Embattled River

David Schuyler

Description

In Embattled River, David Schuyler describes the efforts to reverse the pollution and bleak future of the Hudson River that became evident in the 1950s. Through his investigative narrative, Schuyler uncovers the critical role of this iconic American waterway in the emergence of modern environmentalism in the United States.Writing fifty-five years after Consolidated Edison announced plans to construct a pumped storage power plant at Storm King Mountain, Schuyler recounts how a loose coalition of activists took on corporate capitalism and defended the river. As Schuyler shows, the environmental victories on the Hudson had broad impact. In the state at the heart of the story, the immediate result was the creation in 1970 of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to monitor, investigate, and litigate cases of pollution. At the national level, the environmental ferment in the Hudson Valley that Schuyler so richly describes contributed directly to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, and the creation of the Superfund in 1980 to fund the cleanup of toxic-dumping sites.With these legal and regulatory means, the contest between environmental advocates and corporate power has continued well into the twenty-first century. Indeed, as Embattled River shows, the past is prologue. The struggle to control the uses and maintain the ecological health of the Hudson River persists and the stories of the pioneering advocates told by Schuyler provide lessons, reminders, and inspiration for today's activists.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Nueva York
• History of the Americas
• New York

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781501718076
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

Embattled River

Embattled River

The Hudson and Modern American Environmentalism

David Schuyler

Cornell University Press Ithaca and London

Copyright © 2018 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

First published 2018 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Schuyler, David, author. Title: Embattled river : the Hudson and modern American environmentalism / David Schuyler. Description: Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017051164 (print) | LCCN 2017053547 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501718069 (epub/mobi) | ISBN 9781501718076 (pdf) | ISBN 9781501718052 | ISBN 9781501718052 (cloth ; alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Environmentalism—Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.)—History. | Environmental protection—Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.) | Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.)— Environmental conditions. Classification: LCC GE198.H83 (ebook) | LCC GE198.H83 S34 2018 (print) | DDC 333.91/4097473—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017051164

For Kenneth T. Jackson

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Contents

1. The Battle over Storm King

2. Politics and the River

3. Pete Seeger and theClearwater

4. The Fishermen and the Riverkeeper

5. The Continuing Battle against Power Plants

6. Scenic Hudson’s Expanding Mission

7. Linking Landscapes and Promoting History

8. A Poisoned River

9. A River Still Worth Fighting For

Notes

Index

ix

xi

1

8

27

52

79

103

130

159

185

209

227

255

Illustrations

 1. Schematic drawing of the pumpedstorage power plant at the base of Storm King Mountain  2. Schematic drawing of the powerhouse, tunnel, and reservoir at Storm King Mountain  3. Pete Seeger performing in a fundraising concert for theClearwater  4. TheClearwateron the Hudson  5. “Fishing Station.—Sturgeon, Shad, Bass”  6. Art Glowka and Robert H. Boyle  7. Launch day for the Fishermen’s Association’s first patrol boat  8. Riverkeeper’s patrol boat, theR. Ian Fletcher  9. Photograph with superimposed drawing of the proposed Greene County Nuclear Power Plant, Cementon site 10. Photograph with superimposed drawing of the proposed Greene County Nuclear Power Plant, Athens site 11. Environmental Management Plan showing the proposed nuclear reactors for the LloydEsopus site 12. Athens Generating Plant, Athens 13. Poets’ Walk Park, Red Hook

12

13

57 59 80 85

95 97

115

116

122 127 143