Rethinking the American Environmental Movement Post-1945

In the period after World War II, urbanization, technological developments, and the specter of the emerging Cold War started to remold human relationships with the environment. New scientific developments in nuclear weapons, medicine, urban living, and food culture all contributed to people starting to feel more alienated from the landscape around them. Over time, the work of intellectuals and activists combined to help shape a network of social movements that came to be identified as American environmentalism.

Rethinking the American Environmental Movement provides a concise overview of the US environmental movement as it developed in the 20^th century. The book outlines the key precursors, events, participants, and strategies of the movement, and contextualizes the story in the dramatic trajectory of U.S. history after WWII. It is the perfect introduction for anyone seeking to understand on eof the biggest social movements of the 20^th century.

Ellen Griffith Spears is an associate professor in the interdisciplinary New College and the Department of American Studies at the University of Alabama. She is author of the award-winning Baptized in PCBs: Race, Pollution, and Justice in an All-American Town (2014).