About the Book
Environmental patriotism, the belief that the national environment defines a country’s greatness, is a significant strand in twentieth century American environmentalism. This book is the first to explore the history of environmental patriotism in America through the intriguing stories of environmental patriots and the rhetoric of their speeches and propaganda.
The See America First movement began in 1906 with the aim of protecting and promoting the landscapes of the American West. In 1908, Gifford Pinchot and President Theodore Roosevelt hosted the White House Conservation Conference to promote the wise use of natural resources for generations of Americans. In 1912, Pittsburgh’s smoke investigation condemned the effects of coal smoke on the city’s environment. In World War II, a massive propaganda effort mobilized millions of Americans to plant victory gardens to save resources for the war abroad. While these may not seem like crucial moments for the American environmental movement, this new history of American environmentalism shows that they are linked by patriotism.
The book offers a provoking critique of environmentalists’ communication strategies and suggests patriotism as a persuasive hook for new ways to make environmental issues a national priority. This original research should be of interest to scholars of environmental communication, environmental history, American history and environmental philosophy.
Reviews
In Todd’s gracefully written book, environmental communicators will find a wealth of engaging material; they will be cheered by the early twentieth-century views they hear in its pages.
- Environmental Communication, Michael Svoboda, The George Washington University
For rhetorical scholars interested in questions beyond environmentalism, Todd’s study provides a refreshing examination of patriotism’s rhetorical history illuminating its involvement in forging publics, crafting identity, and prompting action… Herein is the true force of Todd’s work. Rather than rely upon the hope that evidence produced by science may someday reach the public in an influential way, she argues that we should turn toward those historically influential concepts that have proven great motivators for civic action. Recovering patriotism, and the ways that it historically has been linked with environmentalism, offers a promising means of addressing the ambivalence toward ecological awareness and protection.
- Rhetoric & Public Affairs, James Coleman McGuffey, Indiana University, Bloomington
In the historical moments described in the four core chapters of her book—the “See American First” conference in Salt Lake City in 1906, the 1908 White House Conservation Congress, the smoke conference hosted by the Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh in 1912, and the Office of War Information's home-front conservation campaign during World War II—public talk about conserving our natural resources was celebrated as a civic duty. Natural resources were perceived as central to our national identity. Todd is able to re-present these episodes from American history, even as she analyzes them, by virtue of her somewhat unusual skill set… Todd has published work in popular culture, consumer culture, social movements, science communication, and science/climate-change education. In Communicating Environmental Patriotism, Todd uses methods and lenses from these very different research programs to interpret historical materials. Popular and consumer culture are subthemes in the chapters on the See America First and WWII conservation campaigns. Social movement theory clearly informs Todd's analysis of the smoke abatement campaign in Pittsburgh. Underlying all four chapters is the historical research Todd conducted in libraries and museums in Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, and Salt Lake City.
- Environmental Communication, Michael Svoboda, The George Washington University
