Customer Reviews

Goodbye Green: How Extremists Stole the Environmental Movement from Moderate America

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Duncan sets an historical account of the environmental movement in the context of grassroots involvement primarily in one of the hotbeds of national environmental and political controversy - the chemical corridor of South Louisiana. From the twin perspectives of researcher and environmental news reporter, Duncan provides a colorful expose' of agenda-setting and resource co-opting by national environmental groups including Greenpeace, the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club. Duncan's work is important in two ways: first, in documenting the disintegration of grassroots interest and involvement in the environmental movement per se, and secondly, in providing another piece of evidence to evolving theories of collective action. Reminiscent of movement analyses of the 1960s and 70s, Duncan's work focuses on the fatal flaw of large scale movement-building: changes in the purpose and message that inspire grassroots involvement, and eventually, corruption and even abandonment of the "cause" in favor of a quest for resources and manpower simply to keep organizations alive. The inevitable theft of power from the ordinary citizen by competing environmental oligarchies signals a brief rise in momentum followed by the death of the grassroots movement. As such, Duncan's work is in good company - falling squarely into the camp of such notables as Piven and Cloward (Poor People's Movements, 1979) and Doug McAdam (Freedom Summer, 1988). As an updated account of the often treacherous ground of mass movements, collective opinion and environmental journalism, the book is recommended for students of political science and mass communication.

Anyone interested preserving our environment (or using it responsibly) will be interested in the provocative book. Although I do not always agree with Duncan's take on the extremist environmental movement, he is clearly a brilliant journalist who is not afraid to tell it like it is. The author reveals some little-known facts about the political machine behind our nation's largest environmental groups. This book is sure to ignite some heated debates about the next steps we need to take to preserve our planet. This is not just another book about environmentalism. Duncan has taken it upon himself to shake out the rugs at green organizations across the country, and I must say he has done an excellent job.

This book provides a provocative inside view of the extremist environmental movement, and the many unseen factors that make it tick. Anyone interested in protecting our environment (or our right to use it responsibly) will definitely be interested in reading this book, which contains much never-before-released information about the politics behind the environmental movement. The author is clearly a journalist with high values who dares to tell it like it is. Although I do not always agree with Duncan, I feel sure that the controversy created by his well-researched book will bring about many important, proactive discussions.