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The Creation of Enemies: Investigating Conservative Environmental Polarization, 1945-1981

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The Creation of Enemies: Investigating Conservative Environmental Polarization, 1945-1981 by Adam Duane Orford A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Professor Daniel Kammen, Co-Chair Professor Katherine O’Neill, Co-Chair Professor Alastair Iles Professor Rebecca McLennan Spring 2021 © 2021 Adam Duane Orford all rights reserved Abstract The Creation of Enemies: Investigating Conservative Environmental Polarization, 1945-1981 by Adam Duane Orford Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources University of California, Berkeley Professors Daniel Kammen and Katherine O’Neill, Co-Chairs This Dissertation examines the history of the conservative relationship with environmentalism in the United States between 1945 and 1981. In response to recent calls to bring the histories of U.S. political conservatism and environmentalism into conversation with each other, it investigates postwar environmental political history through the lens of partisan and ideological polarization and generates a research agenda for the field. It then contributes three new studies in conservative environmental politics: an analysis of the environmental rhetoric of a national business magazine; the legislative history of the first law to extend the power of the federal government to fight air pollution; and a history of the conservative response to Earth Day. It concludes that conservative opposition to environmentalism in the United States has been both ideological and situational. 1 Acknowledgements My most profound gratitude… To my parents, who always encouraged me to pursue my passions; To my wife, Dax, who knows what it takes to write a dissertation (I love you); And to all of the many people I have learned from at U.C. Berkeley, including especially to the faculty with whom I taught (including my entire committee); my ERG cohorts; and the many students and administrators I met and worked with through the Graduate Assembly. i Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Studying the Relationship between Conservatives and Environmentalism ........... 5 “Histories in Conversation” – A Generative Review ............................................................................. 11 Truman years (Apr. 1945 – Jan. 1953) ................................................................................................. 13 Eisenhower years (Jan. 1953 – Jan. 1961) ............................................................................................ 23 Kennedy years (Jan. 1961 – Nov. 1963) ............................................................................................... 31 Johnson years (Nov. 1963 – Jan. 1969) ................................................................................................ 35 Nixon years (Jan. 1969 – Aug. 1974) .................................................................................................... 40 Ford years (Aug. 1974 – Jan. 1977)....................................................................................................... 49 Carter years (Jan. 1977 – Jan. 1981) ...................................................................................................... 52 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 55 References ..................................................................................................................................................... 56 Chapter 2: A Study of Discourse – Nation’s Business and the Environment, 1945-1981 ........ 71 Background .............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Data and Method ......................................................................................................................................... 75 Crisis Strategies: Silence, Distancing, and Reassessment in DDT ........................................................ 76 Personalizing Strategies: Emotional, Unreasonable, Demanding Environmentalists ....................... 78 Depersonalized Strategies: Overregulation and “Regulatory Reform” ................................................ 81 Innovation Strategy? The Case of Renewable Energy ........................................................................... 85 References ..................................................................................................................................................... 89 Chapter 3: A Study of Politics – The Clean Air Act of 1963 ..................................................... 96 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 98 I. Air Pollution in the United States in 1960 ................................................................................... 100 A. The Pace of Change ........................................................................................................................ 101 B. Relevant Ideologies, Interests, and Advocacies .......................................................................... 106 II. The Development of the Clean Air Act of 1963 ............................................................................ 121 A. 1948-1949: Donora ......................................................................................................................... 122 B. 1949-1958: Early Debate on the Federal Role ............................................................................ 124 C. 1958-1960: the Flemming Proposal .............................................................................................. 131 D. 1961: the AMA Proposals.............................................................................................................. 133 E. 1962: Washington Happens ........................................................................................................... 140 F. 1963: Calling the Question ............................................................................................................. 148 Conclusion – The Balance of Power Shifts .......................................................................................... 156 References .................................................................................................................................................. 159 Chapter 4: A Study of Commentary – The Conservative Reaction to Earth Day ................. 175 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 177 The Ecology Kick ..................................................................................................................................... 179 Incendiary Tactics ..................................................................................................................................... 185 Good Liberals ............................................................................................................................................ 192 The Reflecting Pool .................................................................................................................................. 203 References .................................................................................................................................................. 210 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 214 ii Introduction This Dissertation examines the relationship between conservatives and environmentalism in the United States between the end of World War II and the beginning of the Reagan Presidency. It tracks and attempts to shed new light on the development of what became, by the end of the study period, a largely adversarial relationship.1 For the purposes of this Dissertation, the term “environmentalism” is understood as a political philosophy marked by a desire to reduce the impacts of industrialization on the natural world and to improve human and non-human environmental quality;2 the term “conservatism” is understood as a political philosophy marked by a desire to reduce the influence of government on society and individuals while preserving some prevailing social order;3 and the idea of a “relationship” between conservatism and environmentalism is conceptualized as consisting mostly of what conservatives thought, said, or did about environmental ideas and proposals during the study period. 1 On polarization of opinions on environmental issues by partisan affiliation from 1965 to the present: R. E. Dunlap, Aaron M. McCright, and Jerrod H. Yarosh, “The Political Divide on Climate Change: Partisan Polarization Widens in the U.S.,” Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development 58, no. 5 (September 2, 2016): 4–23; Aaron M. McCright and Riley E. Dunlap, “The Politicization of Climate Change and Polarization in the American Public’s Views of Global Warming, 2001–2010,” The Sociological Quarterly 52, no. 2 (2011): 155–94; R. E. Dunlap and Aaron M. McCright, “A Widening Gap: Republican and Democratic
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