![]() ![]() "We have been acting out the classic cartoon image of a man sitting on the branch of a tree and sawing it off behind him," wrote Philip Shabecoff in his 1993 book, "A Fierce Green Fire: The American Environmental Movement." Shabecoff described environmentalism as a "broad social movement" that was attempting to build a "desperately needed but difficult and obstacle-strewn road" out of humankind's increasingly polluted predicament. In the midst of the anti-Vietnam war movement, the women's movement, and more, a divided America also found room for an environmental movement. ![]() And six months before the torching of the Cuyahoga, a massive oil spill soiled the shores of Santa Barbara, California. Smog from traffic and factories had become a national concern. ![]() The mild-mannered government scientist documented how the pesticide DDT was jeopardizing countless bird species, from tiny hummingbirds to the national symbol, the bald eagle. Rachel Carson's book, "Silent Spring," published seven years earlier, had lit the spark. The times, they were a-changing, and a burning river confirmed what many already believed: The environment was changing, too. No matter that this was at least the tenth time the Cuyahoga had ignited. ![]()
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