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Overview
In this important new book on the declining health of one of America's leading environmental treasures, Howard R. Ernst reveals a Chesapeake Bay that has become functionally dead. He argues that the Chesapeake Bay succumbed to political leaders who postured but failed to make the hard decisions needed to revive the Bay's health. While blunt in his evaluation of past and present failures to restore the Bay, Ernst believes that there is still time and sets out new "dark green" strategies to do so. In the concluding chapter, five long-time Bay activists provide first-person accounts of their battles and hopes for the future. This challenging book provides a wake-up call for everyone concerned about the future of the Chesapeake Bay and other ecological treasures throughout America.
Synopsis
Hailed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as 'a must read for anyone concerned about environmental protection,' this challenging book provides a wake-up call for those concerned about the future of the Chesapeake Bay and other endangered waterways around the globe. While blunt in his evaluation of past and present failures to restore the Bay, Ernst believes that there is still time to turn around the restoration effort and sets out new _dark green_ strategies to do so.
Publishers Weekly
In 2003, Hunt, a political science professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, issued a wakeup call with his polemic Chesapeake Bay Blues, arguing that "politics as usual" was leading to "continued environmental degradation." Six years later, the situation is worse; Chesapeake Bay is "functionally dead," and the problem has gone global. Distinguishing between the more confrontational approach of the "Dark Greens" and the moral arguments of the "Light Greens," Ernst argues that differences in the movement have contributed to the ability of opposing "Cornucopians" to push an agenda of pure economic self-interest. The largest environmental interest group in the Bay region, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, refuses to engage in electoral politics while the Bay's biggest polluters, such as the poultry industry, use their money to get pro-industry candidates into office: "the Perdue family alone spent more in one recent election... than the combined spending of all environmental groups across the three key Bay states during the same period of time." Still, there are many individuals and organizations doing important work, and Ernst chronicles their struggles in detail. A passionate call to action from a longtime activist (Ernst is currently in his 80s), this read will shock and inspire a range of concerned citizens, from homeowners to journalists to lawmakers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
In 2003, Hunt, a political science professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, issued a wakeup call with his polemic Chesapeake Bay Blues, arguing that "politics as usual" was leading to "continued environmental degradation." Six years later, the situation is worse; Chesapeake Bay is "functionally dead," and the problem has gone global. Distinguishing between the more confrontational approach of the "Dark Greens" and the moral arguments of the "Light Greens," Ernst argues that differences in the movement have contributed to the ability of opposing "Cornucopians" to push an agenda of pure economic self-interest. The largest environmental interest group in the Bay region, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, refuses to engage in electoral politics while the Bay's biggest polluters, such as the poultry industry, use their money to get pro-industry candidates into office: "the Perdue family alone spent more in one recent election... than the combined spending of all environmental groups across the three key Bay states during the same period of time." Still, there are many individuals and organizations doing important work, and Ernst chronicles their struggles in detail. A passionate call to action from a longtime activist (Ernst is currently in his 80s), this read will shock and inspire a range of concerned citizens, from homeowners to journalists to lawmakers.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.