Environmental Battlegrounds

This chapter opens by revisiting the Tellico Dam/snail darter controversy that pitted environmental activism against the rising tide of conservative anti-regulatory fervor. Union members joined anti-environmentalists in blaming regulation as the cause of the nation’s economic woes, especially rampant inflation. On one side, you had increasingly radical environmental groups such as Earth First!, and on the other, the Sage Brush/Wise Use rebellion that found a welcome in the Reagan administration. The Spotted Owl controversy epitomized the growing rift. Reagan appointed such arch Sage Brush rebels as James Watt as secretary of the interior and Anne Gorsuch (mother of the Supreme Court nominee) at EPA to dismantle the programs they were charged to enforce. While the Wise Use movement emerged in the Western states, it had strong followings in the East as well, as conservatives fought regulations in the Adirondacks Park, zoning in Vermont, and preservation of clean water in the Delaware River Gap. Nimbys represented a new source of activism. These were often women fighting against local pollution and other threats to their families, homes, and communities. Lois Gibbs from Love Canal and Penny Newman from California were two of the most effective leaders to emerge. Other groups such as the Clamshell and Abalone Alliances opposed new nuclear power plants.