Communicating Environmental Patriotism: A Rhetorical History of the American Environmental Movement by Anne Marie Todd (review)

Despite decades of warning from scientists about the threat of environmental disaster caused by human processes of production and consumption, America continues to develop increasingly sophisticated technologies for exploiting the earth, exacerbating the crisis. In her book, Communicating Environmental Patriotism: A Rhetorical History of the American Environmental Movement, Anne Marie Todd argues that much of America’s apathy toward environmental crisis results from the rhetorical framing of the contemporary environmental movement. Todd contends that contemporary environmental discourses, characterized by the mantra of “think global, act local,” subvert collective political action. Indeed, the concept of think global, act local has become “a marketing tool that global systems use to define our daily lives” (4). She proposes an interesting, if not provocative, alternative frame that weds environmentalism with patriotism. Through her rhetorical investigation of the history of American environmentalism Todd expounds the potential of environmental patriotism, which she defines as “the belief that a country’s greatness is defined by its environment,” to motivate civic action toward protecting our environment (6). For rhetorical scholars interested in questions beyond environmentalism, Todd’s study provides a refreshing examination of patriotism’s rhetorical history illuminating its involvement in forging publics, crafting identity, and prompting action.

Todd’s rhetorical analysis first examines four historical campaigns, each featuring a form of patriotism contributing to our understanding of environmental patriotism. After defining the four patriotisms, she turns her attention to a period she defines as “the decline of environmental patriotism” that has led us into our current environmental perspective. Chapter 2 opens her discussion of the four patriotisms by investigating the historical roots of a patriotism wedded to pride in the American landscape, which Todd describes as “aesthetic patriotism.” The opening decades of the twentieth century witnessed an outstanding amount of American expenditures in tourism outside the country. This situation gave rise to the “See America First” campaign promoting tourism of America’s sites and providing three themes guiding the rhetoric of aesthetic patriotism: “the beauty of the American Landscape, the role of railroad travel, and tourism as cultural nationalism” (22). The propaganda of “See America First” privileged America’s beauty, while simultaneously questioning the value of visiting Europe. The railroad reinforced the sense that exploring America would be much more delightful than the harrowing travels overseas. Finally, the rhetoric of “See America First” constructed a sense of civic pride in the beauty and offerings of the American landscape.

Chapter 3 is an investigation into the form of patriotism constructed by the conservationist movement. In particular, Todd hones in on the “new patriotism” crafted by the rhetoric of Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt. Together, Pinchot and Roosevelt constructed a sense of patriotism based on the sustainable use of nature’s resources. New patriotism was committed to the principles of conservation serving “the interest of the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time” (41). New patriotism called upon Americans to act as stewards of the land, holding individuals and corporations alike responsible for ecological damage caused by overexploiting nature’s resources.

Chapter 4 explores the smoke abatement campaign in Pittsburgh in the early half of the twentieth century. A city powered by coal, Pittsburgh was a city in the shadows of smoke during the early years of the industrial age. Todd’s analysis focuses on the rhetoric of the Mellon Institute, an early incarnation of Carnegie-Mellon University. The Mellon Institute, dedicated to investigating the effects of smoke upon the city, would develop a campaign for smoke abatement. Initially, the campaign had to wrestle with the symbolic value of smoke. Early on, smoke represented progress, becoming “a symbol of industrial might” and an early example of the degree of discomfort, and even harm, that Americans have proven willing to live with in the name of economic prosperity (56). The smoke abatement campaign sought to shift smoke from a beacon of progress to a threatening presence. Civic...