Most surprising is the dearth of insight Shabecoff offers into the role of the press. More than one environmental project has lost steam simply because Shabecoff or reporters from the Washington Post or Associated Press did not attend a news conference intended to convey important information to the public. Locally-generated environmentalism has always been strong in the United States. Thoreau knew Walden. Shabecoff tells of California farmers who rose up against the hydraulic mining that flooded their communities in the nineteenth century.
People fight local environmental battles for decades.
Shabecoff ends his book wondering if environmentalism will permeate our institutions, economic systems and social relationships. Those who share his optimistic projection would do well to heed Shabecoff s call to integrate social justice and environmental issues.