en\{ironmental aCLIOn Vol. 1, No.6 I'~" March 26, 1970

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2 Action: April 22 March 26, 1970

Michigan teach-in faces societal • 1ssues In a confrontation with the under­

lying social, political , and economic issues involved in the environmental movement, the University of Michigan student group ENACT (Environmental Action for Sur­vival) put on one of the largest programs of talk, action and concern yet for their teach-in , March 11 - 14.

Every major and many minor events were packed with students and citizens from the community of Ann Arbor. EN­ACT chose the March dates to avoid conflict with university final exams scheduled the week of April 22.

Fifteen thousand participants in Wed­nesday's kick off rally heard views rang­ing from Michigan Governor Milliken's call for a "clean earth corps" for work on action projects in tOe s ate to ecOlO:­gist Barry Commoner's ' declaration that "we cannot defer for long a confronta­tion with the real debt that we owe to nature-the total reorganization of our system of productivity to make it com­patible with the ecosystem."

An SDS group, RE-ENACT, organized a revolutionary card section at the rally. Card di plays presented slogans like "GM+UM = Kill" and a fake program stated "For your protection, we have a card section, so that all may see, the real connection." A representative of Black Action Movement on Campus also warned against using the environment issue to coopt others from the concerns of the blacks and poor in America.

High school programs abounded dur­ing the four-day teach-in with workshops on abortion and population issues, cir­culation of petitions, and other activities. Women's Liberation conducted some workshops and disrupted others explain­ing that "domination of nature by man is the root cause of the ecological crisis" and that "the liberation of woman from

Action: A pril 22 ACTION: APRIL 22 is the newsletter of Environmental Teach-In, Inc., Room 200, 2000 P St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Telephone (202) 293-6960. ]t will be published periodically until April 22, 1970. Environmental Teach-In, Inc., is a non-profit orga­nization whose aim is to promote educational programs on the environ­ment. Contributions are tax-deduct­ible. Denis Hayes, NATIONAL COORDINATOR; EDITORS: Sam Love. J an Schaeffer; RE­GIONAL COORDINATORS: Andrew Gar­ling (Northeast). Sam Love (South ). Bar­), ara Reid (Midwest), Arturo Sandoval (West ): HIGH SCHOOL COORDINATOR: Bryce Hamilton; PRESS COORDINATOR: Stephen Cotton ; STAFF: Linda Billings. Kent Conrad. Marianna Kaufman, Vic Kley. Bill Mauk , Judy Moody, Sally Mor­re1l , Bernie Trilling, Susan Winslow.

her submissive and inferior position in society is essential in changing the rela­tionships of man to his environment."

Dow Chemical president Ted Doan, panelist in a discussion of the root causes of the environmental crisis, faced an evening of heckling and direct question­ing about Dow's production of napalm, herbicides used in Vietnam and pesticides used in the United States. Walter Reuther, president of UA W, admitted in the same panel that the world might need fewer automobiles.

Senator Edmund Muskie spoke to an overflow crowd Friday evening urging the audience to refrain from letting "the issue of environmental protection become a smoke screen that will obscure the iVerall crist life in Al'herica.

Ralph Nader, everybody's lawyer, de­livered Saturday afternoon a condemna­tion of corporate violence, crime, and manipulation of American symbols and bodies. Commenting on the inequities of corporate life, Nader declared that "if an individual cannot relieve himself in the Detroit River, I don't see any reason corporations can be allowed to."

After all the talk, demonstrations by street people, Huron River pollution tours, and a Congressional hearing held in Ann Arbor by the House SubcomJ mittee on Natural Resources and the En­vironment, the students discussed post­teach-in activities. Co-chairman Doug Scott of ENACT described a strongly­worded letter from the organizing stu­dent group to university president Robin Fleming calling for experiments in en­tirely new forms of life and societal structure.

ENACT demanded specifically that the University of Michigan hold open hear­ings in the university community on the voting of it& 27,538 shares of General Motors stock for the next stockholders meefing ay 22 in D etroit. They asked for a student-faculty committee to repre­sent the university at the meeting.

The students also demanded that the university write GM "condemning its arrogant refusal" to submit the proposed corporate policy changes suggested by the Project for Corporate Responsibility and Ralph Nader for stockholders' con­sideration before the meeting.

April Fool's Day and an Environ­mental Abuser of the Week Award for Yale University will come simultaneous­ly to New Haven, Connecticut, thanks to the American Independent Movement (AIM). A demonstration will be held at Bieneke Plaza April first as part of the New Ha\<en community's attack on Yale's poor traffic management, sewage prob­lem, and power plant use. Also Yale's president will be proclaimed an "environ­mental hazard."

• In Bloomfield Hills , Mich. , students

from Andover High have started a cam­paign dubbed "The Return of the Non­Returnables." In one week about SO students of the Andover Students for Environmental Quality Club returned more than 100 packages of "non-return­able" bottles and cans to producers by mail. The packages included a letter from the club asking the producer to stop using throwaways and start develop­ing alternative methods of packaging.

• University students in Wisconsin are

planning to sell "Environmental Protec­tion Buttons" to help finance a court case brought against the U.S. Forest Service by a regional action organization Save Our Sylvania Action Committee (SOSAC). The sale is to direct attention to Sylvania, a 19,000 acre wilderness area in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the Forest Service's mismanagement of the area.

SOSAC has previously been to court with the Forest Service and may return to challenge the Forest Service's plan for the development of Sylvania and other wilderness areas . For further information contact Miss Libby Werenfels, Students for SOSAC, 1567 Deckner Ave. , D-I03 , Green Bay, Wisc. 54302.

• The Philadelphia "Earth Week" Com-

mittee held a press conference on March 16, 1970 to announce plans for the week of April I S to 22. The week long pro­gram will include such politicians as Mayor John Lindsay and Sen. Edmund Muskie, ecologists Paul Erlich and Ian McHarg, consumer advocate Ralph Na­der, poet Allen Ginsberg, economist John Kenneth Galbraith, and entertain­ment by the Broadway cast of H air, Ar­lo Gutherie and others.

Ed Furia, chairman of earth day ac­tivities, explained the strategy to the press llnd to Thatcher Longstreth, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce. Letters have been sent to all major in­dustries in the Philadelphia area asking for a "note of intent." This would dem­onstrate their willingness to provide the information needed to gauge the nature

Action: April 22 March 26, 1970 3

and degree of pollution caused by these companies to the Philadelphia environ­ment. The 70 letters were followed by 70 telegrams emphasizing the request.

By the time of the press conference on Monday, fourteen companies had replied affirmatively. Their names were an­nounced as participants and the rest were warned that non-participation was a self­indictment and greater emphasis would be placed on them as polluters.

One important question raised con­cerning the diffusing effect the environ­ment is having on the anti-war effort was answered by Ian McHarg of the Uni­versity of Pennsylvania: "People are re­alizing that those who are prepared to destroy the environment are co-equally prepared to destroy their fellow man. The problems have the same root cause."

• A bedraggled chick emerging from a

spotted yellow egg hovers on the black background of an Open Lands Project poster under the lettering, "DDT can't tell the birds from the beetles." The pos­ter costs $.50 for a single copy, $3 for 10 copies, and $25 for 100 copies from the Open Lands Project, 53 W. Jack­son, Suite 1009, Chicago, Ill. 60604.

The Project also sells an IS-page bib­liography of environmental information, listing over 200 sources covering air, water and land pollution, conservation, ecology, and urban environment and de­sign. Copies are available at $.50 for one, $3 for 10 and $15 for 100.

The Institute of Scrap Iron and Steel, representing the only industry which re­cycles scrap such as junked cars, has pre­pared a four-.page tabloid newspaper on problems and possible solutions to more effective recycling of metallic solid waste. It is available in quantity, free, from the Institute of Scrap Iron and Steel , 1729 H St. , N.W., Wash., D.C. 20006.

• A pamphlet linking environmental and

population and which deals with "Zero Population Growth" and "The Pill", has been printed by the Population Crisis Committee. Copies may be obtained by writing 1730 K Street, N.W. Washington, D .C. 20036, at 10 cents per copy.

getlt~rer hAve yO.) reeN IN to.Lh wrttl itt, eNVIKDNtv\eNt ~e IN yaJR Nel9hbORIN9 COMMUNIties? If YOO cbN't OOW wro fuey Are I v-.e'1I91ve yev NA~ ANd NUM­beRS.Just WRite 1b eNVIRONMeN· tAl KtION 2J.XX) P 5t.,N .W, d.c . pJoo, do let U5 KNOW WMt )00 AR.e cPIN9 to helP get 001\ eN­VI~NMeNt tw:.K ttgetheK.

4 Acfion: April 22 March 26, 1970

Students ask university aid for G.M. foes Students at three major universities

have asked their governing boards to vote their General Motors common stock in favor of shareholders resolutions proposed by the Campaign to Make General Motors Responsible. At one of these universities-Harvard-the gov­erning board has already rejected the students' plea.

Campaign GM, initially announced by Ralph Nader, is run by four coordinators out of an office at 2008 Hillyer Place N.W. Washington D.C. 20009. It is seeking shareholder and public support for such proposals as:

-Enlarge GM's board of directors, adding three representatives of the pub­lic. If this resolution passes, Campaign GM will nominate three candidates at the annual meeting on May 22-Betty Furness, President Johnson's special as­sistant for consumer affairs; Rene Du­bos, Rockefeller University ecologist; and

Internal combustion transportation will be the target of two New York City marches in April. An Earth Day non-polluting parade, (including bi­cycles, roller skates, wagons, and steam cars) , is being organized by the Environmental Action Coalition with the cOJperation of Mayor Lindsay. An area from 14th Street between the Hudson and East Rivers has been blocked off to all standard automo­biles so that the parade's message can be dramatized. The blocked-off area will include the 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. march route on Fifth Avenue, begin­ning at the GM Building at 59th Street, and terminating at 14th Street.

Another march, sponsored by En­vironment! , will begin April 4th at the GM Building, proceed to the Col­iseum, where the National Auto Show will be opening, and continue on to the Central Park Mall.

• A group of students from Sacra-

mento State College have proposed a pledge for college students. Since 40 to 50 per cent of graduating col­lege and university students buy new cars they feel that a boycott would be an effective means of combating pollution.

the Rev . Channing Phillips, black com­munity leader and Democratic National Committeeman from Washington, D.C.

-Set up a shareholders' committee to study the corporate impact of General Motors. The committee, whose mem­bers would be chosen jointly by GM, Campaign GM, and the United Auto Workers, would have access to GM's present secret files, and would report back to shareholders within nine months.

-Amend the corporate charter to re­strict GM to operations not "detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the citizens of the U .S .... "

Six other proposals deal with substan­tive activi ties of the company, including auto safety, air pellution.,mineRty op­portunities, and worker safety. General Motors has refused to place any of these proposals on the shareholder material it will mail to its 1.4 million sharehold­ers in April.

"We are concentrating most of our effort toward breaking the power of Detroit," explained the Nebraska Dis­able a Car Day Committee in Lin­coln recently. "We hope it is obvious to all that government alone won't stop the destruction to our society caused directly or indirectly by the transportation industry."

The 'D-DayU- grou eels that pressure must be placed on govern­mental agencies " in the optimistic hope that relevant legislation might be passed." Convinced, however, that environmental destruction can be halted only by the direct involvement of individuals and groups, the com­mittee suggests public pressure with activities which jeopardizes the profits of the transportation industry.

The group suggests this be accom­plished with a massive public refusal to buy new cars for periods of sev­eral months. They also propose a na­tional "Disable a Car Day" during which people would voluntarily forego the use of any private transportation vehicle.

The group solicits suggestions; their address is Nebraska Disable a Car Day Committee, 1319 R St. , Lincoln, NE 68508.

At Harva rd , a group of students wrote early in March to the Harvard Corpora­tion asking it to support the proposals. Harvard owns 287,000 shares of GM common stock-about one tenth of one percent of the total 285 million shares. Harvard treasurer George Bennett was quoted in the Harvard Crimson as say­ing: "My off-hand view is that GM has done a good job for the public, the stock­holders, and the employees. I'd have to see some pretty persuasive evidence to make me vote against the management. What we're interested in in GM-for in­vestment, income, and practical value, we want excellent investments." A week later, the Harvard Board of Overseers

- formally-backed up Bennett, saying the University would definitely vote with GM management if Campaign GM ap­proached shareholders. Bennett said nei­ther a student nor faculty resolution would influence the University's decision .

A spokesman for Campaign GM said that while Bennett had said it would re­quire persuasive evidence to make him vote against management, "he and the governing boards acted without waiting for any evidence, and without even wait­ing for the Campaign to formally request the University's support." Campaign GM hopes to send formal letters of solicita­tion to several hundred university treas­urers before the end of March.

At the Massachusetts Institute of Tech­nology, owner of 291 ,500 shares, a group of students raised the issue at a meeting of the Corporation Joint Advisory Com­mittee, composed of students, faculty , and trustees, agreed to consider the pro­posals at an April 1 committee meeting. The · chairman of the board of M.I.T ., James Killian Jr. , is also on the board of direcJors oLG~M . __

At the University of Michigan, owner of 27,538 shares, the co-chairman of Michigan's recent teach-in , D:lUg Scott, took the podium to announce that EN­ACT is demanding that the University of Michigan support the Campaign with its shares. The ENACT letter to Univer­sity president Robben W. Flemming said the University should write General Mo­tors "condemning its arroga nt refusal" to let the nine reso lutions be voted at the shareholders meeting; that the Uni­versity "publicly commit itself" to vot­ing for the resolutions; and that a joint committee of students and faculty take the university's proxies to the sharehold­er meeting in Detroit on May 22.

A spokesman for Campaign G M said that universities own millions of shares of GM stock. Anyone who wishes to help Campaign GM can find out how much stock his university owns, and call 202-387-4313.

Acfion: April 22 March 26, 1970 5

Agriculture issues stri p warning The Pesticide Regulation Division of

the Agriculture Research Service has finally warned that Shell's "No-Pest" Strip-the insecticide strip containing DDVP-should not be hung or placed in rooms where aged or ill persons, or infants, are confined. The chemical in these strips, an insecticide called DOVP (for dimethyl dichloro vinyl phosphate) , inhibits cholinesterase (which is a nerve enzyme in humans) in a person exposed to it in closed quarters. DDVP is a poi­son and should not be inhaled or touched. It is released in a vapor from the strip for periods of up to three months.

There is also some question as to whether or not the strips leave a residue of poison in food that is stored, prepared and served in the rooms where they are

being used. The Department of Agri­culture tried to enforce a regulation that Shell place an appropriate warning on the label, but the chemical company pe­titioned for a "study". The Food and Drug Administration is now in the proc­ess of establishing "tolerance levels" for persons who are exposed to the poison.

In the meantime, the insecticide is permitted to remain, unmarked (as to po­tential danger in restaurants and kitch­ens), on the market. It is sold under var­ious names: Shell "No-Pest" Strip, Shell Insecticide Strip with Vapona, Robart 20 % Vapona Resin Strip, Ortho Fly Hanger, Vamp Insecticide Resin Strip, Air Strip 1r., Ban Bug 1r. Resin Strip, Farnam Fly Strip, and Bugmaster Vapo­Strip. They all contain DDVP.

Law suits Lawsuits concerning pollution have recently been filed against America's

largest industries by several government units and individual citizens. The lawsuits include: -A $250 million suit filed by Florida against Humble Oil, a subsidiary of

Standard Oil of New Jersey, concerning Florida's tourist reputation being dam­aged by an oil sLick in Tampa Bay.

-A Federal Court suit by California charging the four major U.S. auto mak­ers with conspiracy to halt the development of smog control devices. California is asking the court to order the companies to install anti-smog equipment on used cars in the state at the auto manufacturer's expense.

-A damage suit against Chevron Oil Co. by two Louisiana oyster fishermen for oil slicks.

Bco Info Ramparts May issue will include a

series of articles relating to the environ­ment-on the making of the pollution­industrial complex, on science and the GNP (Gross National Pollution), on the Department of the Interior, and on the radical interpretation of the population problem.

Copies of this issue are available to teach-in groups for $.10 each by contact­ing Kalden Bach, Ramparts, 1940 Bo­nita, Berkeley, California 94204.

• Reprints of an article in the current

The Atlantic Monthly entitled "Dam Outrage: The Story of the Army Engi­neers" may be obtained by writing to the editor, The Atlantic Monthly, 8 Ar­lington St., Boston, Mass. 02116. Cost is $.35 each or $35 per hundred.

• A two-article section called "Environ-

mental Conflict" will appear in the May issue of Harper's Magazine. Lewis Lath­am has contributed an article on Alaska and Marshall Frady has written about the South Carolina Hilton Head Island controversy. Contact Harper's at 2 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016 after the issue is off sale about the possibility of bulk orders .

• American Friends Service Committee,

160 N . 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19102 has prepared a report, "Who Shall Live?-Man's Control over Birth and Death." Paperback copies can be ob­tained for $1.75 from regional offices of the American Friends Service Com­mittee, from the national office at 160 N. 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19102, and from local book stores.

The report is a factual account of the world's population problem supporting a call for effective birth control through family planning, access to contraception devices, and positive changes in existing abortion laws.

• Billed as a "new monthly 'how to'

magazine for today's influential 'hip' young adults," The Mother Earth News offers tips for living inexpensively and creatively in the non-urban areas of the country. Copies of the 60-page magazine are $1 .00 per issue, subscriptions are $8.00 per year. Write to Box 38, Madi­son, Ohio 44057.

• Calljng itself an "anthology toward a

radical ecology," the Holocene Gazette and Country Traveller is a 17" x 22" broadside published for the Earth Life Defense and Regeneration Committee in Hanover, N.H.

Copies are available by donation from The Holocent Gazette and Country Traveller; P.O. Box 294, Hanover, N.H.

6 Action: April 22 Morch 26, 1970

World eco Columbia Society of International Law

held a conference in New York March 12-13 dealing with various aspects of in­ternational and interstate coordination of water pollution procedures and pro­grams. Scientists and lawyers met to ex­change information and ideas.

Existing international agencies are not capable of so lving the world's eco­logical and environmental problems, the group of international experts agreed. They also concluded that adherence to existing concepts of national sovereignty would make real reform exceedingly dif­ficult.

Professor Richard Baxter of Harvard Law School said pollution control "is a matter which can no longer be left to the individual specialized agencies with nar­row specific interests." He cited the ap­proval of the use of DDT by the In­ternational Food and Agriculture Or­ganization (FAO) as an example.

Baxter proposed an International En-

- . . - . ~ - ---"---

vironmental Authority which would deal with the world's water and air and "in general with the maintenance of the qual­ity of our world." The Columbia con­ference participants anticipate that a United Nations conference in Stockholm, Sweden, scheduled for 1972, will focus international awareness onto environ­mental problems.

t,: I;:

Twenty-two European nations met in Strasbourg, France, in early February to discuss environmental problems. The main objective of the European Conser­vation Conference was to create a sense of urgency in the European public which would further international cooperation and the development of effective multi­state environmental improvement pro­grams.

Topics discussed at the conference in­cluded traffic and urban development, air and water pollution control , forestry and fisheries, regional planning, parks and monuments, and other environmental topics.

Conference participants, like con­cerned citizens of the countries they rep-

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resent, became increasingly aware that filth and muck do not stay inside the boundaries of anyone country. The concept of "spaceship earth" is becom­ing too obvious to ignore. So far, no one has come up with any satisfactory solu­tions or workable programs of interna­tional restrictions and regulations.

International Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) has held several conferences to discuss the oil-spilling is­sue, a major international concern. Some possible solutions which have been sug­gested include setting up sea lanes and prohibiting tankers from going into cer­tain areas, building shore guidance sys­tems for sh ips near land , restricting speeds and reviewing construction and design , and organizing intensive "watch­es" to guard against disasters.

When a bi-national crisis ari es, a va­riety of legal questions arise such as the rights of states threatened by a casualty in international waters to take steps to protect the coastline.

i,: :;:

Individual nations have become in­volved in a variety of environmental problems. A brief summary follows:

Sweden has passed strict air pollution control programs. Canadians have put limits on the phosphate levels in deter­gents. Russian industrialists battle con­servationists over the world 's deepest lake, Baikal. Norway has warned that fish off her coast may be doomed to ex­tinction . Europeans face more water pol­lution problems in the continent's rivers. The Aswan dam threatens Egyptians with extensive earthquake damages. South Vietnamese suffer extensive de­foliation damage. Italians despair over the damage done to structures in Vienna. Hungary , Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia suffer from thick smog caused by the burning of lignite and by poor-quality, 86-octane motor fuel. East Europeans fall ill because of drinking the Danube's water. Romania's industrial activities have increased J ,000 per cent in the past 20 years-the problems accompanying that kind of growth are enormous. Fish­ermen working off the coast of France had to dump their tuna back into the sea because it smelled so badly of petro­leum. Spanish peasants stare at the black muck spread all over Spain's beaches.

Report Bryce Hamilton , Environmental

Action High School Coordinator, pro­jects that over 10,000 primary and secondary schools will participate in the April 22 Teach-In. In addition, over 900 colleges and universities have already notified Environmental Action of their participation.

Action: April 22 March 26, 1970 7

Thermal suit tops environment news The Justice Department began formal

action on March 13 to halt existing and future thermal pollution of Biscayne Bay, Florida, by the Florida Power and Light Company. In a move expected for some days, the department filed suit under an 1899 law setting penalties for the pollution of navigable waters.

Justice acted at the request of Interior Secretary Walter Hickel. It was the first suit filed by the federal government to halt thermal pollution-the heating of natural waters to the point that fish , plant life and stream ecology is damaged.

In its complaint, the Justice Depart­ment charged that the 550,000 gallons of water the utility dumps into the bay each minute can raise the bay's temperature from its normal 85 degrees to 100 or more degrees, "rapidly ruining marine life." The suit asks the court to order the utility to submit within 45 days a proposal for eliminating the dangerous thermal discharge.

According to the Wall Street Journal (March 16), Florida Power and Light claims their disposition of heated water is approved by the Dade County, Flori­da, pollution control board. The com­pany emphasized its duty to provide elec­tric service to the community.

* * * Sen. George McGovern, D-S. Dale.,

introduced on March lOa wide-ranging measure entitled "the environmental pro­tection act of 1970." McGovern told the Senate he recognized that the measure, S. 3575, "will not be without contro­versy" and that it will make government agencies and industries sit up and take notice.

"I want to assure them," he said, "that this proposal has been drafted, not to take any of their just rights away, but to grant long overdue rights to Americans at large."

The bill , co-sponsored by Michigan Democrat Philip Hart, has these main sections:

1. Congress declares that "each per­son is entitled to the protection, preser­vation and enhancement of the environ­ment of the United States .... "

2. The public interest necessitates that each person be provided with an ade­quate remedy to protect the air, water, land and public trust of the United States "from unreasonable pollution, im­pairment or destruction."

3. Any person may begin a judicial action for relief ". . . that would order the defendant to desist or moderate the practice or act in question."

4. Such actions may be brought against any firm involved in interstate commerce (i.e., virtually every firm

imaginable), and may be brought in any U.S. District Court.

5. State courts may not be prevented or preempted from exercising jurisdic­tion in such action.

6. Such court actions shall be sup­ported by affidavits of at least two tech­nically qualified persons "affirming that the defendant's activity damages or rea­sonably may damage the environment or public trust. ... "

7. The court is granted authority to provide either temporary or permanent relief, or to impose conditions on the firm's operations which would be re­quired to protect the environment.

8. The act would be supplementary to existing administrative and regulatory procedures.

The legislation, said Sen. Hart, "as­sumes people want a voice in determin­ing the quality of their environment."

* * * House Republicans have urged con­

gressional action on President Nixon's environmental protection bills . Rep. Glenn Anderson of Illinois , chairman of the House G .O.P. Conference, told the House on March 11: "Solving our na­tion 's problems requires leadership and action at this end of Pennsylvania Ave­nue." He added that, in the month since Nixon's draft legislation reached the Congress, "hearings have been held on only two of the seven bills."

The resolution adopted by House Re­publicans said: "We commend the Pres­ident for the action he has taken in the fight against pollution and we urge that

Conservation 70's in Tallahassee, Florida, stated in a recent news re­lease that they will wage "war on those persons and industries which would cause fish kills, poach alliga­tors, allow oil slicks or even provide litter-bugs with the ammunition of no-deposit, no-return pop bottles." The board of directors of Conserva­tion 70's includes ten state legislators.

• A letter writer in Chicago, Mrs.

Esther Friedman, proposes her own solution to environmental problems. "Why don't we go ahead with much more pollution? In that way, the bodies of the younger generations can build up immunities. That in turn, will produce offspring with built-in antipollution protection.

"Through the years, we have de-

the House of Representatives give prompt consideration to the seven meas­ures recommended by the President."

* * * Congressman William Whitehurst of

Virginia asked on March 11 for action on the Pollution Abatement Act of 1970. The act establishes a national environ­mental control commission, bringing to­gether "a single independent agency in the government to lead the attack on pollution." Whitehurst and five other congressmen are sponsoring the measure.

* * * A prevailing mood of urgency char­

acterized the March 16-20 Senate Pub­lic Works Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution hearings on three pro­posed air quality standards bills. Chair­man Edmund Muskie and several sub­committee members criticized an Ad­ministration measure.

The Administration bill calls for amendment and extension of the 1967 Clean Air Act to provide national stand­ards of ambient air quality. Muskie has introduced two bills calling for deter­mination of air quality standards by the states.

Muskie claimed that under a national set of standards, industry could pressure states into accepting national minimum air quality standards as state maximum standards. Under one of Muskie's bills, states would be required to make their standards consistent with the air quality criteria and recommended control tech­niques established by the Secretary of HEW.

veloped many pesticides. And what happened? The bugs came along with an entire new generation that were completely immune. Are we going to ,,'low the infinitesimal bug to out­smart us?"-Chicago Daily News, ~ebruary 4, 1970.

• "If President Nixon's war on pollu­

tion is as successful as President Johnson's war on poverty, there are going to be a lot of dirty poor people around."-Martin and Rowan, Laugh­In.

• "Hell is a city much like London,

a populous and smoky city ... "­Percy By the Shelly.

8 Action: April 22 March 26, 1970

Environtnental •

Clllellla The films below were listed in the University of Michigan's

ENACT film guide. We did not have time to check cost of rent­ing them. C=color, B/W=black and white. The names and addresses are those of the distributor, not the producer. "Abortion and the law"-54 min., Association Films, 347 Madi-

son Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017. Summarizes attitudes and legal aspects of the question in other countries; gives oppos­ing viewpoints of clergy, lawyers, physicians.

"Air of Disaster"-50 min., color. Public Health Service, Audio Visual Facility, Atlanta, Ga. 30333 or Association Films, 347 Madison Ave., NYC, N.Y. Includes visit to PHS air pollution lab at Cincinnati and demonstrates research on auto exhaust emissions and their effects on man, plants, animals.

"Air Pollution"-11 min., color. Journal Films, 909 West Diver­sey Pkwy., Chicago, lll. 60614.

"Alone in the Midst of the Land"-27 min., color. National Broadcasting Co.-TV, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Room 914, New York, New York 10022. A dramatized account of man's destruction of his own environment. A picture of man's fu­ture if he continues to destroy his environment with willful abandon.

"America and the Americans"-50 min., C. McGraw Hill Text Films, 330 West 42nd St., New York, N.Y. 10018. Based on a John Steinbeck book. Comprehensive look at America's problems: conservation, air pollution, destructive use of natu­ral resources; political systems and their paradoxes, etc.

"Banquet of Life"-60 min., B/ W. Indiana University, Audio Visual Center. Historical examination of man's sources of food. Analysis that more food will not avert ultimate famine.

"Beyond Conception"-35 min., C. Hank Newenhouse, Inc. 10 17 Longaker Road, Northbrook, Ill. 60062. Population problem, birth control techniques, awareness of total human condition and need for individuals to assume personal respon­sibility.

"Birth Control"-60 min., B/ W. Indiana University. Compre­hensive look at legal, medical, moral, and social aspects of birth control issue in the U.S.

"Brazil-The Gathering Millions"-60 min., B/W. Indiana Uni­versity. Brazil's population problem: excessive population

growth in the cities, rapid decrease in population in the rural areas.

"Challenge of Urban Renewal"-28 min., C. Films Incorpo­rated, Director of Distribution, 1150 Willamette Ave., Wil­lamette, Ill. 60091. lllustrates the problems of mass unplanned migration from city to suburb. Urban problems in Boston and Detroit are examined.

"Cities in Crisis: A Matter of Survival"-18 min., C. Universal and Visual Arts, 221 Park Avenue, South, New York, N.Y . 10003. Causes, effects, and possible solutions to air, water and urban pollution.

"Cities in Crisis: The Process of Communication"-20 min., C. Universal Education and Visual Arts. Explores the meaning and means of interpersonal communications in the modern metropolis, emphasizing man's growing dependence on tech­nological devices.

"Cities in Crisis: Transportation"-18 min., C. Universal Educa­tion and Visual Arts. Problems of urban transportation. Of­fers solutions to some problems.

"Cities in Crisis: What's Happening"-21 min., C. Universal Education and Visual Arts. Film exposes crass and ugly in urban life.

"Cities of the Future"-25 min., C. McGraw Hill Text Films, 330 W. 42nd Street, NYC, N.Y. 10018. Creative planning now in progress to surmount pollution, slums, congestion. Visits a dozen cities around the world.

"Cosmopolis"- 60 min. McGraw Hill Text Films. Documentary on housing the world's population. Deals with problems cre­ated by vast increase in population. Overcrowding, water dis­posal, air pollution and discordant sounds of mechanization are explored.

"Alive at Creekbottom"-7 min., C. ($ 10) Ecology. American Documentary Films, 336 W. 84th St., New York, N.Y. 10024. "In 25 years all the birds will be chickens."

"Expedition: City Fallout"-28 min., B/ W. Public Health Serv­ice, Audio Visual Facility, Atlanta, Ga. 30333. Air pollution scenes in NYC, effects of air pollutibn in urban environment.

"The Fallout Atom"-26 min. (CBS "Conquest" Series), Asso­ciation Films, 347 Madison Ave., NYC. Nuclear bomb tests, resultant fallout and effect of strontium-90 on human life and health.

"First Mile Up"-28 min., B/ W. McGraw Hill Text Films (1963). Dangers air pollution poses to public health in U.S. Public officials discuss steps which are being taken in cities to reduce contamination, pollution.

"Food Crisis"-60 min., B/ W. Indiana University. Areas of world with abundance of food contrasted to areas where starvation is a way of life.

"Food Revolution"-26 min., C. McGraw Hill Text Films. Some efforts being made by scientists to cope with problems of feeding the world's billions.

"Gift of Choice"-60 min. or 30 min. versions available. B/ W . Indiana University. Describes scientific research designed to determine the factors controlling pregnancy and discusses implications for fertility and birth control.

"HI Winds on a Summer Day"-29 min., C. Public Health Service, Audio Visual Facility, Atlanta, Ga. 30333. Examples of current research on air pollution.

"India: Writings on the Sand"-60 min. or 30 min. film avail­able. Problems and proposals to control population. Discusses agricultural crises, social customs, educational strategies.

"It's the Only Air We've Got"-25 min., Public Health Service, Audio Visual Facility. Pittsburgh's continuing fight against air pollution.

"Pall over Our Cities"-15 min., B/W. Public Health Service, Audio Visual Facility. Overall summary of the national air pollution problem (1965).

Action: April 22 March 26, 1970 9

Poll F~~ ._ .. y 'An.~~~if:

Hush-a-by'e. Biroy. On the Tre.e. +Of?, When the Wihd c\ows, Your breathing will stop. When the ~ind' dies, Your -Pea+hers will -rail, And down wiH come Birdy. Springtime and aU.

Jack be nimble, Jack,be 9uic.k; JQc.k.jurnr. eNer The bI~ 011 slitk.

Jac.k and Jill went up +he hi \\ To fe+c.h a pail ot' wa+eri Jock carne doVJO w,+h hepaH+is" And Jill came down soon QT+e.r.

Li++le Bo Peep has 10s+ her sheep And doesn'+ know where +0 find +he.m:

~~;:=:-==::::S=~~ They a+e some gra5s Flavored wi+h gas

Which ser\ous\y underm\nec1 +hem. ~ Q~

·fJzr,~ ___ ~

E>--------'-~---" Mis+r-ess Mary. 9ui+e c.ontrary. ~' ~" ~ How does your garden carow? Wi+h Ford Sedans Qno Miller Gons AY\d coke bo++les an in a row.

"Japan-Answer in the Orient"-60 min., B/ W-C. Indiana University. Historical examination of the population prob­lem of Japan, factors involved in the solution. Deals specifi­cally with legalized abortion and birth control meetings.

"Mounting Millions"-60 min., B/ W. Indiana University. Some of India's major problems and progress being made toward solving them. Famine, industrialization, birth control cam­paigns, a fertilizer festival, gov't. red tape, food destruction by pests, etc.

"Oops"-20 min. Stuart Finley, Inc., 3428 Mansfield Rd., Falls Church, Virginia 22041. How carelessness in an industrial

plant can result in stream pollution and how to guard against such occurrences.

"Our Endangered Wildlife"-51 min., McGraw Hill Text Films. Shows endangered species and present day conservation meth­ods by U.S. agencies to prevent extinction.

"Our Vanishing Lands"-24 min., McGraw Hill Text Films. Problems confronting this nation in conservation of land, wildlife, and natural beauty.

"Paradise PoUuted"-15 min., C. Roy Wilcox Productions, Al­len Hill, Meriden, Conn. 06450. Air, water, and environmen­tal pollution.

10 Action: April 22 March 26, 1970

YOU'VE SEEN THIS AD BEFORE. DON'T OVERLOOK IT . No industry in America can buy this space.

The money that pays for this comes from you, the members of a growing environmental movement.

Grass roots operations need grass roots support.

With only one month remaining we need your help to keep 5000 local groups and the 25,000 readers of this newsletter in­formed and coordinated.

For you, for us, for our children please contribute.

April 22. Earth Day.

A disease has infected our country. It has brought smog to Yosemite, dumped garbage in the Hudson, sprayed DDT in our food, and left our cities in decay.

Its carrier is man.

The wuk are already d yi ng . Trees by the Pacific. Fish in our strums end lakes. Birds and crops and shee p. And people.

On April 22 we start to reclaim the environment we have wrecked.

Ap ril 22 is the Environmental T uch. In, a day of environmental action.

Hundreds of communities and cam · puses across the country art alrudy committed.

It is a phenomenon that grows as you rcad tim.

Earth Day is a comml~mef1t to mah: life better, not just bigger and fashr; To provide real rather than rhetorical solutions.

It is a day to re-examine t he ethic of individual progress at mankind 's expense.

It is a day to ch511engc the corpor5te and governmenhlle ade rs who promise change , but who sho rt change the nec­essary prog,ams.

It is a day for loo king beyond tomor­row. April 22 seeks a future worth living .

April 22 seeks a future .

N. tion. 1 SI. H: Den" H.~tI. C_G,ntOl: l ",d. l lin, ••

Stephen (oilo,," ... nd ..... G • .I..." iIry(, H . ... iIIOfl, s.,,,, l ov"

1,1b. •• RuG, "''''''0 S4ndo •• t Ph"'p 1 . .. bmln

We are working seven days a week to help communities pi,," for April 22. W e have come from Stanford, Harvard. Bud nell. Iowa. Missouri, New Mexico, Michigan and other campuses.

We arc a non'profit , tax cxf!mpt, e ducational organization. Our job is to help gro ups and individuals to o rg aniu environmental prog rams to educate their communities .

A national day of environmenbl education was first proposed by Senator Gaylord Nel .on. Later he and Congress­man Paul McCloskey suggested April 22. The coordination has been passed on to us, and the idea now hal a momentum of its own.

All this hkes money. Money to pay our rent, our phones, our mailings, bro­chures, daff, advertis ements.

No list of famous names a ccom­paniu this ad to support ou r plea ,

Earth Day i. being planned and though many offered without our as king. organiud at the local level. In each Big names Gon't save the environ-t. ommunlt'( people are deCiding for ment. People do. themselves the issues upon ..... hich to Help make April 22 burgeon. focus , and the activities which are mod For you. For us. For our children. Jppropriate.

We can help. but the initiative , -" ,,-, mud come from each community. ; , \

W e have heard from hundreds of , The Environmenbl T each.ln, Inc. , campuses and local communi. • Roo m 200 ~ t ies in a ll fifty states. OOlens 2000 P Street, N. W . , of conservation groups have ., Washington , O. C. 20036 • off.,.d to help. So have the , I e.clos. $10. $20. SSO __ dollo .. Ito, deductible' scores o f new.breed environ. , ~ow c a'l I r elp my community? , mental organ izations that Name ,

arc spring ing up every ddY. , Address " ,

, ~, ,1 ., '--' - n

Acfion: April 22 March 26, 1970 11

Alaska pipeline fate rests with Interior Department of the Interior is consid­

ering a request by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) for land permits to enable construction of an 800-mile pipeline from the arctic North Slope oil deposits to the warm water port of Valdez in southern Alaska. A decision in this controversial case will reportedly be reached within the next two months.

Ninety-five per cent of the pipeline may be buried in permanently-frozen ground. The completed pipeline would hold 500,000 gallons of oil per mile, heated at over 150 degrees to remain fluid in the sub-zero temperatures. The pipeline would pass across mountain ranges, beneath a major river and through unpredictable and varied soils.

A group of students at George Wash­ington University Law School is circu­lating a petition urging the President to use the authority of the National En­vironmental Policy Act of 1969 to ask for an "exhaustive independent feasibil­ity study" of the proposed pipeline. Cit­ing the fact that "an engineering feat of this magnitude has never been under­taken" and that "the highly complex technical problems have admittedly not been solved," the group urges that the technical problems be considered in full before the permit to begin is granted. They stress the importance of preserving

the environment of the area threatened by the pipeline.

Signatures already added to the peti­tion include those of the Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, Friends of the Earth, and Zero Population Growth. Copies of the petition may be obtained from the Committee for Ecological Re­sponsibility, 720 20th St. N.W., Room 401, Washington, D.C. 20007.

A joint enterprise consisting of At­lantic Richfield, Humble and British Petroleum, TAPS was formed in October, 1968. In November, 1968, TAPS request­ed clearance from then Secretary of Interior Udall for a terminal facility at Port Valdez, the southern end of the proposed pipeline. Udall placed a freeze on the selection of all public lands in Alaska on January 17, 1969. In testi­mony before he took office, Hickel promised not to lift the freeze without consulting the appropriate Congressional committees.

TAPS presented their pipeline proposal along with the proposed route to the Department of Interior Task Force on Environmental Protection of Arctic Alaska in May. On July 29 Hickel lifted the land freeze for construction of a road necessary to start the pipeline.

After a series of hearings in fall, 1969, the Senate Interior Committee concluded

that native land claims would not be jeopardized by the lifting of the land freeze to permit purchase of the right of way of the southern portion of the pipeline. Secretary Hickel issued the order modifying the land freeze in early January, 1970.

TAPS persuaded five native villages during the summer of 1969 to waive claims to land in exchange for certain economic benefits. TAPS officials issued a letter of intent stating, "It is the intent of TAPS to employ or contract on a non-exclusive basis" with the local vil­lagers. As no contracts resulted, the natives rescinded their waivers early this year and brought suit against TAPS to have the waivers declared invalid and damages paid.

Their Washington. D.C., law firm asked Secretary Hickel on February 10 to "postpone issuance of any portion of the right of way . . . until the five vil­lages' rights to the pipeline route are respected and properly compensated by TAPS." Before they received a response to this letter, the council learned that the Interior Department had issued a permit for a roadway parallel to the pipeline route over land claimed by the villagers.

A United States Geological Survey (Continued on page 12)

There are now three different posters available for the April 22 Teach-In. The two pictured above are both ]7" x 22"; "Population Explosion" is black and white, and "The Thinker" is black an.d white with a magenta border. Price units for both of these are as follows: 4 posters-$2.00; 24 posters--$12.00; 50 posters--$20.00; 100 posters-$35.00. The posters will be shipped in these units only. They can be purchased in quantity from Creative Concepts, Inc., 5400 Pooks Hill Rd., Bethesda, Md. 20014. Please include a check or money order-the price of mailing is covered.

lage of the nation's capitol dome surrounded by all of the modern transportation polluters. It is 18" x 24", and can be ordered from the national office at 50¢ apiece, or $35.00 per 100. Include check or money order-mailing prices are covered.

The third poster is an orange and brown graphic col-

The Teach-In button, also pictured above, is black with green lettering. It can be purchased in quantity from the Ed­ward Horn Co., 6738 Old York Rd. , Philadelphia, Pa. 19126 (phone 215-549-7200) at the following prices: 500 at $35.00; 1000 at $50.00; 2500 at $100.00; 10,000 at $300.00. Please en­close a check with the order, and specify how to be shipped (parcel post, air freight, or other). Postage will be C.O.D.

12 Action: April 22 March 26, 1970

Pipeline. •• (Continued from page 11)

(USGS) report delivered in January, 1970, was prepared to illustrate the dangers of a hot pipeline through perma­frost in order that safeguards could be designed into the engineering system or that necessary route changes could be made. The report stressed that "much additional study and an intensive pro­gram of field and laboratory measure­ments along the route" were required for accurate recommendations.

The report outlined dangers which result from melting of permafrost with an excessive ice content. In addition to undermining the stability of the pipeline and leading quite possibly to rupture, the water and heat released when hot oil

I dANced IN the 8JN5hINe. Will youR. Ch\ldReN be Able to see the SUN?

Environmental Action: April 22

EnllirOtJmrnlm TtlUh'/n, In(,

travels underground would endanger the ecology of the surrounding area. When there is thawing without drainage, a trench one or more feet deep and tens of feet wide would probably develop over the pipeline within a few years, according to the report. It will deepen and widen with time forming either a series of ponds or a stream.

A letter to the director of the USGS

from the legal firm representing TAPS dated December 29, 1969, affirmed their confidence in the "expert knowledge" of the industry to avoid any problems which might arise. Calling for the ap­proval of the pipeline plans, the letter concluded, "We look forward to con­tinued efforts between government and industry in carrying out this important project."

To the tune of "America the Beautiful"

Oh cancerous for smoggy skies, For pesticided grain­Irradiated mountains rise Above an .asphalt plain.

America, America, thy birds have fled from thee; Thy fish lie dead by poisoned streams, From sea to fetid sea.

Oh plundered of their guardian woods, Where silver brooklets flowed, Their gullies clogged with cast-off goods, Thy barren hills erode.

America , America, no sunshine comes to thee, But bakes thy barren topsoil dry, No wind but blows it free.

Relentless as thy bankers' greed, That for each westward tie, A gandy dancer's corpse decreed, Beside the tracks must lie.

America, America, thy sins prepare thy doom; Monoxide cloud shall by thy shroud; Thy cities be thy tomb.

-Louis Crowley, Seattle Group

Room 200 2000 P Sl, N.W. '

Washington, D.C. 20036 ...... NON·PROFIT

U. S. POSTAGE PAID

W05hington, O. C . P.rmit No .43911