Page "Environmental movement in the United States" Paragraph 64

Several books after the middle of the 20th century contributed to the rise of American environmentalism ( as distinct from the longer-established conservation movement ), especially among college and university students and the more literate public.

One was the publication of the first textbook on ecology, Fundamentals of Ecology, by Eugene Odum and Howard Odum, in 1953.

Another was the appearance of the best-seller Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, in 1962.

Her book brought about a whole new interpretation on pesticides by exposing their harmful effects in nature.

From this book many began referring to Carson as the " mother of the environmental movement ".

Another influential development was a 1965 lawsuit, Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission, opposing the construction of a power plant on Storm King Mountain, which is said to have given birth to modern United States environmental law.

The wide popularity of The Whole Earth Catalogs, starting in 1968, was quite influential among the younger, hands-on, activist generation of the 1960s and 1970s.

Recently, in addition to opposing environmental degradation and protecting wilderness, an increased focus on coexisting with natural biodiversity has appeared, a strain that is apparent in the movement for sustainable agriculture and in the concept of Reconciliation Ecology.