Fifty Years of Environmental Action - how much has changed?

This week I read an article about the history of environmental activism. Things kicked off in June 1972 when the UN held the first-ever International Environmental Conference in Stockholm. That was 50 years ago. I was sad but a bit amused to read that Rachel Carson, the author of Silent Spring (a much lauded commentary which eventually led to the banning of DDT and the establishment of the US EPA) was, at the time, subject to fierce criticism from chemical companies, politicians and the public. A letter to the New Yorker summed this up stunningly:

“Miss Rachel Carson’s reference to the selfishness of insecticide manufacturers probably reflects her Communist sympathies, like a lot of our writers these days. We can live without birds and animals, but, as the current market slump shows, we cannot live without business. As for insects, isn’t it just like a woman to be scared to death of a few little bugs! As long as we have the H-bomb everything will be O.K.”

Extraordinary commentary in today’s world.

I found myself wondering how much we have shifted in our thinking. Concepts such as sustainability, renewable energy, and the circular economy are now a common part of our lexicon. We talk of regenerative agriculture and organic farming without blinking an eye. It is increasingly recognised that business and environmentalism must work together to solve our problems, (think Eco-nomics).

Moving toward less toxic choices is pretty much a given these days, and something that is core to HazEL’s reason for being. We certainly don’t have all the answers, but we can help people make better choices for our planet.