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 pioneer of environmental action, was working as a lawyer for the U.S. Attorney's office when he and fellow lawyers teamed up to form a grassroots environmental advocacy group. Since 1970, NRDC has grown into an international powerhouse with 1.2 million members and a staff of scientists and lawyers whose mission is to safeguard the planet. This inspiring memoir tells the story of the NRDC and the environmental movement it sparked.
A Force for Nature
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*Starred Review* Forty years ago, John Adams, an ardent litigator, joined forces with a band of innovative Yale law students, including the now-renowned environmentalist James Gustave Speth, to create the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a “public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the environment.” Setting a course for “responsible militancy,” Adams took the helm, and while the rest should be history, the full and remarkably instructive story of the NRDC’s ingenuity, perseverance, and landmark triumphs has not previously been told. Assisted by coauthors Patricia Adams and George Black, editor of OnEarth, John Adams energetically pilots a page-turning insider’s chronicle of the groundbreaking watchdog group’s key battles, bold moves, and hard lessons. Early on, the NRDC discovered just how effective governmental regulation can be as it fought “with law and science” to defend diverse communities and ecosystems against chemical pollution, strip-mining, clear-cutting, nuclear waste, misuse of public lands, coastal oil drilling, and other threats. Generously supported by influential philanthropists, including Robert Redford, who provides the book’s foreword, the indefatigable, consensus-seeking NRDC relies on one crucial natural resource, the voice of the public, to support its ambitious global efforts to preserve “clean air, clean water, wild places, wild creatures.” Invaluable firsthand environmental history and a blueprint for future conservation efforts. --Donna Seaman
Review
" ...Inspiring. The characters you find in John and Patricia Adams' book are bright, hard-nosed exemplars of the sort of fixers it will take to actually save the planet. They might just inspire you to go into debt, get a law degree, and sue some bastards." -Outside magazine
"Invaluable firsthand environmental history and a blueprint for future conservation efforts" - Booklist (starred review)
"...a fast-paced, highly readable tour de force" - Treehugger.com
"Invaluable firsthand environmental history and a blueprint for future conservation efforts" - Booklist (starred review)
"...a fast-paced, highly readable tour de force" - Treehugger.com
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is a excellent overview of the major environmental legal battles over the past 40 years. John Adams started the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1970 and the book is a survey of the NRDC's actions on a myriad of issues from diesel trucks in New York to climate change to Exxon Valdez to recent actions on climate legislation. As a new employee at NRDC, I found the history of the organization inspiring and hopeful. For those who don't work at NRDC but want to understand what committed, smart people can do to protect the environment, I recommend this book. For a more academic history of the legislative and judicial background of this same history, I also recommend "The Making of Environmental Law" by Richard J. Lazarus.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've been reading A Force For Nature while traveling around the US on an extended road trip with my family. Using the green blotches on our maps to guide us, it's been 6 months of forests, parks, preserves and wildlife refuges..... Pure bliss.
This life on the road has made us more grateful than ever for the gifts Nature offers but it's also offered us a searing awareness of the delicate balancing act to keep these gifts intact. That's why A Force For Nature is an illuminating read; I can step outside and literally witness the fruits of NRDC's efforts and issues I care about-- especially those I may take for granted but would never want to lose. And following NRDC's story from humble beginnings to full-steam-ahead powerhouse is exciting, because it highlights the power of collaboration and the collective rising up of impassioned citizens, often against gargantuan adversaries; the details get you fired up.
This organization is like the Muhammad Ali of the environmental movement-- they fight with toughness, class and intelligence; a good mix of fists and brains. Who doesn't love Nature, or clean air and water? And who wouldn't want to fight like mad to protect it? NRDC has fought tirelessly for all of us, and although I call their story a success, it's clear that the fight is an ongoing one. I hope many people will read this book and want to join the fray.
This life on the road has made us more grateful than ever for the gifts Nature offers but it's also offered us a searing awareness of the delicate balancing act to keep these gifts intact. That's why A Force For Nature is an illuminating read; I can step outside and literally witness the fruits of NRDC's efforts and issues I care about-- especially those I may take for granted but would never want to lose. And following NRDC's story from humble beginnings to full-steam-ahead powerhouse is exciting, because it highlights the power of collaboration and the collective rising up of impassioned citizens, often against gargantuan adversaries; the details get you fired up.
This organization is like the Muhammad Ali of the environmental movement-- they fight with toughness, class and intelligence; a good mix of fists and brains. Who doesn't love Nature, or clean air and water? And who wouldn't want to fight like mad to protect it? NRDC has fought tirelessly for all of us, and although I call their story a success, it's clear that the fight is an ongoing one. I hope many people will read this book and want to join the fray.
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I found it a bit embarrassing that the authors identified practically everyone in the book by the college(s) they attended. Why do we continue to use these flags to identify ourselves, long after we've graduated and done things on our own to be proud (or not) of? It's a distraction in the story line and speaks volumes about what the authors think is relevant. I've been a supporter of NRDC for decades, but will find another cause to support when renewal time comes around this year. Get over yourselves.
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