Customer Reviews

The RIVERKEEPERS: Two Activists Fight to Reclaim Our Environment as a Basic Human Right

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1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought this book thinking it would offer a profile of environmental activism that could be turned into action by others- I wanted to see how they did what they did. This I got, but also much more. This a most enlightening book, superbly written, difficult to put down. You get not only a history of environmental activism on the Hudson River, but a brief history of same in the U.S., complete with philosophical underpinnings. If you don't know how corporations act in the U.S., or how government complicity coddles them, read this book. If you THINK you know, read this book. If you are at all concerned about your rights as a citizen, and how they relate to the environment, read this book! An important, gripping work, at once hopeful and dismaying- and certainly inspiring.

I spent most of my younger years in the Hudson Valley, and the work of the Riverkeepers has made a profound and positive impact on our local environment. The story of how they have stood up to the corporate and government polluters is outlined here and is inspiring.

The real story of The Riverkeepers is outlining why they do what they do - our right to clean air, water, and an unspoiled environment. These are not priviliges, they are rights.

For years, anti-environmental hacks have been trying to convince us that to be for the environment is to be anti-property rights, anti-growth, and, as Rush Limbaugh calls us, "wackos." The Riverkeepers points out that these people are motivated by at best a misunderstanding of the issues, and at worst motivated by pure profit.

To be an environmentalist, The Riverkeepers points out, is to be for the very essence of American democracy: the rights of the people to stand up and protect our children, property, livelihoods, and future. The Riverkeepers will not only inspire you, it will make you feel at home in your caring for the environment, by showing you your place in the traditions and philosophy behind the environmental movement.

This is a terrific book about the beginnings of environmental activism in this country. I read with glee the detailed description of the downfall of Con Ed's Storm King project on the Hudson River--the case that opened up the courts to environmentalists for the first time in history. The book also piqued my interest in Bob Boyle and his writings. My one criticism is that I would like to have seen maps of the Hudson River scattered throughout the text, since I wasn't familiar with all the locations mentioned. And some photos would have made it more interesting. Otherwise, it's an inspiring and informative environmental treatise.

The RIVERKEEPERS is the most important book written in the last 15 years on the modern environmental law movement. This is the story of the battle for control of America's vital resources (i.e., water, air, and fishes,) that sustain life in this country. These resources belong to the PEOPLE, but are being taken away by large-scale private interests. This is the story of the people of New York's forty year fight to take back THEIR blessed Hudson River. If you want cleaner water and a purer democracy, you must read this book, and then go out and fight for OUR rivers. God Bless America's Rivers.

Cronin and Kennedy offer a hopeful and reasonable approach to environmentalism by documenting the great strides that citizens have made along the Hudson River. One of the most common critisims of environmentalism is that it fails to take the livelihood of workers into account. The authors show that this doesn't have to be the case and that protecting our environment can actually ensure better job security.
Along with the specific example of the Hudson River, the authors go through the variety of federal laws that have been put in place to protect communities and show how they were able to use those laws to go up against some of the most powerful industries in the country.
Anyone doubtful of the power of regular citizens in this country would find "The Riverkeepers" a refreshing read.

This is a phenomenal book. If you've ever kayaked or fished the Hudson River or just looked out over it and dreamed, this is a must read. The other reviews on this page express my feelings precisely. The writing is extremely descriptive and emotional. You won't be able to put the book down.

John Petrocelli

Activists John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., wade through the murky Hudson River, sneak onto corporate property, confront corrupt officials, take the polluters to court, and patrol the river in the Riverkeeper boat. The theme that emerges is that the best place to start improving the environment is in our own neighborhoods. Very inspiring.

The highest courage, determination and true grit (unlike the Hollywood kind) is displayed in the book "The Riverkeepers" by John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. We owe an extreem debt of gratitude for the work that so many true patriots are involved in by improving this finited Earth we live on. May God help us if the anti environmental republicans take conrol of the Presidency as well as the Congress. You can kiss clean water, clean air and our forests good by if the "barbarions" continue to deceive the American public. If you are not convinced just read the book ---- if you have the stomach for the truth!

An unparalleled, unflinching reminder of how far the environmental community has come since 1970, and how far it has to go. The biggest highlight of the text is also environmentalism's greatest challenge, the war against complacency. We should be able to fish for our supper, breathe clean air, drink pure water, etc. Two men from far different backgrounds stood up and said "so, why aren't we?" Especially thrilling to this former Republican was the chapter "Barbarians at the Gate" which discusses Newt Gringrich and the "Republican Revolution" and their attempts to thwart existing environmental regulations. Who knew Gingrich was a member of the Sierra Club? I have given away seven copies of this book and have read it myself over twenty times. I highly recommend it to anyone who plans to be alive for the next twenty or thirty years.

"The Riverkeepers" is one of the most potent calls for environmental awareness and action I have ever read. It is an inspiration for all those interested in becoming serious advocates of a clean world. It stands right along side Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" with it's eye-opening accounts environmental havoc created by thoughtless, greedy, untreated sewage spewing municipalities, chemical companies, power generating plants and manufacturing facilities.

It is the story of how the Hudson River "Riverkeepers" came to be- spawned from a small group of sport and commercial fishermen, the Hudson River Fishermen's Association with their ardent yet eloquent spokesman, Robert H. Boyle, author of "The Hudson River: A natural and unnatural history" and a contributing writer to "Sports Illustrated", all of whom were fed-up with the river being used as toxic waste dump, poisoning the fish, fouling the drinking water and seriously endangering the health and lives of literally millions of people who live both in the Hudson Valley where the headwaters begin at Lake Tear in the Adirondack Mountains and runs South 315 miles down to New York City Harbor where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean and where most of the pollution is concentrated. A sad commentary on one of America's most productive bodies of water.

Significantly and appropriately, this is where the birth of America's first well organized environmental legal challenges to the desecration of America's waterways started. It is the personal stories of those who chose to take a stand and fight seemingly undefeatable corporate giants like General Electric, Con Ed, et al. By combining forces, such groups as the NRDC; Pete Seeger's group, Clearwater; Scenic Hudson, et al., have been able to rectify many wrongs to the environment.

The personal stories of author's John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. are inspiring and heartwarming- their trials, tribulations and success' in fighting for environmental justice are a profound demonstration of courage and dedication.

The success of Riverkeepers has replicated itself all over America with separate, but associated groups under the umbrella of the National Alliance of River, Sound & Bay Keepers and most every major body of water in America now has a program.

This is a top choice manual for environmental activism. Highly recommended!