Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 76

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, cooperation had developed
between the government, industry, and labor, making it a leading example
of a communitarian nation. In World War I Denmark maintained
its neutrality, but in World War II, the Nazis ignored its declaration of
neutrality, invading in 1940 and occupying it for 5 years. In the 1950s the
government expanded its welfare state with old-age pensions, health insur-
ance, disability insurance, and more generous unemployment benefits.
These were universal, not just for the poor. Schools, vocational training,
and higher education were expanded too. The economy prospered from
the late 1950s on, increasing wealth, but also pollution. Industry spread
from the old cities into the countryside, displacing established agriculture.
Environmentalism came to Denmark via the antinuclear movement.
It was inspired by the British demonstrations against atomic weapons
manufacturing in England and US submarines based in Scotland. This
gave it a more radical and purist cast than in other countries. In 1962
30,000 people marched in Copenhagen to protest nuclear weapons and
power plants. A number of the leaders came from the old Left with ties to
the Danish Communist Party dating back to the 1930s. As the demonstra-
tions evolved, younger leaders took over with more of a New Left perspec-
tive. Protests were also connected to opposition to the US War in Vietnam
and to solidarity with the Third World.
In the 1960s two new groups appeared: NOAH and the Organization
for Information about Nuclear Power. The first was a radical offshoot of an
old natural history organization that decided to play with its acronym to
tie to the Biblical rescue of the animals from the flood. It held to Marxist
ideology, and believed little could be done to protect the environment as
long as capitalism existed. It did not believe in “half solutions” or tech-
nological fixes. It said “no” to growth and maintained that excessive con-
sumption is the problem. In addition NOAH expressed solidarity with
the Third World. Later it affiliated with Friends of the Earth. The other
group was more practical and aimed solely at condemning nuclear power,
both weapons and electric generation. In 1975 a third group began, the
Organization for Renewable Energy. In the 1980s a younger, more active
members took over control of the Conservation Society.
Like other Western countries, Denmark fashioned its policy during the
Environmental Decade. It passed a Conservation Act in 1969, a Zoning Act
in 1970, and planning acts in 1973 and 1975. On the non-planning side,
parliament passed the General Protection Act in 1973 and the Chemical
Act in 1979. In 1971 it established the Ministry of the Environment, now