A Decade of Growing Activism.

The 1970s were a time of rapidly growing consciousness about the importance of protecting the environment. Not since the decade after 1910 had ecology seemed so significant to such a broad group of people, including students, scientists, politicians, people in business, and the most ordinary of citizens. Of course, these groups did not always find themselves on the same side. When housewife and mother Lois Gibbs formed the Love Canal Homeowners Association to investigate and publicize the fact that a toxic-waste dump in her community was causing residents to have a high rate of illness, businessmen were hardly thrilled. Yet the words of President Nixon, a supporter of business interests, suggest how widespread the consensus on environmental issues was in 1970. He said, "A major goal for the next ten years for this country must be to restore the...