Author: Budd Titlow

BS, Biology-Chemistry, Florida State University, 1970 MS, Wildlife Ecology-Fisheries Science, Virginia Tech, 1973 btitlow@aol.com / www.agpix.com/titlow / www.buddtitlow.com For the past 50 years, professional ecologist and conservationist Budd Titlow has used his pen and camera to capture the awe and wonders of our natural world. His goal has always been to inspire others to both appreciate and enjoy what he sees. Now he has one main question: Can we save humankind’s place within nature’s beauty, before it’s too late? Budd’s two latest books are dedicated to answering this perplexing dilemma. Protecting the Planet, a non-fiction book, examines whether we still have the environmental champions among us — harking back to such past heroes as Audubon, Hemenway, Muir, Douglas, Leopold, Brower, Carson, and Meadows — needed to accomplish this goal. Next, using fact-filled and entertaining story-telling, his latest book — Coming Full Circle — provides the answers we all seek and need. Having published five books, more than 500 photo-essays, and 5,000 photographs, Budd Titlow lives with his music educator wife, Debby, in San Diego, California.

COMING FULL CIRCLE—A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across America

PROLOGUE

Text excerpted from the book: COMING FULL CIRCLE: A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across (ISBN: 978-1-80074-568-1)

Budd Titlow & Mariah Tinger

http://www.buddtitlow.com

There is a lot that our U.S. biology and history books don’t tell us.

Tracking the triumphs and travails of a multi-generational American

family, this book sets the record straight.

From a biological perspective, many American colonists didn’t care

about protecting our native wildlife or conserving our natural resources.

Just think about the once abundant species that are no longer with us —

the passenger pigeon, the eastern elk, the Carolina parakeet, the heath

hen, the American bison (almost), and the black-footed ferret (almost).

Then consider our native tallgrass and midgrass prairies — most of

which were swallowed up by settlers’ plows and then blown away during

the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Finally, look at our air and water quality —

both poisoned by industrialization and still trying to recover.

Sky-filling flocks of now extinct Passenger Pigeons used to be commonplace throughout the U.S.

The Dust Bowl of the 1930’s blew away millions of acres of once-bountiful tall grass prairies.

On the history side of the ledger, no group of U.S. citizens has ever

been more disrespected and abused than our Native American tribes.

They respected all species as equals and managed their lands not just in

sustainable ways, but in ways that enhanced the flourishing of the

ecosystem. Yet they lost both their ancestral lands and their cultural

societies to colonial progress.

But — in the end — this book carries a very positive, hopeful

message. We can still extract ourselves from our past faux pas. By

shedding our polarized viewpoints and working cooperatively, we can

still save our planet before it’s too late.

For both of us, this book is a career self-examination. For me (Budd)

the text expresses many things I’ve learned about the natural world

during my fifty years as a wildlife ecologist and resource conservationist.

For me (Mariah), the book’s content captures the joy of the natural world

that my dad (Budd) taught me, how that joy has shaped my career as an

educator and science communicator, and how I hope it influences my

children’s paths. We both see reflections of our past and visions of our

future modeled in the multi-generations of families connected to nature.

Throughout this book, we also emphasize our lifelong beliefs in the

sanctity and equality of all living things — both human and non-human.

Our belief system encompasses all races, religions, cultures, and

lifestyles — but especially those of the Indigenous (or Native) Peoples

of the world.

As expressed in our main title, Coming Full Circle, our book’s

central theme revolves around two primary terms — the circle of life and

biodiversity.

Many of us — especially those with kids or grandkids — know the

first term, the circle of life, as the mega-hit song from the Broadway

musical and blockbuster movie, The Lion King. In reality, the circle of

life is a symbolic representation of birth, survival, and death — which

leads back to birth. For example, an antelope may live for years —

grazing peacefully on African grasslands and producing several healthy

calves. But — as she nears the end of her life and thus her speediness —

a hungry lioness captures and kills her. The antelope dies, but the lioness

brings her body back for the nourishment of her hungry cubs. In this way,

the antelope’s death sustains the life of the lioness’s pride — or family of

lions.

Life is thus represented as a circle because it is a constant loop. The

idea of life as a circle exists across multiple religions and philosophies.

This belief was prevalent throughout the early Indigenous Peoples of

Earth. Unfortunately — owing to what some may term ‘progress’ — this

fervent belief in the circle of life is much less common in today’s world.

The second term — biological diversity, or biodiversity for short —

is primarily used by biologists and ecologists. Biodiversity means the

variety of life — the total number of species, both plants and animals —

living on Earth. This includes everything from the tiniest microbial

spores to the gargantuan blue whale. Generally speaking, the greater the

biodiversity — the total number of species present — the healthier our

planet.

As career environmental scientists, we believe that these two terms

are very closely related. In fact, they build off of and intensify one

another. Picture the diameter of the circle of life as the number of species

that participate in that circle. In our antelope-lioness example above, the

diameter would include the lioness and her pride, the antelope and her

calves, the grass that the antelope eats, the vultures that feed upon the

remainder of the antelope’s carcass, the decomposers that help break

down what the vultures leave behind — and so on. In this manner, the

circle of life is always intricately populated with species and

interdependencies. The larger the circle — in terms of its diameter — the

greater Earth’s biodiversity and vice versa. Because of this, we use these

terms interchangeably throughout this text.

Unfortunately, the circle of life — or biodiversity — of the United

States has decreased dramatically since the first European immigrants

landed on our shores. By telling this fictional account — partially based

on historical facts — of one multi-generational family of American

immigrants, this book explores how and why this change has occurred

and how we will — eventually — come back around to again achieve closure of

the circle of life and — in so doing — save our beautiful planet for all

future generations.

Author’s bio:For the past 50 years, professional ecologist and conservationist Budd Titlow has used his pen and camera to capture the awe and wonders of our natural world. His goal has always been to inspire others to both appreciate and enjoy what he sees. Now he has one main question: Can we save humankind’s place — within nature’s beauty — before it’s too late? Budd’s two latest books are dedicated to answering this perplexing dilemma. PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change, a non-fiction book, examines whether we still have the environmental heroes among us — harking back to such past heroes as Audubon, Hemenway, Muir, Douglas, Leopold, Brower, Carson, and Meadows — needed to accomplish this goal. Next, using fact-filled and entertaining story-telling, his latest book — COMING FULL CIRCLE: A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across America — provides the answers we all seek and need.Having published five books, more than 500 photo-essays, and 5,000 photographs, Budd Titlow lives with his music educator wife, Debby, in San Diego, California.

Arrival of the Brown Cloud—Retooling the US Auto Industry

Text excerpted from the book: PROTECTING THE PLANET-Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change (ISBN 978-1-63388-225-6)

Budd Titlow & Mariah Tinger

http://www.buddtitlow.com

The late Sixties also featured an array of natural disasters unlike anything the world had seen before, providing even more proof that the Earth was in dire need of increased environmental sensitivity and protection. Most prominently in June of 1969, the Cuyahoga River near downtown Cleveland actually caught on fire creating an abominable absurdity that even Hollywood movie producers could not imagine conceiving.

In California, newscasters in Los Angeles were regularly advising residents to keep their children and elderly relatives inside during the frequent Brown Cloud smog alerts the city was experiencing. Primarily emanating from automobile engine combustion, the all too frequent Brown Clouds became a huge concern because they were seriously affecting the health of millions of Americans—especially the young and the elderly.

I (Budd) vividly remember sitting in our living room on cold winter mornings in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado and looking out at the City of Denver—20 miles to the east. Downtown Denver’s central phalanx of skyscrapers looked to be immersed for days on end in a bowl of beef bouillon. This was due the automobile exhaust fumes that were being trapped by daily temperature inversions.

The “Brown Cloud” hangs over the City of Denver on a winter morning.

To counteract this confounding pollution problem as a Nation, we took on the all-powerful American automobile industry and—in the long-term—forced them to make major changes in the products they delivered to consumers. The first legislated exhaust (tailpipe) emission standards were issued by the State of California for 1966 Model Year cars. Then in 1968, the rest of the US followed suit. Finally, starting in 1970, the US EPA began progressively tightening national emission standards each year.

By Model Year 1974, federal emission standards had tightened to such an extent that they couldn’t be met without seriously reducing engine efficiency and thus increasing fuel usage. Accordingly, the 1975 Model Year emission standards—coupled with the increase in fuel usage—led to the invention of the catalytic converter for post-emission treatment of exhaust gas. But because lead residue contaminated the platinum catalyst, use of catalytic converters was not possible with leaded gasoline. In response, General Motors proposed elimination of leaded fuels to the American Petroleum Institute (API) for 1975 and later model year cars. While production and distribution of unleaded fuel presented a major challenge to the US gas and oil industry, the transition was successfully completed in time for the 1975 Model Year cars. Today, all cars are equipped with catalytic converters and it is nearly impossible to find and buy leaded fuel in most developed nations.

Drawing of a typical Catalytic Converter that was completed in time for the 1975 Model Year cars.

In addition to this US industry re-tooling, foreign-made, fuel-efficient cars—led by the Japanese—gained a stronger foothold in the American market. This began during and after the 1973 oil embargo and with the corresponding rise in gas prices in the wake of the Arab-Israeli war. As a result, Detroit’s “Big Three” auto manufacturers—Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler—responded by manufacturing new lines of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. The days of the US auto industry being dominated by gas-guzzling muscle cars which were ready for the junkyard before their odometers hit 100,000 miles were now gone forever.

Installation and use of Catalytic Converters led to switch from leaded gasoline to unleaded gasoline.

Isn’t this situation with the US auto industry directly analogous to what we’re now facing with Climate Change? On the one hand we now have all-powerful entities—the Big Oil Companies—dominating US lifestyles and finances. Just the same as the “Big Three” US automobile manufacturers were doing in the Sixties and Seventies. While on the other hand, we have a pollution problem that threatens to severely affect the good health and welfare of everyone on Earth. So why can’t we make the oil companies retool their production lines—just like we did with the automotive production lines—from extracting less fossil fuels to building infrastructure that increasingly creates and transports more renewable energy supplies? Folks—we’ve done it before, so why can’t we do it again?

The Environmental Heydays (1969 – 1979)

The Media Gets Into the Act

Text excerpted from the book: PROTECTING THE PLANET-Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change (ISBN 978-1-63388-225-6)

Budd Titlow & Mariah Tinger

http://www.buddtitlow.com

During the Environmental Heydays of the Sixties and Seventies, media—including both print ads and television—began to be used as a primary tool in the promotion of the US Environmental Movement. Who can ever forget the poignant public service television spot showing a Native American brave canoeing down a river until he arrives at a trash-laden, pollution-spouting urban waterfront where—after he drags his canoe out of the water—a tossed bag of garbage explodes at his feet. The close-up zoom showing a single tear drop rolling down his cheek is heart-breaking and the piece became instantly famous nationwide. Never mind that—as it turned out—America’s favorite native son was purported to actually be 100% second-generation Italian. The point is that a thoughtful, tasteful media production gained both the wholesale attention and concerned responsiveness of our entire country.

Of course, throughout the Sixties, David Brower was still around harassing the Bureau of Reclamation and leading the opposition to federal dams as Executive Director of the Sierra Club. He once produced a print ad that became the high point of the Sierra Club’s existence and a rallying cry for an angry nation. The ad showed a dam being built in the Grand Canyon headed by the caption, “Would you flood the Sistine Chapel in order to get a better look at its ceiling?”

The Sistine Chapel—Photo Copyright: Conde Nast Traveler

Public reaction to this ad was enormous and instantaneous, fomenting total support against building dams anywhere in the Grand Canyon. The politicos in Washington were so incensed that they dispatched an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent to the local Sierra Club office with a letter stating that their non-profit status had been withdrawn. Of course, this played right into the Sierra Club’s hands. Brower told the tax collector to shove his notice up where the sun doesn’t shine and when the media got wind of what had happened, they had a field day.

As Tom Turner, Editor for Friends of the Earth and Earthjustice, put it, “People in the public may not have known what they thought about the Sierra Club; but they sure knew what they thought about the IRS. Sympathy for the Sierra Club just boiled over and people joined in droves.”

The resulting public reaction was so intense that the pressure changed the course of the government’s plans. Congress soon moved to expand Grand Canyon National Park and prohibit dams anywhere within its boundaries. In the final analysis, the Sierra Club had used a simple print ad to thrust itself into being both a media darling and the fresh face of the US Environmental Movement.

These types of strategic media use are certainly something to consider in determining how to gain across-the-board support for our Climate Change agenda. Everything depends on producing pieces that touch the right buttons—without turning people off— while getting the message across that a national reaction is needed.

As a narrator states in the film, A Fierce Green Fire, “Every now and then some issue arises that is elevated into the stratospheric focus of public attention, then becomes the symbolic rallying cry for a whole generation of activists.” In the 1960’s that issue was the proposed damming of the Grand Canyon; today the issue is solving the Climate Change crisis. The whole idea here is to make the best use of the media to create a symbolic, iconic national rallying cry. In many situations, a talented staff of exceptionally creative, yet thoughtful public relations personnel is worth its weight in gold.

Paul Ehrlich and His Population Bomb

Text excerpted from the book: PROTECTING THE PLANET-Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change (ISBN 978-1-63388-225-6)

Budd Titlow & Mariah Tinger

http://www.buddtitlow.com

The next significant book to hit the streets in the late Sixties was Paul R. Ehrlich’s 1968 best-seller and applecart up-setter, The Population Bomb.While his dire forecasts for Climate Change hopefully will not come to pass, Ehrlich’s theories provided a wake-up call for much of the civilized world. His warnings about a human population that is too large to be sustainably supported by the Earth’s resources are now being viewed with renewed vigor—especially in the face of Climate Change. While Ehrlich was not the first scientist to raise the alarm about overpopulation issues, his charismatic and media-savvy approach brought the issue to a new level of prominence during the primary US Environmental Movement years of the late 60’s and early 70’s.

E. O. Wilson-The “Father of Biodiversity”

Text excerpted from the book: PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change (ISBN: 978-1-63388-225-6)

Budd Titlow & Mariah Tinger

http://www.buddtitlow.com

Several prominent books came along in the last half of the Sixties. First in 1967, two Princeton biologists—Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson—developed a general theory to explain the richness of isolated natural communities in their book, The Theory of Island Biogeography.

For biogeographical purposes, an insular environment or island is any area of habitat suitable for a specific ecosystem, surrounded by an expanse of unsuitable habitat. While this could be a traditional island—a mass of land surrounded by water—the term may also be applied to many nontraditional islands, such as the peaks of mountains, isolated springs, lakes surrounded by desert, and non-contiguous woodlands.The Theory of Island Biogeography is now a standard work of ecology, and guides conservation policy and the planning of nature reserves throughout the world.

If Mother Nature designed the perfect naturalist, he would look and act exactly like Edward O. (“EO”) Wilson. Tall with a long, ambling gate, casually swept across hair, and “aw shucks” good looks, Wilson still appears to be a boy reveling in the natural wonders of his native Alabama than the prolific writer and Harvard University professor emeritus that he is.

September 18, 2002: World-renowned Harvard biologist and conservationist Edward O. Wilson has written 20 books, won two Pulitzer prizes, and discovered hundreds of new species. Considered to be one of the world’s greatest scientists, E.O. Wilson is often called “the father of biodiversity.” (Rick Friedman/Corbis)

Wilson is considered to be both the “Father of Biodiversity” and the “Father of Sociobiology”. Plus, he is a Past Environmental Hero to us in more ways than one. In 2001, he presented our family with the Sudbury Valley Trustees “Conservationist of the Year Award” at a ceremony in Concord, Massachusetts. Then he served as my (Mariah) inspiration while I was studying for and attaining my Master’s Degree in Environmental Management at Harvard University.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1929, Wilson spent almost every waking moment—at least, when he could escape going to school—patrolling the swamps, marshes, and coastlines of south Alabama and the western Florida panhandle. He attended the University of Alabama—where he received his BS and MS degrees—then matriculated to Harvard University where he attained both his PhD and his home for the rest of his career.

Well-known in scientific circles as the world’s foremost authority on ants, Wilson’s description of how he came to specialize in insects is typical of his forthright personality and downhome humor. The way he tells it, he was blinded in one eye when he whipped a fish he had caught up out of the water and the spines on the fins caught him in the eye. Also he was congenitally unable to hear sounds in the upper register. So since he was blind in one eye and couldn’t use binoculars—plus couldn’t hear high-pitched bird songs —his first love of being an ornithologist went out the window. Wilson also couldn’t hear the croaks and calls of amphibians, so studying frogs also went by the boards. But since he was bound and determined to be a naturalist—he says he never considered doing anything else—he had to find something to study and insects were about all that was left. At least, he could catch the little guys and hold them between his thumb and forefinger to get a really good look at them.

In hindsight, Wilson’s decision to study insects was propitious for all of us involved with the science of biology. No one—before or since—has done more with regard to insights into the study of and analysis of the biodiversity of lifeon earth. His findings have opened all of our eyes and minds to things we really don’t know about a planet that we thought we knew very well. Wilson’s work has also enlightened the scientific and environmental communities about the critical need for stopping the mass extinctions that are proceeding more rapidly now than at any other time in human history. He emphasizes the point that every time we lose a species to extinction, we are sacrificing something that may have provided human society with untold medical or sociological benefits.

Through his research and writing, Wilson has developed a cadre of concepts and theories that have placed him on an academic sphere attained by very few other scientists in history. Being named a Junior Fellow of Harvard’s Society of Fellows opened up the world for Wilson’s research. His scientific travels have taken him from Cuba and Mexico to Australia, New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia, and Sri Lanka.

By the late 1970s, Wilson was actively involved in global conservation, adding to and promoting biodiversityresearch. His 1984 book, Biophilia, explored humanity’s attraction to the natural environment and played a major role in shaping the modern conservation ethic. In 1988 he edited the volume, BioDiversity,which first introduced the now heavily used term biodiversity into the scientific lexicon.

Wilson’s work has not been without controversy. In his book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (1975), he proposed that the essential biological principles on which animal societies are based also apply to humans. In summary, he maintained that as little as ten percent of human behavior is genetically induced, with the rest being attributable to environment. This thesis provoked condemnation from prominent researchers and scholars in a broad range of disciplines, who regarded it as an attempt to justify harmful or destructive behavior and unjust social relations in human societies.Wilson vehemently denied such intent with this work, but it didn’t stop demonstrators from picketing his talks and– in one case—dousing him with water as he stood at a podium.

Through all this commotion, Wilson staunchly defended his viewpoints and in 1978 published another highly acclaimed work, On Human Nature, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction. In this book, Wilson thoroughly examined the scientific arguments surrounding the role of biology on the evolution of human culture. By the end of the decade, the furor over sociobiology had subsided and researchers in many fields accepted Wilson’s ideas about human behavioral evolution as fundamentally true.

While holding onto his professorship at Harvard, Wilson continued to expand the multi-faceted horizons of his writing. With Bert Holldobler as his co-author, Wilson returned to his first scholarly love when he produced his monumental work, The Ants (1990),which earned him a second Pulitzer Prize.

Since he retired as an emeritus professor at Harvard, Wilson has continued his activism and publishing—both at phenomenal rates. His conservation efforts have benefitted the Columbia University’s Earth Institute, American Museum of Natural History, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and the World Wildlife Fund.

All of Wilson’s books are great works and excellent reads, but two in particular are worthy of special merit. His novel, Anthill (2010), seems to describe gargantuan battles between two rival trampling hordes from ancient worlds—perhaps the Visigoths versus the Huns! In reality the warring factions are marauding “tribes” of ants. The details of how competing anthills go about attempting to establish themselves as the dominant colonies on a piece of property rival anything ever written about war—complete with physical intimidation, violence and gore galore, and titanic battles to the death. On a much lighter note, his memoir, Letters to a Young Scientist (2013), should be a must read for any school child who is considering pursuing biology as a profession.

In a question and answer session conducted on April 30, 2012 by Lisa Hymas, Senior Editor at Grist, EO Wilson asked, “Why aren’t you young people out protesting the mess that’s being made of the planet?” As (the students) squirmed in their seats, Wilson continued: “Why are you not repeating what was done in the ‘60s? Why aren’t you in the streets? And what in the world has happened to the green movement that used to be on our minds and accompanied by outrage and high hopes? What went wrong?”

“Destroying a rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.”

– EO Wilson

“We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.”

– EO Wilson

In his subtle, down home way, Wilson is hitting the nail right on the head when it comes to doing something that will actually make a difference in counteracting Climate Change. If we can’t get enough people out in the streets, demanding change, then all of our individual efforts collectively just aren’t going to get the job done. Our social political history in the US has proven, time and again, that grassroots organizations and mass demonstrations supported by millions—not hundreds, not thousands, but millions—are what it takes to get the attention of and action from the decision-makers in Washington, DC and in other power broking countries around the world.

Author’s bio: For the past 50 years, professional ecologist and conservationist Budd Titlow has used his pen and camera to capture the awe and wonders of our natural world. His goal has always been to inspire others to both appreciate and enjoy what he sees. Now he has one main question: Can we save humankind’s place — within nature’s beauty — before it’s too late? Budd’s two latest books are dedicated to answering this perplexing dilemma. PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change, a non-fiction book, examines whether we still have the environmental heroes among us — harking back to such past heroes as Audubon, Hemenway, Muir, Douglas, Leopold, Brower, Carson, and Meadows — needed to accomplish this goal. Next, using fact-filled and entertaining story-telling, his latest book — COMING FULL CIRCLE: A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across America — provides the answers we all seek and need.Having published five books, more than 500 photo-essays, and 5,000 photographs, Budd Titlow lives with his music educator wife, Debby, in San Diego, California.

Howard Clinton Zahniser—Father of the Wilderness Act

Text excerpted from the book: PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change (ISBN: 978-1-63388-225-6)

Budd Titlow & Mariah Tinger

http://www.buddtitlow.com

Sometimes it takes a person with a tenacious spirit coupled with an unyielding march toward a personal goal that makes the world a better place for us all. Just such a person and event came together in 1964 when President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) signed the Wilderness Act—that created the National Wilderness Preservation System—into law.

Ironically the incredibly dedicated person that made this come to fruition—after writing 66 drafts of the legislation over an eight-year period and leading 18 Congressional hearings—was not around to see the landmark act put into force. Howard Clinton Zahniser, the “Father of the Wilderness Act” and another Past Environmental Hero, died from a heart attack just four months before LBJ’s pen hit paper. But anyone who knew this ebullient man realized that he was there—floating invisibly high above the scene and grinning with glee—when the President handed the now famous signing pen over to his widow, Alice.

Howard Clinton Zahniser, the “Father of the Wilderness Act” died from a heart attack just four months before LBJ’s pen hit paper.

Zahniser—called simply “Zahnie” by all who knew, loved, and respected him—was born in 1906. His father was a Free Methodist minister who moved his family around a lot before settling in the tiny, but scenic village of Tionesta hard by the banks of the Allegheny River. Zahnie graduated from Greenville College, a small Christian institution in Illinois, with a degree in writing. Afterwards he worked as a newspaperman for several papers, including the Pittsburgh Press. Throughout his career, Zahnie displayed a humility that was couched in his childhood—growing up as a devout Free Methodist.

After working for twelve years as a writer and editor with the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Biological Survey, and its successor agency—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—Zahniser took a pay cut to serve as Executive Secretary of The Wilderness Society and editor of The Living Wilderness Magazine. During his almost 20 years (1945 to 1964) in this position, he tenaciously lobbied and worked with other conservationists across the Nation for a piece of draft federal legislation called the Wilderness Act.

Often communicating his passion for wild places and arguments for their preservation, Zahniser was both a gifted writer and an eloquent speaker. He used a variety of media—including magazine articles, radio addresses, professional speeches, and congressional testimony—to get his message about the value of wilderness across to the general public and the legislators on Capitol Hill.

Zahniser pushed himself to the breaking point—including often going more than 24 hours without sleep—to finally get the Wilderness Act passed. In the final tally, the Wilderness Act passed the US House of Representatives by the amazing vote count of 373–1.

When it first passed, the Wilderness Act protected 9.1 million total acres in fifty-four areas in thirteen states. By 2015, the number of areas in the world’s only Wilderness Preservation System had grown to 757—protecting more than 100 million acres in forty-four states and Puerto Rico. Regrettably, in all of these wilderness areas, there is not a single feature named in honor of Howard Zahniser. Although, we strongly suspect Zahnie wouldn’t mind this slight—since his life’s labor was finally in place to benefit the public good.

Never assuming the limelight as did some of his more widely acclaimed contemporaries —including David Brower, Rachel Carson, and Aldo Leopold—Howard Zahniser was always content with staying in the background and subtly pushing his basic message that “without untrammeled wilderness, mankind would be materially and spiritually impoverished.” He simply believed that wilderness protection legislation was a necessity, so that its preservation would not be subject to whim, political expediency, or greed. Zahniser’s son, Ed, is quoted as saying, “It was not just an environmental ethic my father had. He viewed conservation as part of a broad humanism. Thoreau said that in wildness is the preservation of the world, and my father believed that.”

“I believe that at least in the present phase of our civilization we have a profound, a fundamental need for areas of wilderness – a need that is not only recreational and spiritual but also educational and scientific, and withal essential to a true understanding of ourselves, our culture, our own natures, and our place in nature.”

– Howard “Zahnie” Zahniser

The LBJs—Lyndon Baines and Lady Bird

Text excerpted from the book: PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change (ISBN: 978-1-63388-225-6)

Budd Titlow & Mariah Tinger

http://www.buddtitlow.com

Now we are going to examine the primary role played by US Presidents in defining the burgeoning US Environmental Movement of the 1960’s. Many conservationists feared that John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s (JFK) assassination would mark another sharp decline in environmental leadership at the federal level. But much to the relief of everyone invested in keeping the renewed vigor flowing, JFK’s successor—Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ)—kept most of the balls rolling in the right directions.

**President Lyndon Johnson (R) sitting on proch swing w. wife Claudia (Ladybird) on morning following his landslide election win.**

The environmental highlight of LBJ’s administration came in May 1965 when the White House opened its doors to the first “Conference on Natural Beauty”. Through this meeting, Johnson kept the environmental movement in the forefront of public opinion by articulating that, “We must not only protect the countryside and save it from destruction, we must restore what has been destroyed and salvage the beauty and charm of our cities. Our conservation must be not just the classic conservation of protection and development, but a creative conservation of restoration and innovation. Its concern is not but with nature alone, but with the total relation with man and the world around him.”

Not to be outdone was the “other LBJ” that was occupying the White House at this time. Lady Bird Johnson is still considered one of the most important women in history of the US Environmental Movement. The Highway Beautification Act of 1965 was the result of Lady Bird’s national campaign for beautification of the newly constructed interstate highway system. In 1969, Mrs. Johnson became a member of the National Park Service’s Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments and served on the council for many years. She also founded the Texas Highway Beautification Awards and was a trustee of the American Conservation Association.

Lady Bird Johnson’s beliefs regarding the importance of national beautification can be summarized in her statement that “where flowers bloom, so does hope.”

On her 70th birthday in 1982, Mrs. Johnson founded the National Wildflower Research Center (NWRC)—a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the preservation and re-establishment of native plants in natural and planned landscapes—located in Austin, Texas. In December 1997, the NWRC was renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in honor of her 85th birthday. In 1999, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt presented Mrs. Johnson with the Native Plant Conservation Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award. At that time he said, “Mrs. Johnson has been a shadow Secretary of the Interior for much of her life.”

The Scenic Hudson Decision—Setting A Legal Precedent for Environmentalism

Budd Titlow

http://www.buddtitlow.com

On the US Environmental Movement’s overall timeline, The Scenic Hudson Decision set a major precedent for private citizens and conservation groups to legally enjoin controversial federal projects. The case also spawned the emergence of environmental law as a legal specialty—an idea that Congress incorporated in the country’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it passed in 1973.

Storm King Mountain lies along the west bank of the Hudson River just south of Cornwall, New York. The name “Storm King” was coined by 19th century writer Nathaniel Parker Willis when he noted that the mountain served as an accurate predictor of stormy weather when early morning clouds covered its peak. In the final analysis, this name certainly proved to be apropos when Storm King Mountain evolved into the most contentious environmental legal case our Nation had ever seen.

Storm King Mountain lies along the west bank of the Hudson River just south of Cornwall, New York.

This proposed action started in 1962, when the Consolidated Edison Company (Con Ed) —one of the US’s largest public utilities—announced its plan to build the world’s largest pumped storage project into the face of the mountain. Project plans called for a facility that would have a generating capacity of 2,000,000 kilowatts (kW), with an upper reservoir behind the mountain that would be a mile across, and an 800-foot long powerhouse at the mountain’s base. The initial application to construct the plant was filed with the Federal Power Commission (FPC, now the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) in Washington, DC on January 1963.

On November 8, 1963, a small group of concerned citizens met at the home of local resident and noted author Carl Carmer. During this meeting, they formed the Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference (Scenic Hudson) to fight the massive project on grounds that it posed a threat to the Cornwall water supply, the Hudson River fisheries, and the scenic beauty and historic significance of Storm King Mountain.

The resulting unprecedented 17-year legal dispute—lasting from 1963 to 1981— eventually culminated with the defeat of Con Ed’s proposal. The decision’s environmental landmark status is based on the fact that it was the first time a conservation group had been permitted to sue to protect the public interest.

Although Scenic Hudson had no economic interest in Storm King—the usual basis for standing—the court ruled that it nonetheless could be construed to be an “injured party” and was entitled to judicial review of an agency ruling. This project proved critical in establishing the legitimacy of environmental issues and opening the way for lawyers and the courts to play a highly significant role in the future review of all manner of land-use vs. the environment battles.

Text excerpted from book: “PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change” written by Budd Titlow and Mariah Tinger and published by Prometheus Books.

Author’s bio: For the past 50 years, professional ecologist and conservationist Budd Titlow has used his pen and camera to capture the awe and wonders of our natural world. His goal has always been to inspire others to both appreciate and enjoy what he sees. Now he has one main question: Can we save humankind’s place — within nature’s beauty — before it’s too late? Budd’s two latest books are dedicated to answering this perplexing dilemma. “PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change”, a non-fiction book, examines whether we still have the environmental heroes among us — harking back to such past heroes as Audubon, Hemenway, Muir, Douglas, Leopold, Brower, Carson, and Meadows — needed to accomplish this goal. Next, using fact-filled and entertaining story-telling, his latest book — “COMING FULL CIRCLE: A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across America” — provides the answers we all seek and need. Having published five books, more than 500 photo-essays, and 5,000 photographs, Budd Titlow lives with his music educator wife, Debby, in San Diego, California.

Stewart Udall—Conservation Master

Budd Titlow

http://www.buddtitlow.com

Fortunately for the ever-burgeoning masses of environmentalists and conservationists in the United States, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) nominated Stewart L. Udall—another Past Environmental Hero—as Secretary of the Interior. With this ambitious Arizonan leading the way, it was suddenly “off to the races” for a host of conservation causes and the U.S. Environmental Movement. Early in his eight-year tenure as Interior Secretary, Udall initiated the first White House “Conference on Conservation” since the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Born January 31, 1920 in the small community of St. Johns, Arizona, Stewart Udall was raised in a family with strong ties to the Mormon Church. In fact, he served as a Mormon missionary in Pennsylvania and New York before receiving his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Arizona where he was also one of the school’s first sports stars—a point guard on the basketball team.

As Secretary of the Interior in both the Kennedy and Lydon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Administrations, Udall crafted federal land acquisitions like a master landscape painter working with broad-brush strokes. His brilliant artistry resulted in the acquisition of 3.85 million acres of new holdings, including four new national parks—Canyonlands in Utah, Redwoods in California, North Cascades in Washington State, and Guadalupe Mountains in Texas.

Stewart Udall’s brilliant artistry resulted in the acquisition of 3.85 million acres of new holdings, including four new national parks—Canyonlands in Utah, Redwoods in California, North Cascades in Washington State, and Guadalupe Mountains in Texas.

Udall’s delicately etched canvases also included six new national monuments, nine new national recreation areas, twenty new historic sites, and fifty-six new national wildlife refuges.

Of all the federal lands that Udall dealt with, establishing the Nation’s first national seashores proved to be the most difficult. Because of the typically high cost of and demand for coastal property, Udall faced vehement opposition based on the assumption that taking coastal property out of private hands would prove disastrous for the local economies.

Still he held fast to his goals, eventually establishing a host of national seashores—including Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Assateague Island, with its hundreds of wild horses, in Maryland and Virginia; Point Reyes in northern California; and Cape Cod in Massachusetts. And—lo and behold—instead of being financial money pits, each of these coastal recreational treasures became beacons for tourists and economic bonanzas for both state and municipal governments.

Udall also extended his political artisanship to the legislative side of the aisle. He helped secure passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, as well as the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (1965), the Water Quality Act (1965), the Solid Waste Disposal Act (1965), the Endangered Species Preservation Act (1966), the National Historic Preservation Act (1966), and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1968).

Throughout his career, Udall left a monumental legacy as a guardian of America’s natural beauty. In his best-selling 1963 book, The Quiet Crisis, he warned of the dangers of pollution and threats to America’s natural resources, calling for a nationwide “land conscience” to conserve our nation’s wild places. Udall’s stated goal in The Quiet Crisis was “to outline the land and people story of our continent.” Elaborating further, he wrote: “We cannot afford an America where expedience tramples upon esthetics and development decisions are made with an eye only on the present.”

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, had this to say about Stewart Udall after his passing in 2010, “Mr. Udall was one of the greatest champions in our nation’s history for conservation. As Interior secretary he championed the burgeoning environmental movement, protected the treasures that are our parks, seashores and wildlife refuges, worked for energy independence, and ensured the arts remain a central part of civic life.”

Also in tribute, President Barack Obama said this about Udall’s federal service: “(As) Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall left an indelible mark on this nation and inspired countless Americans who will continue his fight for clean air, clean water, and to maintain our many natural treasures”.

“Cherish sunsets, wild creatures and wild places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth.”

– Stewart Udall

The Climate Change movement certainly craves public sector leaders like Stewart Udall. We need people in the seats of power who can see the “big picture” and understand how all the pieces—from key land purchases, to implementation of pollution controls, to development and allocation of new energy resources, and equitable distribution of wealth and power—must fit together to provide a roadmap for the future that is both realistic and achievable.

Text excerpted from book: “PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change” written by Budd Titlow and Mariah Tinger and published by Prometheus Books. Photo credits: Copyright Shutterstock(3)

Author’s bio: For the past 50 years, professional ecologist and conservationist Budd Titlow has used his pen and camera to capture the awe and wonders of our natural world. His goal has always been to inspire others to both appreciate and enjoy what he sees. Now he has one main question: Can we save humankind’s place — within nature’s beauty — before it’s too late? Budd’s two latest books are dedicated to answering this perplexing dilemma. “PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change”, a non-fiction book, examines whether we still have the environmental heroes among us — harking back to such past heroes as Audubon, Hemenway, Muir, Douglas, Leopold, Brower, Carson, and Meadows — needed to accomplish this goal. Next, using fact-filled and entertaining story-telling, his latest book — “COMING FULL CIRCLE: A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across America” — provides the answers we all seek and need. Having published five books, more than 500 photo-essays, and 5,000 photographs, Budd Titlow lives with his music educator wife, Debby, in San Diego, California.

Rachel Carson—Hero Above All

Budd Titlow

http://www.buddtitlow.com

Nowhere was the new thrust of environmental thinking taking place in the 1960’s more prominent than with one person who—figuratively speaking—stood head and shoulders above all. Eschewing the limelight, Rachel Carson preferred instead to nestle down—always immaculately-coiffed—behind her microscope in her government lab while relying on her writings to tell the public about her keen insights into the natural world.

Rachel Carson’s multiple passions for researching and then documenting Earth’s natural resources were on display throughout her long career as a biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

If asked to select the most heroic environmental feat of the 20th Century, it would be difficult not to vote for publication of Carson’s book, Silent Spring. Not only did this landmark publication initiate the eventual eradication of DDT—arguably the deadliest chemical ever used on the face of the Earth—it also saved many of our iconic birds of prey from extinction. Thanks to Silent Spring, bald and golden eagles, peregrine falcons, brown pelicans, and ospreys still fill our skies with their dramatic flights of wonder and derring-do.

Born in 1929 in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania, Rachel Carson inherited her lifelong love of nature from her mother. Her education included stints at Massachusetts’ famed Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (then Marine Biological Laboratory) and Baltimore, Maryland’s prestigious Johns Hopkins University where she earned her Master’s Degree in Zoology in 1932.

Most people don’t realize that Carson was actually quite famous as an author before Silent Spring came along. While employed as a scientist and editor with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, she wrote three books in her “spare time” that lauded the environmental treasures of our oceans, including her prize-winning and best-selling title, The Sea Around Us.

In Silent Spring, Carson’s revelations about the myriad horrors of synthetic pesticides—laced with DDT—literally scared money out of people’s pocketbooks and forced letters to Congress out of their pens. Prophetically summarizing what may very well be said about our contemporary society after 2050, Carson wrote that, “We have allowed these chemicals to be used with little or no advance investigation of their effect on soil, water, wildlife, and man himself. Future generations are unlikely to condone our lack of prudent concerns for the integrity of the natural world that supports all life.”

As you might expect, the publication of Silent Spring was also met with a bitterly negative reaction from the corporate world. The resistance started with the small-time farmers and moved all the way up to the mega-giants—the Monsantos—of the agricultural world. This antagonistic pushback also went sideways to the corporate chemical conglomerates—the DuPonts and the Union Carbides—who were used to getting whatever they wanted wherever and whenever they wanted it.

In particular, the chemical companies threatened to sue Carson over her “inflammatory statements” in Silent Spring. They argued that her “outlandish opinions” were crippling American agriculture while also threatening human health. As a chemical-industry spokesman bluntly stated at the time, “If man were to follow the teachings of Miss Carson, we would return to the Dark Ages, and the insects and diseases and vermin would once again inherit the Earth.”

Carson’s most vehement critics even tried to push her to the far left of the political spectrum, arguing that she was consorting with unsavory parties who were trying to undermine American agriculture and free enterprise. While the word “Communist”—the most potent of insults in the decade following the scourge of McCarthyism—wasn’t used directly, it was certainly implied. Monsanto even published and distributed 5,000 copies of a brochure, entitled The Desolate Year, which parodied Silent Spring by describing a bleak world wracked by famine, disease, and uncontrolled hordes of insects which existed because chemical pesticides had been banned.

But nothing deterred Carson from the four years of her life she unerringly dedicated to writing her now world-famous book. She endured all of the witheringly negative personal attacks with dignity and professionalism, ensuring the American public that what she was saying deserved to be heard and heeded. In fact, she completed Silent Spring while she knew she was dying from then untreatable breast cancer. Now that’s the penultimate description of a hero—giving your life for a cause!

Eight years after her untimely death in 1964, Ms. Carson ultimately succeeded in her quest when—in 1972—the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally banned DDT nationwide while completely vindicating her writing in Silent Spring^[i] of any negative impacts. Today, Silent Spring is credited with generating a groundswell of grassroots activism that eventually opened the door for the massive environmental movement of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.

Critical reaction to Silent Spring in 1962 also set the stage for the pitted battles between industry and environmentalism that have persisted over the next 50-plus years. No matter the subject (air pollution, water pollution, endangered species protection, etc.) industry always follows the same basic strategies: question the science, attack the scientists’ credibility, and warn of unbearable economic loss. In fact, from this battle over deadly pesticides to the carcinogenic effects of tobacco in the 1970’s to today’s feuding with the fossil fuel companies over Climate Change, the same “experts” have been brought forth to perpetuate their bloated rhetoric and denigrate the scientific findings.

While the battle plans aren’t always successful, there’s no denying that the US has become cleaner and healthier since the publication of Silent Spring. But as we all now know, the fight is far from over—as the current polarized debate over Climate Change solutions certainly demonstrates.

Our new Climate Change heroes would do well to use Rachel Carson as their role model for advancing their causes. She so believed in her goal of ridding the Earth of deadly pesticides that she persisted in her mission in the face of withering opposition and outright personal humiliation from a chemical/agricultural conglomerate that bullied everyone just to get what they wanted.

Indeed, the fervor and passion of Rachel Carson are certainly prerequisites for pushing through the significant political, cultural, and lifestyle changes that will be required for counteracting the ongoing Climate Change crisis. Using a persuasive piece of literature to turn the tide of public opinion is also an effective strategy for our Current Heroes to emulate.

Text excerpted from book: “PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change” written by Budd Titlow and Mariah Tinger and published by Prometheus Books. Photo credit: Copyright Shutterstock (3)

Author’s bio: For the past 50 years, professional ecologist and conservationist Budd Titlow has used his pen and camera to capture the awe and wonders of our natural world. His goal has always been to inspire others to both appreciate and enjoy what he sees. Now he has one main question: Can we save humankind’s place — within nature’s beauty — before it’s too late? Budd’s two latest books are dedicated to answering this perplexing dilemma. “PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change”, a non-fiction book, examines whether we still have the environmental heroes among us — harking back to such past heroes as Audubon, Hemenway, Muir, Douglas, Leopold, Brower, Carson, and Meadows — needed to accomplish this goal. Next, using fact-filled and entertaining story-telling, his latest book — “COMING FULL CIRCLE: A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across America” — provides the answers we all seek and need. Having published five books, more than 500 photo-essays, and 5,000 photographs, Budd Titlow lives with his music educator wife, Debby, in San Diego, California.