Indiana University - Arbutus Yearbook (Bloomington, IN)

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told the students at Swarthmore Col- lege in the Spring of 1970 that, The history of movements like this is not very promising. We had great move- ments on civil rights and the Vietnam- ese war. The problems are still with us but the movements have died away. In the last year the environmental issue has come to the fore at Indiana University. The Environmental Action Day, otherwise known as Earth Day, was held at I.U. on April 22, 1970. The day's activities included rallies, clean- ups, teach-ins and traffic bans. The two main features of the day were speeches by Democratic Senator Gaylord Nel- son, a nationally famous environmental leader from Wisconsin, and Dr. Elvis 1. Star, former I.U. President and now president of the National Audibon Society. Later in the Spring the University Physical Plant was critized of careless spraying in Dunn Meadow. Again the accusation was raised in the summer by the residents of the Redbud Hills housing complex who felt their child- ren had been endangered. That inci- dent was complicated by contradictory evidence as to what chemicals were being sprayed. Dr. F. Douglas Martin, Assistant Professor of Zoology, said his tests indicated a combination of dield- rinaldrin, several times more harmful than DDT, was being used. However, the State Board of Health's tests indi- cated Malathion, a relatively low toxici- ty pesticide was being used. The conflict was never completely resolved although the physical plant was vindicated. What the incident did point out was the lack of any central authority over environmental matters in the University bureaucracy. lt seemed that james C-oodpasture, director of the University Environmen- tal Health Service, should have some authority in the situation. But it be- came apparent that he only has an ad- visory power. 33

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Man has just begun in earnest what may be the most important battle of his existence. It is not a battle in the usual sense. He is not fighting other men. Nor is it a battle of the jack London va- riety - man against nature. Man is in a battle with himself, fighting his own greed and selfishness. And, however maudlin it may sound, the struggle is in every sense to the death. For through his blind avarice man is destroying his environment and it, in turn, will de- stroy him. Throughout time man has taken what he wanted from the earth. The food for his belly has come from the mountains and forests. But man has not given in return for what he has taken. He has slowly stripped his surround- ings of their immediate worth and left only his excrement. If you look you can easily see the success man has had in taking from the earth. There are millions of chrome- plated cars and thousands of shiny air- planes in which to ride. There are a multitude of housing developments and apartment complexes in which to live. Gigantic shopping centers and supermarkets offer almost everything conceivable to make life easier. But if you look you can also easily see the price man's success has exacted. The polluted air is becoming unbreath- able andthe water undrinkable. Beside the glorious highways are hugh junk yards replete with garbage. It is true that man has conquered the wilder- ness, yet, he has left a wasteland. People are becoming aware of the crisis. At one time in history the fight was carried on by a handfull of what we then considered to be 'square' conser- vationists. Now the movement is del- uged by concerned people who are organizing for the battle. Its popularity will only be a blessing if it does not fade. Dr. Kenneth E. F. Watt, professor of Zoology at the University of California, 32 4' G gtk 7 ' tzefis X X6 61,5 ci K Y Yaesu! GW' x xffklll g t ts 5, ...,. . I -' ' in A Q 1'at'lx' , 3 X XR XXX xg Y ...EG ,ig ix.. X X ti. g x POPULATl0l i it I 2 qwtgkx. Q 3 4 .XY ' V R M U RACE T0

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The true role Indiana University should play in the environmental crisis is the one for which it was designed -that of an educator. Indiana Uni- versity is fulfilling that role. This year twenty-eight courses from various departments were grouped under the heading of environmental studies. In the planning stage is a program in which environ- mental studies will be half of a double major. The other half being science or social studies depend- ing on the individual student. Education is not the only approach that has been taken by individuals in the University com- munity. There are many active organizations that while not connected directly with the University, are composed of mainly students and faculty. The officers of the local Audubon Society are com- prised entirely of individuals connected with In- diana University. University members are also ac- tive in the Issac Walton League, Planned Parent- hood, andthe Abortion Repeal Fund. Perhaps the most salient of all the local envi- ronmental groups is the Crisis Biology organiza- tion. The group has a Population Committee de- signed to do research of contraceptive devices. The Soap and Detergent Committee does re- search on locally sold cleaning products and, as well as publishing its results, informs local mer- chants as to what products are most harmful. In February of 1971, Crisis Biology sent mem- bers to testify at the State Air Pollution Control Board Hearings on sulfur dioxide pollution. The group has also established a three member board to review what pesticides are being used by the physical plant around married student housing. In addition to helping the University 1323 course in their Glass Recycling Project, Crisis Biol- ogy has set up paper recycling stations and devel- oped a system of pick-up and delivery. More than twenty speakers were brought to the campus in the Spring of '71 by the FOCUS: The Environment program. Although all depart- ments of Indiana University and elements of the Blommington community cooperated in produc- ing the series, the project was initiated by mem- bers of Crisis Biology. Some of the speakers in the Focus program included: William Mott, Direc- tor of Parks and Recreation, State of Californiag Congressman john Brademasp Carl Feiss, Ur- ban Designer and City Planner, and William Ruckelshaus of the National Environmental Pro- tection Agency. The battle has begun. Yet, when we see that our Great Lakes have been polluted almost beyond reclamation and when we see that the same thing is being done to our oceans we must wonder if the fight has begun in time. The future looks bleak but there is reason for hope. A little more than twenty years ago, during the week of june 7, 1950, city trucks were covering Bloomington with a new miracle pesticide. As the spray settled into the ground and into the water supply to stay for over seventy-five years the city fathers were proudly proclaiming the project DDT Week. We have come a long way since then.