The History of Earth Day

April 22 marks the 42^nd annual Earth Day observance, a day in which millions of people around the world gather to promote awareness on major environmental issues.  Rallies, peaceful demonstrations, and other informational events will be held, focusing on issues such as promoting green living, preserving and conserving natural places, cleaning our air and water, and dealing with climate change. The following excerpt on Earth Day's inception comes from the forthcoming publication America Goes Green: An Encyclopedia of Eco-Friendly Culture in the United States, edited by Kim Kennedy White with contributing editor Leslie A. Duram. 

Earth Day, a call for the regeneration of the earth’s polluted environment, was first held April 22, 1970. An estimated 20 million people gathered on that day to confront the earth’s ecological problems.  Originally organized as a day of education through environmental teach-ins on college and university campuses, Earth Day escalated to include rallies, demonstrations, and other protests (including protests against the Vietnam War).  Students from 10,000 elementary and secondary schools and 2,000 colleges took part. The primary mover behind Earth Day was Gaylord Nelson, United States Senator from Wisconsin.  Nelson had been active in environmental issues since his term as Governor of Wisconsin (1958-1962).  He conceived of the idea of Earth Day during the summer of 1969 while speaking at a conference on water quality in Santa Barbara, California. Nelson took note of teach-ins on the Vietnam War being conducted on college campuses and decided to promote the idea of an environmental teach-in. The initial funding was supplied by Larry Rockefeller, an environmental lawyer at the time, and donations from Walter Reuter, President of the United Auto Workers and George Meany, AFL-CIO President. The original coordinator of Earth Day events was Denis Hayes, a graduate student from Harvard University who had previously been involved in political organizing. The first office for Earth Day was donated by John Gardner of Common Cause. Organizers eventually spent $125,000 on the effort and reported receiving 2,000 to 3,000 letters a day. 

Earth day raised the question: Can both progress and the environment be preserved or must one be sacrificed in order to protect/further the other? Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine, Vice Presidential candidate 1968 and himself a sponsor of environmental legislation, warned that conservation could take place at the expense of the nation’s economic growth.  Critics also contended that Earth Day diverted the nation’s attention from more pressing problems faced by minority communities.  However, Earth Day’s massive public support forced politicians to address the nation’s environmental concerns.  The first Earth Day galvanized Congress to pass landmark environmental legislation, including the Clean Air Act (1970), the Water Quality Improvement Act (1970), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970), the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act (1972), the Endangered Species Act (1973), the Safe Drinking Water Act (1974), Resource Recovery Act (1976), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976).  Today, nearly every state has one or more agencies charged with protecting its environment, and 150 colleges and universities have programs in environmental studies.

Kim Kennedy White, PhD, is an acquisitions editor for ABC-CLIO's The American Mosaic and coeditor of ABC-CLIO's Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art.

Leslie A. Duram, PhD, is professor and chair of the department of geography and environmental resources at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Her published works include Greenwood's Encyclopedia of Organic, Sustainable, and Local Food and Good Growing: Why Organic Farming Works.

Colonial Williamsburg’s Gift to the Nation Electronic Field Trip “The Will of the People”

Complimentary Access from September 1–30, 2012

Colonial Williamsburg’s Gift to the Nation in this election year of 2012 offers students an opportunity to interact virtually with historical characters and provides teachers with unique resources to engage students in the study of citizenship and our founding democratic principles. The Electronic Field Trip “The Will of the People” examines the presidential election of 1800, one of the most bitter in U.S. history, and provides a surprising lesson for a 21st-century student. Thomas Jefferson explains how negative campaigning, partisan politics, and contested elections have been a part of our political system since the earliest days of the republic.

-Available online 24/7 from September 1 to September 30, 2012

-On-demand video streaming over the Web

-Email Thomas Jefferson

-Interactive online games

-Downloadable resources, such as the teacher guide and program script (PDF)

-Comprehensive lesson plans

View the complete 2012–2013 Electronic Field Trip Schedule 

We hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity to bring this exciting, relevant program into your school or home!

Register Now at http://giftnation.history.org/

Titanic Lore: A Fascinating Look at the Cuisine Aboard the Luxury Liner

Authors Anthony F. Chiffolo and Rayner W. Hesse, Jr. share some history and recipes from the ocean liner Titanic:


The sinking of the ocean liner RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912, was a major sea disaster that still rivets the collective imagination. This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the night the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank beneath the cold surface of the North Atlantic, and much has been and will be written about the ship and her passengers. To round out the historical details that have become part of the Titanic lore, we present here some information about the provisioning of the ship for her maiden voyage.

The Titanic was carrying 2,207 passengers (below capacity) and 898 crewmembers. To feed this number during the planned ocean crossing, an enormous amount of food had to be loaded on board. The list of provisions included 75,000 pounds of fresh meat, 11,000 pounds of fresh fish, 7,500 pounds of bacon and ham, 25,000 pounds of poultry, and 2,500 pounds of sausages; 40,000 fresh eggs; 40 tons of potatoes, 3,500 pounds of onions, 3,500 pounds of tomatoes, and 2,500 pounds of fresh peas; 800 bundles of asparagus and 7,000 heads of lettuce; 2,200 pounds of coffee and 800 pounds of tea; 250 barrels of flour and 10,000 pounds of sugar; 36,000 oranges, 16,000 lemons, 36,000 apples, and 13,000 grapefruits; 1,500 gallons of milk, 1,200 quarts of fresh cream, and 6,000 pounds of butter; 20,000 bottles of beer and stout, 1,500 bottles of wine, 15,000 bottles of mineral waters; and 8,000 cigars. The very numbers seem incredible, even to those of us who buy “in bulk” at some of the big box stores, but the ship’s supply officers were quite experienced and knew exactly how much each passenger would require during the course of the voyage.

For Sunday, April 14, 1912, the menu for the first-class luncheon, which was served from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., consisted of consommé fermier; cock-a-leekie soup; fillets of brill; egg à l’Argenteuil; chicken à la Maryland; corned beef with vegetable dumplings or grilled mutton chops; mashed, fried, or baked jacket potatoes; custard pudding; lemon meringue; and pastry. If passengers missed the luncheon seating, there was also a 24-hour buffet that served dishes such as salmon mayonnaise, potted shrimps, Norwegian anchovies, soused herrings, plain and smoked sardines, roast beef, round of spiced beef, veal and ham pie, Virginia and Cumberland ham, bologna sausage, brawn, galantine of chicken, corned ox tongue, lettuce, beetroot, and tomatoes. A cheese board consisted of Cheshire, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Edam, Camembert, Roquefort, St. Ivel, and cheddar. Finally, Munich lager beer was available on draft.!

Sunday dinner was served from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. For the first-class passengers, the menu was quite extensive: Hors D’Oeuvres Variés, Oysters, Consommé Olga, Cream of Barley Soup, Salmon with Mousseline Sauce and Cucumber, Filets Mignons Lili, Sauté of Chicken Lyonnaise, Vegetable Marrow Farcie, Lamb with Mint Sauce, Roast Duckling with Apple Sauce, Sirloin of Beef with Château Potatoes, Green Peas and Creamed Carrots, Boiled Rice, Parmentier and Boiled New Potatoes, Punch Romaine, Roast Squab and Cress, Cold Asparagus Vinaigrette, Pâté de Foie Gras with Celery, Waldorf Pudding, Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly, Chocolate and Vanilla Éclairs, and French Ice Cream. Truly an elegant meal to mark the first Sunday of the Titanic’s voyage, and one for which the diners dressed even more splendidly than usual!

Some Titanic enthusiasts have suggested that as the meal came to an end, the first-class guests were served fresh fruit and cheese. This idea is based on the witness of one survivor who mentioned that every table was feted with a large basket of fruit, including incredibly large and delectable bunches of grapes. This goes beyond elegance to the point of overkill, and since it was not listed on the menu itself, it’s possible that the witness was referring to the cheeses and fruits available in the buffet for the guests to take to their staterooms, to help stave off hunger pains until the next feast could be had.

By 1912 it had become the tradition to serve coffee at the end of a good meal, probably either a drip blend or some sort of Turkish variety, much like today’s espresso. This was accompanied by port, post-dining liqueurs, and, for the gentleman, cigars.[1]

Anthony F. Chiffolo and Rayner W. Hesse, Jr. are the authors of Cooking with the Movies: Meals on Reels and Cooking with the Bible: Recipes for Biblical Meals. When not cooking, Hesse serves as pastor of St. John’s Episcopal Church in New Rochelle, NY, and Chiffolo is Editorial Director at ABC-CLIO. They reside in Hartsdale, NY.  Their website is www.cookingwiththemovies.com .

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[1] Archbold, Rick, and Dana McCauley. Last Dinner on the Titanic. Toronto: Madison Press Books, 1997, 90.

Recipes from the Titanic

For those who wish to savor a taste of Titanic fare, authors Anthony F. Chiffolo and Rayner W. Hesse, Jr recreated some of the dishes on the first-class dinner menu, based upon research into the ingredients, flavors, and methods in use in aristocratic kitchens at that time. Be bold and brave, and bon appétit!

  

Cream of Barley Soup

vegetable oil

½ c. bacon, finely chopped

2 lg. cloves garlic, minced

2 lg. shallots

1 parsnip

3 carrots

1 stalk celery

1 c. pearl barley

7 c. beef stock

1 bay leaf

¾ c. whipping cream

2 Tbsp. bourbon

1 tsp. Balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Pour a bit of vegetable oil into a large saucepan, and heat the bacon and garlic, stirring while cooking for several minutes. Chop the shallots, parsnip, carrots, and celery into small pieces and add them to the pot. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft, about 10 minutes or so. Stir in the barley, then pour in the stock, add the bay leaf, and bring everything to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the barley is chewy, about 50 minutes.

Remove from heat, and discard the bay leaf. Transfer the soup cupful by cupful to a blender and puree well, then pour into a clean pot.

Cook the puree over a medium heat until it begins to steam, stirring all the while so that the mixture does not burn the bottom of the pot. Fold in the cream, bourbon, and vinegar and warm gently (do not allow it to boil). Salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 8-12 servings

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Sauté of Chicken Lyonnaise

⅓ c. all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. dried thyme

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

3 eggs, beaten

6 boneless chicken breasts

4 Tbsp. butter

5 shallots, thinly sliced

5 chanterelle mushrooms, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 c. white wine

½ c. cognac

½ c. chicken stock

2 tsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. granulated sugar

In a large bowl, mix the flour, thyme, salt, and pepper. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs lightly (just to break up the yolks). Dip each chicken breast in the eggs, then cover with the flour mixture.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet or electric frying pan. Place the breasts in the pan and cook for 10 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside, covered.

Add the remaining butter to the pan, and stir in shallots, mushrooms, and garlic; cook until golden brown. Add the wine and cognac and cook for about 1 minute, then add the stock, tomato paste, and sugar. Boil for several minutes so that the mixture begins to thicken. Return the chicken to the pan, and cook for 5 minutes, turning once.

Serve on a large decorative platter.

Yield: 6 servings

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Green Peas (Pea Timbales)

3 c. water

1 tsp. salt

4 c. peas, fresh or frozen (thawed)

3 sm. pearl onions, finely chopped

¼ c. very fine plain breadcrumbs

2. tsp. fresh mint, chopped

¼ tsp. Cayenne

2 eggs

¼ c. Parmesan cheese, grated

½ c. whipping cream

Crisco®

sour cream

mint leaves

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bring the water and salt to a boil in a small pot; add the peas and cook for only 2 minutes or so. Drain and run under cold water until cool.

Place the peas, onions, breadcrumbs, mint, and Cayenne in a blender and whir for 1–2 minutes; with the motor running, add the eggs, then slowly pour in the Parmesan cheese and the whipping cream. Blend well.

Lightly grease a large muffin pan with Crisco®, making sure the surface and sides of every well are oiled to prevent sticking. Pour the pea mixture into each well, filling it about two-thirds full. Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Allow to cool for 5 minutes; using a rubber spatula, go around the edges and carefully spoon the pea muffins onto a large platter. Decorate each with a dollop of sour cream and a mint leaf.

Yield: 12 servings

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Punch Romaine

1 c. water

2 c. sugar

1 c. dry white wine

2 c. dry champagne

juice of 2 oranges

juice of 2 lemons

Italian meringue

2 c. white rum, very well chilled

slivered orange and lemon peel

Bring the water to a boil, then pour in the sugar. Once the sugar is fully dissolved, remove from heat and set aside, allowing it to cool for 15 minutes or so.

Combine the wine, champagne, sugar-and-water mixture, and orange and lemon juices in a large plastic pitcher that can go into the freezer. Chill the mixture until it is just beginning to set, like a glace or sherbet. Add the meringue (see next) to it, and chill for ½ hour more.

Pour the frozen mix into an individual dessert cup, and drizzle white rum that has been freezer chilled over each mound. Decorate with a sliver of orange or lemon peel, and serve immediately.

Italian Meringue

¼ c. water

¾ c. granulated sugar

6 egg whites

Dissolve sugar into water and cook until 250°F (use a candy thermometer). Beat egg whites with a hand mixer until they form stiff peaks. Pour sugar syrup into egg whites; increase speed of mixer, and beat until cooled.

Yield: 6 –8 servings

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Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly

(A chartreuse in French cooking is a dish that has been turned out of a mold, sometimes made of meat or vegetables, but more usually of fruit within jelly. This is an old recipe that is labor intensive, a good sign that the end product is something special!)

4 lg. peaches

4 c. water

2 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. cider vinegar

¼ c. orange juice

1 cinnamon stick

3 whole cloves

½ tsp. allspice

fresh mint

edible flowers

Jelly

2 pkg. powdered gelatin

2 c. water

½ c. sugar

Remove the skin and stones from the peaches and cut them into small pieces. Combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the vinegar, orange juice, cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice, and peaches to the pot and bring to a boil once again. Reduce the heat to a simmer and poach the peaches in the spicy liquid until they are soft, 6 –10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then refrigerate for several hours.

In the meantime, combine the gelatin with 1 cup of water in a medium-size bowl. Bring the second cup of water to a boil and dissolve the sugar in it. Add the hot mixture to the softened gelatin, and pour into a prechilled large mold; allow to cool. Add 2 cups of the peach syrup to the gelatin, then refrigerate until very thick (about 1 hour).

After 1 hour, drain the peaches of their remaining syrup and remove the whole cinnamon and cloves. Pour the peaches into the thickened gelatin mold, and chill until firm.

When serving, upend the mold onto a bed of fresh mint surrounded by edible flowers.

Yield: 6 –8 servings

Interview with Tony Osborne, Author of 'Greed is Good’ and Other Fables: Office Life in Popular Culture

Q: What prompted you to write ‘Greed is Good’ and Other Fables: Office Life in Popular Culture? 

The book is a reaction to what I term the “Great Heist of 2008”—i.e., the so-called Wall Street bailouts. This blatant looting of the U.S. Treasury represents the crowning achievement of business culture:  deregulation, which is essentially lawlessness and the co-optation of “the people’s” government by narrow interests. 

Q: What "message" do you want to communicate?

First, the “greed-is-good” ethos has become the dominant ideology of our day—indeed, it dictates official U.S. government policy—but it did not suddenly erupt in the 1980s and poison the body politic to the extent that our economy is currently driven by usury and fraud, which we politely term the “finance industry.”  Rather, this virulent ideological strain was merely one of the many competing narratives that have comprised business culture since at least the Civil War.  For most of our history, this type of buccaneering was tamped down or checked by laws and by ethical and moral constraints, namely that our large corporations and business leaders were the stewards of our nation—not its pillagers.

And second, business is not inherently bad or pernicious. Office life does not need to be the gray, dull purgatory or the weird hierarchical head-trip that many experience it to be.  There are many alternatives to the way things are today, roads not taken.  And these alternative paths are preserved in that vast heterogeneous body of images and stories we call popular culture.    

Q: What was the highlight of your research?

Quite honestly, the highlights of my research comprise my book.  Which is to say, I tried to fashion a story from the most interesting and vivid fragments of popular culture—from Dickens onward—that I could find.  However, one of my most salient discoveries was of an obscure genre called the “orphan” or “sponsored” or “industrial” film.  Two of these stand out: a silent corporate training film from 1928 called Success in Business; and a gripping anti-union film that Jam Handy (the greatest industrial filmmaker) made for GM in 1945 entitled  The Open Door:  The Story of Foreman Jim Baxter His Family and His Job, which rivals Hollywood features in drama and production values.

Q: In the course of your research, what discovery surprised you the most?

There was so much practical advice and wisdom contained in stories about office life.  For example, in mining William H. Whyte’s 1956 best-seller, The Organization Man, which is a polemic about conformity and corporate climbing, I came across an anecdote that initially repelled me.  Yet, the more I lived with it, the more I came to appreciate its utility.  Disapprovingly, Whyte cites the widespread critical approval of the surprise ending of The Caine Mutiny (Herman Wouk’s 1951 novel about World War II)  as evidence of the public’s blindness to the malaise of conformity.  One of Wouk’s characters concludes that bucking the system is wrong, saying, “I see we were in the wrong [to court martial the unstable and inept Captain Queeg].  . . . once you get an incompetent ass of a skipper—and it’s a chance of war—there’s nothing to do but serve him as though he were the wisest and the best, cover his mistakes, keep the ship going, and bear up.”  Given that pervasive incompetence is the rule in all spheres, I believe there is wisdom in these words.     

Q: What surprises readers/others the most about your research?

Stories about office life are so relevant and interesting.  Some have commented that offices are psychic battlefields—the modern version of the western frontier of old—fields of unrecognized heroism.  Indeed, the office rivals the bedroom as a dramatic setting.

Q: How did your research change your outlook on office life and popular culture?

I learned that “office life” transcends physical setting; it is more of a mindset than a place.  Office culture is a cluster of ideas, a conquering philosophy that has dictated social norms and the way we have organized society and structured our lives.  Think, for example, of such normative concepts as the weekend, 9-to-5, happy hour, business attire, business writing, and business etiquette.  Like it or not—and personally, I don’t like it at all—many universities today are modeled after corporations, and what they teach is influenced by what administrators and professors believe businesses want in potential hires.

Q: How have people reacted to your book and/or the ideas you set forth? Is it what you hoped for, or is there more work to be done?

The chapter on typologies—the types of personalities one encounters in organizations—seemed to resonate with people, and some have commented, “I know that type, I had a boss just like that.”  Others have said they have a new appreciation for what they had regarded as mere popular entertainment because they see my point that commercial appeal doesn’t preclude artistic or philosophical seriousness.  For example, the Kate Hepburn/Spencer Tracy romantic comedy from 1957, Desk Set, articulates Walter Gropius’s Bauhaus manifesto about using machines to liberate the worker.

I’m pleased that people are starting to recognize the power of popular culture and its witty and trenchant critical bite.  I believe that the demarcation between popular and “serious” culture is largely artificial and snobbish.  How would you categorize Tolstoy, for instance, particularly after Oprah turned Anna Karenina into a “new” best-seller through her TV book club?  In my opinion, high and low cultures are largely marketing designations.

     

Q: What's next for you?

I want to do an extended essay or a book on the genealogy of a musical riff or phrase, which I view as analogous to the deep structure of linguistic syntax.  The style of the phrase—how it is accented and used or “meant”—may change over the decades, but these are merely surface manifestations of the same deep structure.  I have in mind a phrase played by Blind Lemon Jefferson in the 1920s, which I believe occurs in transmuted form in the playing of Charlie Christian (late 30s, early 40s), Chuck Berry (1950s), and Jimi Hendrix (1960s).

My aim is to use this phrase as a microcosm of larger cultural changes throughout the decades and to show that style is itself a type of content, a bearer of meaning.