University of British Columbia Press
The First Green Wave
Pollution Probe and the Origins of Environmental Activism in Ontario
9780774828086
Distributed for University of British Columbia Press
The First Green Wave
Pollution Probe and the Origins of Environmental Activism in Ontario
The First Green Wave traces the rise of Ontario’s environmental movement. At the heart of the story is Pollution Probe, an organization founded in 1969 by students and faculty at the University of Toronto. In its first year of operation, Pollution Probe confronted Toronto’s City Hall over its use of pesticides, Ontario Hydro over air pollution, and the detergent industry over pollution of the Great Lakes. The success of these actions inspired the founding of other environmental organizations across Canada and led to the development of initiatives now taken for granted, such as waste reduction and energy policy.
Table of Contents
Foreword: Yogi Berra, William Wordsworth, and Canadian Environmentalism
by Graeme Wynn
Introduction
1 The Air of Death and the Origins of Toronto’s Environmental Activist Community
2 The Emergence of Pollution Probe
3 Building an Environmental Community
4 Probe’s Peak
5 The Changing Environmental Landscape
6 Beyond the First Wave
Afterword
Notes; Bibliography; Index