The Beginning of the New American Revolution

William D. Ruckelshaus

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1971, vol. 396, issue 1, 13-24

Abstract: In the last decade we have become increasingly aware that as we built a nation on this continent we carelessly wasted the air, water, and earth on which the life of that nation depends. We have realized in the shadow of the Atomic Age that we can destroy ourselves piecemeal as well as by holocaust. The critical issue today is how we approach the issue of the environment, now that there is widespread aware ness of its fragility. Clearly, we must measure the environ mental impact of everything we do. In simple terms, we must cease to measure progress as a gross national product and begin to realize our net national product. The decisions already made, such as the supersonic transport (SST), and those we are restudying, such as the trans-Alaska pipeline, show that we have put the question to ourselves: "How can we maintain our affluence—how can we enjoy the good life—and how, at the same time, can we insure the continuance of life?" If every one of us will adopt the simple truth that "I can save the earth," we will realize how much we can achieve together. We will inaugurate an American Revolution that truly will be heard around the world.

Date: 1971
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:anname:v:396:y:1971:i:1:p:13-24

DOI: 10.1177/000271627139600103

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