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"1 like to use the analogy of the
miners. They used to take
canaries, they still do, down in
the mines with them. The canary
topples off the perch, 'Look out
man, let's go.' Thot's what the
brown pelican is telling us and
the osprey and the eagle: 'look,
you're about to be killed. let's
do something about it.'"
Educational Television: "How curious
it is that we are unablc to attract atten–
tion to the dcath of our planet. The
sudden death of an individual makes the
front page of the ncwspaper, but the
slow immincnt death of us all goes un–
rcported. Perhaps this is bccause we can
comprehend thc manncr of thc dcath of
one of us, but wc cannot comprehcnd
the apocalyptic death of us all. This is
beyond comprehcnsion."
Wolf von Eckardt, Architccture
Critic for the
lr/tiJhington Po11.
told
members of his own profession that the
press must search for bcttcr ways to in–
forro 1ts readers about environmental
disasters
before
thcy happen.
America's newspapers, he said, are
just as complacent today about the en–
vironment as they were about worsening
ghetto condttions in thc days before ra–
cial tensions explodcd in violcnt up–
heaYals of hatc. And for similar reasons.
"We are half ignorant and half
indiffercnt," he said. "Wc half bclieve,
for instancc, that thc SST (supersonic
transport) is cssential to America's pres–
tige. Or that cleaning up the Potomac is
too expensive. The pcoplc who tell us
Arthur Godfrey at
UNESCO conference
"We're running out of air; we're
running out of water; we're run–
ning out of land. You see, all
our technology can't produce one
square inch of soil or one drop
of water."
these things are, after ali, such nice and
seemingly sincere
guys.
"Worse: Wc treat the environment
not as ao ecological, interrelated wholc
but in a fragmented fashion. We report
a new housing project herc and a trans–
portation crisis there. We rarely, if ever,
point out that the housing project in the
wrong place will make thc trans–
portation crisis worsc. News affccting
the environment is organized according
to its source, but not in terms of its
im–
pact on our place to live."
Mr. von Eckardt then went on to ex–
plain bow his ncwspaper is working
hard to bridge the environment news
gap. The
Po1t
ís considering the estab–
Lishment of an "Environment Team"
to intensively report on all matters
affecting the quality of life in thc
Washington, D.C. arca.
But despite such an occasional good
example, the news media still haven't
gotten the message fully.
This was illustrated by events at thc
San Francisco conference itself. It was
noted that representatives of major ncws
services had to divide their time be-
Ambossaclor Colleg&
Photos
"1 was called to Washington to
address the Ways and Means
Committee in Congress. For what?
To get the Congressmen to come
in and learn the facts about that
water pollution bill. Now 1 think
that is o sod commentary . . •
Those guys shouldn't need o
ukulele player to come and get
them together...• But thot's the
woy we are in this country."
twecn covering news of thc conference
- which
dealt with the impending
death of earth! - and the incident on
Alcatraz where a band of lndian protes–
tors had taken over the former prison
fortress.
The whole critica! issue of informing
thc public was scored by a representative
of thc league of W omen Voters of the
United States, who said:
"To mobilize peoplc power we oeed
to accept the challenge of providing thc
public with an environmental education.
1n the field of environmental concern
there has always been, and continues to
be, a compelling oeed to communicate
dearly, continuously, and candidly ...
"We have a growing supply of in–
vestigators. But there is a shortage of
rcadable and responsible ioterpreters -
those who can effectively play the
mediator between specialist and unin–
formed laymeo ... Vital public support
for environmental management can
be
enhanced by a combination of bringing
the ideas of the experts clown to the
level of the citizen's grasp...."
The staffs of
The
PLAJN
TRUTH
magazine and
The
WORW ToMORROW