This segment will provide an in-depth examination of the most important laws impacting the environment. Covering such critical legal battles as the 1963 landmark case over the preservation of Storm King Mountain in NY’s Hudson Valley which pitted local homeowners against New York’s utility giant Con Edison, as well as the Sierra Club v. Morton case preventing the Disney Corporation from developing a ski resort at Sequoia National Park, the program will show how the Environment became an entity which in itself could be protected by law. Among the important writings highlighted will be A Wilderness Bill of Rights by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas and his dissenting opinion in the Sierra Club v. Morton case.

The segment will capture the spirit of the 1970s beginning with the story of Denis Hayes, Sen. Gaylord Nelson, and the creation of Earth Day. The early 1970s also saw the passage of significant environmental legislation including the Clean Air Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Endangered Species Act. We will tell the story of John Adams and the creation of the National Resources Defense Council; and the emphasis among environmental activists to use the legal system to uphold conservation laws and point the way for future action. With archival footage and stories about politicians such as William Proxmire and Bruce Babbit, activists David Brower, and historians, this program will provide a sense of the era and insight into how such sweeping changes were effected. We will also place into context the more aggressive tactics of Earth First’s David Foreman and organizations like Greenpeace and the Earth Liberation Front. In the context of these relatively recent legal battles we will place the legal challenges taking place today.