The United States - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 50

to refiners in Texas. The route crossed the Ogalala Aquifer in the Great
Plains, the underground source of irrigation. And although Obama had
often touted the benefits of solar energy, Republicans criticized him when
the Solyndra company that manufactured thin film solar cells went bank-
rupt in spite of generous grants from the Department of Energy.
CONCLUSION
Citizen participation has always been important in American environ-
mental policy. After all, the country prides itself on being a democracy
where the people rule. Yellowstone became the first national park because
of the agitation of the ranchers and townspeople who explored it in 1870.
In California Yosemite largely owes its status as a national park to the
agitation of John Muir. To mobilize other citizens, he established the
Sierra Club. Two generations later, the Sierra Club director, David Brower,
mobilized its members and others to oppose construction of a dam at
Echo Park Canyon. In Pittsburgh citizens fought the steel industry and
railways to enact the Smoke Ordinance. When the Long Island Lighting
Co. wanted to build a nuclear generating plant at Shoreham, citizens in the
nearby village of Lloyd Harbor united to block it. When Lois Gibbs discov-
ered the school her son was scheduled to enter was on a toxic waste dump
in Love Canal, she carried a petition door to door to rally opposition, an
act that climaxed when Congress established the Superfund. Earth Day
1970 mobilized 20 million people to demonstrate and has continued to
bring out crowds every year since.
Citizen movements, when successful, often end up as interest groups.
Muir organized the Sierra Club, which while he still lived, had a politi-
cal function as well as a recreational one. Later it returned to its political
roots with Brower. The citizens of Pittsburgh did not act individually, but
in the form of United Smoke Council and the Allegheny Conference on
Community Development. At the earliest stages they worked through the
Chamber of Commerce, the Civic Club, and the League of Women Voters.
Lois Gibbs organized the Love Canal Homeowners Association.
Political parties have played key roles. Under President Theodore
Roosevelt, the Republican Party supported the Conservation Movement.
Later the Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was personally quite
devoted to nature and country life, established many new parks, rebuilt