A Force for Nature: The Story of NRDC and The Fight to Save Our Planet

Synopsis

The World's Preeminent Environmental Organization Began With A Layer Of Soot On The Windowsill Of A Greenwich Village Apartment. Natural Resources Defense Council (nrdc) Founder John H. Adams - A Widely Recognized Pioneer Of Environmental Action - Was Working As A Lawyer For The U.s. Attorney's Office When He And Fellow Lawyers, Outraged At The Levels Of Pollution In Their Air And Water, Teamed Up To Form An Environmental Advocacy Group. Since 1970, Nrdc Has Grown Into An International Powerhouse With 1.2 Million Members And Online Activists, And A Staff Of Scientists And Lawyers Whose Mission Is To Safeguard The Planet: Its People, Its Plants And Animals, And The Natural Systems On Which All Life Depends. This Powerful Memoir Conveys The Struggles And Victories Of Building A Large Political Action Organization, Telling The Story Of Nrdc And The Environmental Movement It Sparked.--jacket. First Decade 1970-1980. Gathering Forces -- Here To Stay -- As We Live And Breathe -- Waters Of Life -- Does A Tree Have Standing? -- This Land Is Our Land -- Second Decade 1980-1990. The Dark Ages (and How We Survived Them) -- A Terrible Power -- Going Underground -- The Poisoned Chalice -- An Apple A Day -- Third Decade 1990-2000. Uptown, Downtown, All Around The Town -- Smoke Alarm -- Our Toxic Legacy -- Contract On America -- The Last Wilderness -- Land Of The Spirit Bear -- Fourth Decade 2000-2010. One Gem At A Time -- Water, Water Everywhere -- The Rule Of Law -- We're Having A Heat Wave -- California Dreaming -- The China Syndrome -- A New Energy Economy -- Epilogue : Back To The Future -- Time Line Of Nrdc And The Modern Environmental Movement. John H. Adams & Patricia Adams, With George Black ; Foreword By Robert Redford Includes Index.