The press has followed the wrong story, says David
Helvarg, author of The War Against the Greens: The “Wise-Use”
Movement, the New Right, and Anti-Environmental Violence. Zealous
anti-environmentalists like to portray themselves as victims of an
elite movement that has swept across the country, Helvarg says, and
the national press, led by New York Times environmental
correspondent Keith Schneider, has played into their hands. But
Helvarg, an investigative reporter, says the true victims are
harassed grass-roots activists. The press and the government, he
says, have failed to investigate reports of violence committed
against environmentalists, including bombings, arson and rapes.
Highlights of this diffuse account include interviews with wise-use
leaders Ron Arnold, Chuck Cushman and Bill Gunnel, who travel to
hotspots to politicize local conflicts and create a perception of
widespread support. Helvarg also documents the onslaught of
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) and the
anti-green operations of Lyndon LaRouche and the Reverend Sun Myung
Moon.
Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA, 1994.
$25 cloth. 512 pages, including bibliography and
index.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Greens under attack.
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