Finis Dunaway

Environmental history is largely written about the national organizations and their battles in Washington, D.C. over policy, legislation, and law. Finis Dunaway’s Defending the Arctic Refuge tells the story of a handful of activists who crisscrossed the United States in a multi-decade effort to stave off oil drilling in a unique environment. Using a trickle up approach, these activists held lectures, a slide show, and courted local newspapers (back when the existed) to win over people throughout the country to their cause. These converts, in turn, pressured their representatives and senators to block drilling throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. The activists earned the respect of the indigenous people of who lived near the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in a way that the national environmental groups were unable to do, simply to listening to their concerns. The inclusion of the native perspective and speakers and highlighting that the threat that drilling posed to a way of life that had lasted for millennium in a quest for short-term game, changed the battle over ANWR from solely an environmental issue to one of human rights. Defending the Arctic Refuge is a handsome volume. It includes numerous stunning photographs that shaped public opinion.… (más)