Gaylord Nelson, Father of Earth Day - MINDS@UW Home

something beyond necessities and conveniences now lay within the
reach of many; they can be called amenities. Associated with
home and leisure, with recreation and the „good life,‟ these came to
involve considerable choice because spending was not dictated by
necessity or convenience. 18
Such a paradigm shift also involved a shift in power relationships. Whereas
before the war conservationists worked from the top down, protecting natural
resources by focusing on enacting efficiencies and production controls, after the
war conservationists worked from a much broader base, pressing upon leaders
even as they strongly advocated for a higher quality of life and a better standard
of living. Furthermore, such conservationists did not differentiate among
scientific disciplines and instead relied upon ecological methodology and its
consequent management strategies. Such people came to be known as
environmentalists. 19
Such considerations put my interest in Gaylord Nelson into historical
context. He was born in 1916, so he lived through the times when „utilitarian‟ and
„preservationist‟ conservationists argued about what environmental strategies
were best for America. He also grew up in a Progressive household and thus
learned about the power of populism and political reform from an early age. As
Governor of Wisconsin, Nelson enacted some of the most progressive
conservation and recreation legislation in the United States, the Outdoor
Recreation Action Program (ORAP). So, by the time he became a United States
Senator, Gaylord Nelson had firmly established himself as a conservationist. His
subsequent work established him as an environmentalist. As I delve into Gaylord
18 Samuel P. Hays, 4.
19 Samuel P. Hays, 13-39.
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