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The Man from Clear Lake: Earth Day Founder Senator Gaylord Nelson
On Earth Day 1970 twenty million Americans displayed their commitment to a clean environment. It was called the largest demonstration in human history, and it permanently changed the nation’s political agenda. By Earth Day 2000 participation had exploded to 500 million people in 167 countries.
The seemingly simple idea—a day set aside to focus on protecting our natural environment—was the brainchild of U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. It accomplished, far beyond his expectations, his lifelong goal of putting the environment onto the nation’s and the world’s political agendas.
A remarkable man, Nelson ranks as one of history’s leading environmentalists. He also played a major role as an early, outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War, and as a senate insider was a key player in civil rights, poverty, civil liberties and consumer protection issues.
The life of Nelson, a small town boy who learned his values and progressive political principles at an early age, is woven through the political history of the twentieth century. Nelson’s story intersects at times with Fighting Bob La Follette, Joe McCarthy, and Bill Proxmire in Wisconsin, and with George McGovern, Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Russell Long, Walter Mondale, John F. Kennedy, and others on the national scene. Winner, Elizabeth A. Steinberg Prize, University of Wisconsin Press
The seemingly simple idea—a day set aside to focus on protecting our natural environment—was the brainchild of U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. It accomplished, far beyond his expectations, his lifelong goal of putting the environment onto the nation’s and the world’s political agendas.
A remarkable man, Nelson ranks as one of history’s leading environmentalists. He also played a major role as an early, outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War, and as a senate insider was a key player in civil rights, poverty, civil liberties and consumer protection issues.
The life of Nelson, a small town boy who learned his values and progressive political principles at an early age, is woven through the political history of the twentieth century. Nelson’s story intersects at times with Fighting Bob La Follette, Joe McCarthy, and Bill Proxmire in Wisconsin, and with George McGovern, Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Russell Long, Walter Mondale, John F. Kennedy, and others on the national scene. Winner, Elizabeth A. Steinberg Prize, University of Wisconsin Press
- GenresBiography
416 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 14, 2023
Everyone needs to learn about this man, and Bill Christofferson has crafted a readable, enjoyable chronicle of his life. Not only did Gaylord Nelson create Earth Day, but he was instrumental in the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, and banning such things as DDT and phosphate detergents. He tried to start a national ban on internal combustion engines in the 1970s! Truly an environmental hero and man ahead of his time.
May 6, 2025
From founding Earth Day, protecting the Apostles Islands, to passing legislation protecting the environment from hazardous chemicals, as a state senator, governor, and US Senator, Gaylord Nelson was a strong proponent of conservation. Two other honorable things I learned was about his opposition to the Vietnam War, challenging both President LBJ and President Nixon and his work against pharmaceutical companies' price gouging of medication. As a Wisconsinite, we were blessed to have had Nelson as our representative!
December 26, 2009
In an effort to keep my reading well-rounded, I picked up this biography. The book served to remind me of how much politics factors into life.
Favorite quote: The battle to restore a proper relationship between man and his environment, between man and other living creatures, will require a long, sustained political, moral, ethical and financial commitment far beyound any commitment ever made by any society in the history of man. Are we able? Yes. Are we willing? That's the unanswered question.
Favorite quote: The battle to restore a proper relationship between man and his environment, between man and other living creatures, will require a long, sustained political, moral, ethical and financial commitment far beyound any commitment ever made by any society in the history of man. Are we able? Yes. Are we willing? That's the unanswered question.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews