks the movement suffered during the Reagan years and assesses the Bush administration's positions on environmental issues. In his view, the current ``third wave'' groups are more pragmatic, more professional and more inclined to work within existing political and economic forces than were the militant activists of the recent past. Addressing the effects of economic growth on the environment, Shabecoff concludes that an ecologically sound society can also be economically sound. (Feb.)